does anyone have aNY GOOD IDEAS OF ALTERNATIVE ENERGY?

Question

sources to power cars

Answer 1

For the mass market...

Medium term - hybrids offer the best payoff.

Long term - pure electric so that more sustainable (e.g. wind/solar/geothermal) and non-greenhouse-based (e.g. nuclear) energy can be used to power them through the grid.

Ethanol has some promise but as presently deployed (corn) the energy return from burning versus the energy invested in growing the corn and refining the fuel is debatable - the industry is largely sustained through massive government subsidies. Other non-corn ethanols could be better.

Biodiesel is an interesting niche, but basically can't scale.

Hydrogen is totally flawed. It burns clean, but it's expensive to extract. The only economical way to produce hydrogen now is - drum roll - from other hydrocarbons. Yep, you guessed it, oil. There's no advantage there in cost, availability, or global warming. Yes, you can get it from water too, but that requires massive amounts of hydrogen. This is a way oversold technology.

Answer 2

despite the answers already posted, for my money it would HAVE to be biodiesel. This is made from recycled deep fryer oil mixed with a little bit of Methanol and a small amount of caustic soda. Shove it in your existing diesel engine and off ya go!!! NO emissions (other than a nice smell like someone's frying fish nearby) and NO modifications required for your diesel engine. The inventor of this marvellous device - the diesel engine - designed it to be run on OIL - not petrochemical derivatives - but peanut or soy or other vege oils.

as to the poster who suggested nuclear, wind and solar as an alternative to fossil fuels....how do you get uranium ore? by mining...How do you get silica? by mining....how do you get the steel to make wind turbines? by mining...so all three have chronic problems just as oil does....in that they originate from dirty industries and have a finite lifespan.

Biodiesel doesn't have a dirty mine to worry about, nor will the source (plant-derived oil) ever dry up.

Love and Light,

Jarrah

Answer 3

There are basically three. In order of present development:

Biofuels, electricity, hydrogen

All of these require energy to make. In order for them to be truly an alternative to fossil fuels that energy should be made from something other than fossil fuels; nuclear, solar, or wind.

Answer 4

Ocean turbines to get potential from transferring water (both modern and wave action) is being worked on through a Canadian organization. i imagine someone can invent a fashion to apply the diverse temperature layers of the sea to create potential. one which has no longer been used yet written about in favourite technology or Mech. mag many years in the past is to launch skinny-movie image voltaic cells into earth orbit to seize the picture voltaic rays, then beam the potential right down to earth through microwaves. They suggested the ambience will disperse a good microwave beam right into a three mile diameter beam on the floor of the earth. properly there is an poor lot of three mile diameter unpopulated desolate tract elements in Southern Califormia, Ariz, Nev., NM, Texas, Oregon, etc can can receive the potential and is interior of elementary transmission distance to major cities.

Answer 5

no one said Methane for the house..
instead of being hooked up to a city sewer system, install a Septic system and cap it w/ a methane generator, you wont be able to pull yourself totally "off the grid" but you'll ease your demand on it. However co2 is released as a by product of burning Methane.

Answer 6

http://www.wwf.org.uk/core/index.asp
http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0702/index.html