Celebrities and hydrogen

Celebrities and the environment. A study by MIT suggests that America's carbon footprint, even by those following a green lifestyle, is twice as heavy as the world average. This is because green enthusiasts, like rich celebrities, may save fuel by driving hybrids but they increase energy use by owning multiple houses, luxury goods, and by availing of air travel. But still celebrities remain the biggest market and brand for publicizing green living.

For this reason BMW, which produced a hydrogen fuel vehicle two years ago, decided to give 100 of these to celebrities. The original BMW7 Hydrogen, which ran on gasoline and hydrogen, has now been replaced by the BMW7 Hydrogen Mono-Fuel.

Fuel Cell Works

BMW announced that the influential J.D. "Dave" Power III, founder of J.D. Power and Associates and board member of Fuel Systems Solutions, Inc., is the latest high-visibility eco-friendly ambassador to receive keys to a BMW Hydrogen 7 - the first hydrogen-powered luxury sedan. Power is the most recent member of the BMW Hydrogen 7 Pioneer Program, which gives industry leaders and prominent figures in entertainment, politics, business and more a BMW Hydrogen 7 for their daily use for three weeks.

While the BMW Hydrogen 7 is not for sale, it is considered to be a milestone in bringing forward hydrogen as the sustainable fuel for individual transportation. Running in hydrogen mode, the BMW Hydrogen 7 essentially emits nothing but water vapor, representing a major step in reducing harmful CO2 emissions. It is not a concept car, but a production model vehicle that has successfully completed the entire Product Development Process.

A number of entertainers, politicians, business leaders and more have already opted for a BMW Hydrogen 7 as their energy-efficient ride of choice in order to evaluate the technology. Those who have recently chosen the vehicle include Will Ferrell, Jay Leno, opera star Placid Domingo, Ed Norton, Jason Bateman, famed director Steve Gaghan, Cameron Diaz, Jeremy Piven, and Prince Albert II of Monaco.



Jay Leno in particular is an enthusiastic proponent of Hydrogen-fuelled cars, and makes it a point to repeat their virtues on his Tonight Show. The fact that only "a little water-vapour" comes out as exhaust, that it drives like a charm, and that it makes little noise. Last week Jay hosted California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on his show; the governor talked of his green dream: a "hydrogen highway" running from Baja all the way up to Alaska, lined every twenty miles with hydrogen filling stations....this has been Arnie's dream since 2003!