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At 250 kilowatts, the fuel cell produces 40-50% of the electricity for the Environmental Science Center. Its electricity production alone is 47% effective, and the addition of heat recovery allows for up to 60% efficiency

While designed to run on pure hydrogen, Yale’s fuel cell is actually powered by natural gas, 80% of which is usable hydrogen. The fuel cell takes in natural gas and water and produces water, electricity, and hot air.

it offers almost unlimited potential at low costs and with no pollution.

most all biofuels used today cause more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuels if the pollution caused by producing these "green" fuels is taken into account, two studies published Thursday have concluded.

The benefits of biofuels have come under increasing attack in recent months as scientists have evaluated the global environmental cost of their production. The new studies, published by the journal Science, are likely to add to the controversy.

When you take this into account, most of the biofuel that people are using or planning to use would probably increase greenhouse gasses substantially," sai

Through the use of hydrogen together with fuel cell technology it is possible to achieve a radical decrease in local pollution of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particles from the transportation sector. Although the production of hydrogen from fossil fuels affects the environment it is an advantage that the carbon dioxide emissions can be separated already on the production site. This becomes evident when hydrogen is used as vehicle fuel, avoiding pollution from every individual vehicle.The only emission from a fuel cell reacting with hydrogen is pure water. The environmental gains are high, provided that pollution in the hydrogen production process is kept low. A fuel cell is approximately twice as energy efficient as a combustion engine if used in a regular car. The effect is that, using the same amount of energy, a fuel cell car can drive twice as far as a car with a combustion engine can.

The most noticeable impact a wind turbine places upon the environment is noise pollution.

This is down to the noise, and many people compare the sound output of a wind turbine to a small jet engine.

Another disadvantage regarding a wind turbine and it's impact on the surrounding environment can be expressed with the term "visual impact" or "visual pollution".

a fuel cell power plant using natural gas as a hydrogen source would create less than one ounce of pollution (other than CO2) for every 1,000 kW produced, compared to 25 pounds of pollutants generated by conventional combustion systems

Fuel Cells also produce 97% less nitrogen oxide emissions then conventional coal-fired power plants.

Energy from the Sun The sun has produced energy for billions of years.  Solar energy is the sun’s rays (solar radiation) that reach the Earth. This energy can be converted into other forms of energy, such as heat and electricity.

Photovoltaic (PV devices) or “solar cells” change sunlight directly into electricity. Individual PV cells are grouped into panels and arrays of panels that can be used in a wide range of applications ranging from single small cells that charge calculator and watch batteries, to systems that power single homes, to large power plants covering many acres.

Solar energy systems do not produce air pollutants or carbon-dioxide

Solar power is pollution free during use. Production end wastes and emissions are manageable using existing pollution controls.

In situations where connection to the electricity grid is difficult, costly, or impossible (such as island communities, areas not served by a power grid, illuminated roadside signs, and ocean-going vessels) harvesting solar power is often an economically competitive alternative to energy from traditional source

Intermittency: It is not available at night and is reduced when there is cloud cover, decreasing the reliability of peak output performance or requiring a means of energy storage.

Like many renewable resources, geothermal resources need relatively high initial investments to access the heat, hot water and steam. But the geothermal "fuel" cost is predictable and stable. Fossil fuel supplies will increase in cost as reserves are exhausted. Fossil fuel supplies can be interrupted political disputes abroad. Renewable geothermal energy is a better long term investment.

Examples are the huge costs of global climate change; the health effects from ground level pollution of the air; future effects of pollution of water and land; military expenditures to protect petroleum sources and supply routes; and costs of safely storing radioactive waste for generations. Geothermal energy can already compete with the direct costs of conventional fuels in some locations and is a clean, indigenous, renewable resource without hidden external costs.

If hydrogen extraction is performed using electricity from a coal-driven power plant, it doesn't matter that the fuel cell doesn't pollute because the pollution occurred when the hydrogen was extracted. If hydrogen is to be a true nonpolluting power source, the electricity used to extract the hydrogen will need to be produced by a nonpolluting method such as solar power.

There’s a much cheaper way to produce hydrogen: spray steam on white-hot coals and out comes mostly hydrogen gas (40 percent) and carbon monoxide (50 percent), a mixture known appropriately as “water gas.” It’s the least expensive way to make hydrogen. Unfortunately, the carbon monoxide produced along with it is highly poisonous. To extract the last bit of energy, the carbon monoxide can be burned, and that turns it into the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.

Electric cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells don’t produce greenhouse-enhancing carbon dioxide. But producing hydrogen does-and if we want to reduce our petroleum dependence, we’re going to have to reconcile ourselves to that fact.

Because they don’t go through the combustion process, there’s none of the pollution that’s associated with pollution, there’s no nox, there’s no particulate formation.

They may also reduce the amount of electricity generated from fossil fuels and therefore reduce the amount of air pollution, carbon dioxide emissions, and water use of fossil fuel power plants.

Modern wind turbines are very large machines, and some people do not like their visual impact on the landscape. A few wind turbines have caught on fire, and some have leaked lubricating fluids, though this is relatively rare. Some people do not like the sound that wind turbine blades make. Some types of wind turbines and wind projects cause bird and bat deaths. These deaths may contribute to declines in species that are also being affected by other human-related impacts. Many birds are killed from collisions with vehicles and buildings, by house cats and hunters, and by pesticides. Their natural habitats may be altered or destroyed by human development and by the changes in the climate that most scientists believe are caused by greenhouse gases emissions from human activities (which wind energy use can help reduce).

Making the metals and other materials in wind turbines and the concrete for their foundations requires the use of energy, which may be from fossil fuels.

Geothermal energy does not produce any pollution, and does not contribute to the greenhouse effect.

No fuel is needed.