R-14 Correspondence – Padric Gleason
From: Padric Gleason Gonzales [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, July 5, 2022 9:11 PM
To: CityClerk <[email protected]>
Cc: Council District 6 <[email protected]>; LBDS <[email protected]>; Mayor <[email protected]>; LB Sustainability <[email protected]> Subject: Public Comment for Agenda Item #14 for 7/12 City Council Meeting
-EXTERNAL-
Dear Councilmembers,
I write with tentative support for the proposal for the City of Long Beach to join the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES). Please conduct close oversight to ensure that this project truly delivers on its "clean" promises; it should only be approved for green hydrogen production, not "gray hydrogen" or "blue hydrogen."
While hydrogen is a low-carbon alternative fuel, it does not exist naturally in nature, so it requires human manufacturing. There's a reason the fossil fuel industry is actively promoting hydrogen instead of other forms of energy. Currently, 99% of hydrogen manufacturing is conducted by the fossil fuel industry using a dirty production method that breaks down methane. This is called "gray hydrogen" or "blue hydrogen."
By contrast, "green hydrogen" breaks down water molecules into their component parts, and it's considered the only true "clean" hydrogen production method. While industry touts hydrogen as a low- emissions solution, only 0.02 percent of current hydrogen production is green. For more information, see this informational article from the Sierra Club.
And so I support this project only if it includes guarantees that it will produce green hydrogen from water and not the current industry-standard, which is methane-based.
Regards,
Padric
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Padric Gleason