Rifkin refers to hydrogen as ï¿a promissory note for humanityï¿s future on Earth.ï¿ The Hydrogen Economy is the best primer out there on the coming oil crisis and the new economy that is poised to emerge from the harnessing of hydrogen as an alternate fuel source.
In the bookï¿s final chapter Rifkin delves into the thorny questions of who will end up controlling this future fuel, and the potential implications of this new economy on our sociological frameworks: ï¿Hydrogen, because of its universality, offers the prospect that we might be able, at long last, to democratize energy and empower every human being on Earth. But, while the opportunity exists, there is no guarantee that hydrogen will, in fact, be fairly and equitably shared among all people. Much depends on how we come to ï¿valueï¿ hydrogen. Will we see it as a shared resource, like the sunï¿s rays and the air we breathe, or as a commodity, bought and sold in the open marketplace, or something in between?ï¿
