As oil prices pass the $95-per-barrel mark and the air gets thicker with CO2, hydrogen research surges ahead by leaps and bounds. Critics, however, continue to maintain that hydrogen-producing water electrolysis requires too much energy and is therefore economically unfeasible.

To counter the naysayers and establish hydrogen's viability as a competitive source of energy, Hydro Kevin posted a list of clean and renewable ways to procure hydrogen. Many of these methods are still being researched and are not totally ready for deployment. Still, Kevin believes that alternative ways to forge the hydrogen economy exist and that "forward thinkers" will ultimately prevail.

Here are some of the alternative methods to produce hydrogen:

1. Direct solar to hydrogen;

2. Hydrogen-on-demand technology using sodium borohydride, phosphonium borate, magnesium, gallium or aluminum compounds;

3. Nuclear cracking of water into hydrogen;

4. Biomass using pyrolysis or gasification of waste grease and plastics;

5. Renewable electrolysis methods including solar, wind, geothermal and hydropower;

6. Water splitting using microbes, bacteria and algae methods to create hydrogen including waste from farms, grape juice companies, candy factories, restaurants, beer makers, and sewage treatment plants;

7. Using x-rays on ice;

8. Using radio waves on seawater;

9. Clean coal to hydrogen a la FutureGen and other research;

10. Using corn, switchgrass, and other plant life to create hydrogen renewably;

11. Tapping into water energy such as tidal energy and wave power;

12. Using ships with wind turbines such as those being developed by Windhunters;

13. Using high-altitude wind energy including tethered rotorcraft and kites;

14. Micro-hydroelectric water turbines on rivers and mountain streams;

15. Cheap electrolysis such as that of General Electric's Noryl catalyst.