Chevy’s Equinox, the first hydrogen fuel cell-powered SUV, was the guest of honor at the press conference on Friday marking the opening of ECOFEST in New York City. This was the vehicle’s first public unveiling, although the official launch of the Equinox will be in late October. As part of a market test called Project Driveway, Chevy will be loaning 110 of these cars to people in areas that already have hydrogen-fueling infrastructure, like New York, California and Washington DC.

Contestants had to submit essays stating why they should win a lease on one of the rare concept vehicles, which cost an estimated $1 million to build. The main advantages of the Equinox are that it’s free of harmful emissions (the only byproduct is pure water) and not reliant on fossil fuels. Currently, the disadvantages are that the vehicles are made individually at great cost (a fact that will change when and if they go into mass production) and hydrogen fuel stations are few and far between. New York City residents, for instance, will have to drive about 30 miles, all the way to White Plains, to load up their tanks with enough juice to travel the next 200 miles.

The current model is a market test vehicle and is unavailable for retail sales; but Chevy claims that the cost of the Equinox will be “competitive” (One wonders with what: The Maserati? The Prius?) when mass-produced. —Saba Berhie

Beauty and the geeks: Maggie Gyllenhaal and friends

Last night Al Gore won an Oscar and didn’t announce his candidacy for president. It barely seemed to matter, though. With some stock footage and what amounts to little more than a KeyNote presentation (albeit a fancy one with some kickin’ graphics), Gore has gotten people to worry and care about the environment more than anyone in office ever did. Even the academy took up the appeal—boasting last night about their initiatives: partially recycled paper for their ballots! organic food at the Governor’s Ball! discussion of using hydrogen fuel cell buses for transportation next year! Okay, so it’s hardly a revolution, but it’s a start and more and more companies have been heeding the call and trying to clean up their act. Even we here at PopSci are brainstorming ways to lessen our carbon footprint. (Watch for an online environmental program in the coming months.)

Meanwhile, in all our excitement over the declining state of the world and the possibility of Gore2008, we neglected to report on those other, smaller-but-in-no-way-lesser Oscars—the Scientific and Technical Academy Awards, hosted this year by the lovely Maggie Gyllenhaal. These Oscars too ended up with a green tint, awarding a special commendation to those who worked on an industry-wide conversion of materials used in soundtrack printing from polluting and caustic silver-based emulsions to a harmless cyan dye.

Bummed `cause you’ve been using organic food and cyan dyes for years now and haven’t gotten jack? Screw the Academy and make your own little gold man or Sci-Tech plaque. Just don’t forget to thank all the little people who got you where you are today. —Abby Seiff

My cousin, Jonathan Adams, is an Army medic serving in Iraq. A few weeks ago, I sent him a care package with a bunch of PopSci magazines, books on military, space and technology subjects, Starbucks coffee, and some of the goofy gadgets that show up in the office from time to time, including a DJ sound mixing station they can use for parties and a hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered model car.

Thankfully, the box arrived safely. Here’s a brief look into life over there:

“Eric: Thanks so much for the package. It was great. I've already read the book "Contract Warriors" and I'm now working on "First Man." My friend saw the book about the Navy Seal Corpsman and just had to read it while on leave, so I let him borrow it. I have passed around all of the magazines and all of my guys say thank you! The thumb-wrestling dragons cracked me up. When I actually get some solid free time, I'd like to mess around with the fuel cell kit. I have yet to completely read the article on the networked battlefield yet, though I have browsed it. Looks like all the contributors really did their research.

Time is really flying by here. I should be going on leave at the end of next month...I can't wait!! Things do get crazy every now and then around here. I'm a medic for an infantry platoon in a cavalry squadron (battalion). I love my guys and we really take good care of each other. We spend most of our time "outside the wire" where cold water and an unoccupied cot is heaven sent. Just the other night, my platoon was hit with an IED while conducting a route recon. No one was injured thank God but two of my trucks were damaged, including mine. My lower back is a little sore from the concussion but nothing serious. We all actually got a kick out of it a few moments after it happened, yelling curses in the middle of the night to the bastards who set it off. But no time to be scared. Mission first. Going right back out tomorrow for another 5-7 days of fun. I hope all is well with you and your family. Thanks again for the package. It really lifted our spirits!

Talk to you soon,
Jon

—Eric Adams

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Winning—and Losing—the First Wired War
Graphic Indeed

Every two years the automotive industry gathers in Japan to show the world its visions for the future of transportation. The Tokyo Motor Show, historically the coming-out party for the most audacious of vehicle designs, encompasses five massive buildings and more than a million square feet. It presents a prismatically varied glimpse of the cars and motorcycles that may grace your garage in the years ahead.

Imagine pulling up to a Texaco station and pumping your SUV full of sugar water. If a new hydrogen fuel cell idea takes off, someday you might be doing just that.



The idea could solve a fundamental fuel cell problem: To travel any useful distance, a fuel cell car would need to carry hydrogen gas under pressure, requiring a heavy, bulky fuel tank. Some experimental autos solve the problem by carrying liquid fuel and extracting hydrogen from it on the run—a method called onboard reforming.