Fossil fuel FREE by 2050

That's the goal Iceland has set--and they're well on their way to meeting it. With gasoline costing about $8 per gallon to ship it to this isolated nation, plans are underway to create the infrastructure to run their vehicles and fishing fleets without fossil fuels. According to a recent CNN.com article, Iceland has been utilizing its natural resources of water and geothermal springs for the past 5 decades, providing most of the country's electricity and heat. And next on their to-do list is to eliminate dependence upon expensive imported oil. How? With hydrogen.

Yes, clean hydrogen power for transportation. General Motors, Toyota and DaimlerChrysler are testing their hydrogen fuel cell prototypes--and the Mercedes-Benz A-class F-cell is one of the vehicles on the road now. It is powered by a fuel cell that generates electricity by chemically converting hydrogen, and the only byproduct is water vapor. Plans are for 30 to 40 hydrogen fuel-cell cars to be on the streets of Reykjavik within the year--most of them for local energy company employees. For a nation of 300,000 where everyone depends heavily upon their car (and most families have two), Icelanders are paving the way for a cleaner future for everyone tomorrow.

Mercedes-Benz F-Cell, advanced fuel cell car based on the Mercedes-Benz A-Class - photo © Mercedes-Benz