As I drive my Nissan electric car, I do find it enjoyable. The other day, I had turned off the radio and for got about it. I had gone several miles before I realized it. Other than the slight whisper of air coming from the vents, there was no sound at all.

Well, I guess there was a little. You don’t normally notice such things in most cars, but, believe it or not, tires do make noise, especially at higher speeds. There is also the wisp of air going by. I never really paid attention to that sort of thing before.

I did turn my sound system on. I do have an AM/FM radio and a USB drive hooked up. Those folks at Sirius keep trying to get me to subscribe, but they are more of a bother than the noise made by my precious car.

The thing is, before I turned the sound system back on, I drove several miles and listened to the quiet. I guess I could say was listening to the silence, but someone already came up with that idea. The thing is a person really does not know the benefit of silence until they don’t hear it.

However, there is an alternative to the use of any kind of battery to produce electricity. It’s called a fuel cell. Unlike my current electric car, cars that run on fuel cells need not be charged. The have a tank in which you store hydrogen. Some versions also have oxygen tanks. The fuel cells are extremely efficient and they don’t make any noise either.

When I first heard of the idea fuel cells, I was very concerned about the hydrogen. Let’s face it. I don’t think there is anything in this world more volatile than hydrogen. And when it burns, it burns hot and fast. You might even say it explodes.

It would mean that there safety factors would have to be designed into the car. The tank would have to be strong and double lined. If the car was involved in an accident, you would not want it to catch fire. Indeed, perhaps, a reason they have not already gone to fuel cells is the possible hazards.

My first thought was, what if you have a leak. Actually, it would be a problem to the pocket book, but not safety. Hydrogen is the very lightest element. It would float away so fast it would likely not catch fire.

I must admit, the accident problem is a real one. As remote as the chances might be, should the tank somehow get set aflame, it would cause danger for, perhaps hundreds of feet around.

However, these batteries we are using now are pretty dangerous too. Some even suggest charging them some distance from your house. If a car with the lithium batteries were to be involved in an accident, the flames just might be almost as bad as the hydrogen.

I’m not an expert. However, now and then I hear about stuff. A few months ago, a cargo ship caught fire. The ship was carrying electric cars, and from what I understand, the flames were sudden and large. If a car was at fault, it was just sitting there. It was not even in an accident.

By the way, there are two more big benefits with fuel cells and hydrogen. First, the exhaust is water so pure you just might be able to drink it. If I remember right, it just simply drips from a pipe and onto the road. Also, it is plentiful. Though mostly it is combined with oxygen, it is the most available element on this earth. We would not have to go digging big holes in the ground to get it. Moreover, no one nation or person could have any monopoly on it.

Now let me see. What did I do with that deed to that old hydrogen mine have.