Bill Gates Invests in Bio Fuels
The San-Diego based Sapphire Energy, is trying to make second generation bio fuels out of algae. The company hopes to make the fuel can be made available commercially in three to five years for a cost of $50 to $80 per barrel. It plans to produce about 10,000 barrels a day, and last May it announced that it succeeded in creating “ASTM-certifiable 91 octane gasoline”, the premium fuel at the pump, from algae. Bill Gates’ Cascade Investment is putting money in the firm.
Bacteria: Alternative Energy Source in Future
Hydrogen is the environmentally cleanest and most abundant fuel. But extracting it from other organic materials or water, needs significant amount of energy, and it is currently not an efficient process. Fortunately, scientists are have discovered certain bacteria that exhale hydrogen during the normal metabolism.
These particular microbes grow in hot temperatures nearly boiling point of water. These thermophilic (heat-loving) bacteria is known as Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus found in a hot spring in New Zealand. Hydrogen Fuel cell vehicles are available in California and the New York area. These vehicles run off of hydrogen gas and emit only water vapor. Therefore in future, Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus microbes can be used as an alternative energy source to power our vehicles.
Image Credit:http://i44.photobucket.com
Hybrid Combined With Solar Power
Prius is the high-end models of Toyota hybrid cars, and it is planned to add solar-powered air conditioning to make it more fuel efficient. This new feature is part of the third-generation Prius, and it will be launched next year. The solar panels will be used to provide the air conditioning system. There has been some doubts about the amount of electricity that can be obtained by solar panels. According to Kentaro Endo, a specialist on renewable energy from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, laying solar panels out on the roof only gives energy that can only be used to power 2 hairdryers.
Hydrogen Fuel Stations.
Honda FCX Clarity is a zero emission sedan, which runs on hydrogen and electricity, emits only water and none of the noxious fumes believed to induce global warming. Limited number of cars will be leased to Southern Californians, which costs $600/month on a three year lease. Many automobile manufacturers have already begun developing hydrogen powered cars, BMW Hydrogen 7,Daimler AG — F-Cell,Focus FCV and GM HydroGen3 are some of them. But the main issue is the lack of hydrogen fuel stations. National Hydrogen Association developed a hydrogen fueling station database, this database contains only US and Canadian stations. Fuelcells.org has compiled a list of Hydrogen fuel stations which can be found here.
Top Energy Alternatives
- Fuel cells
- Energy from blowing wind
- Power in the tides
- Nuclear energy
- Geothermal energy
- Solar energy
- Hydroelectric dams
- Clean coal
- Biofuels
Driver break point $4.50 per gallon
Commuter Pain survey conducted by IBM of 4,000 drivers in 10 U.S. cities, revealed that $4.50 per gallon($1.18 per litre) of gas is the break point at which many drivers will seek alternatives to driving. Analysis of the commuter responses indicated that a substantial percentage of daily commuters in major new your cities are seeking transportation alternatives via more flexible working hours, better mass transit and other commuting solutions.
Some of the Key findings of the survey:
- 25% will reconsider driving if fuel prices near $4.00 per gallon (and 46%, if prices near $4.50).
- 19% say traffic has negatively impacted work or school performance.
- 45% report increased stress.
- 12% report less sleep.
- 63% say traffic has gotten worse in the last three years.
- If commuting time could be reduced, 43% would spend more time with family/friends, 34% would enjoy recreation, 31% would exercise, 31% would sleep more, and 9% would work more.
- 30% say they want the option to work from home.
- 27% report that roadway traffic has been so bad within the last three years that they turned around and went home.
