Using photosynthesis to power hydrogen production
Researchers have found that if they insert platinum nanoclusters into the photosynthetic machinery of bacteria, one acre could produce an amount of hydrogen equivalent to 79 gallons of gas per day. [more inside]
posted by kliuless on Nov 13, 2009 - 37 comments

Walk the Line as it should've been. SLYT
posted by Item on Aug 10, 2009 - 86 comments

"Algae is the ultimate biological system using sunlight to capture and convert carbon dioxide into fuel... I came up with a notion to trick algae into pumping more [fuel] out." Craig Venter's Synthetic Genomics partners with ExxonMobil in a $600M project to harvest biofuels from genetically engineered algae. "We have modest goals of replacing the whole petrochemical industry." [previously] [more inside]
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Jul 14, 2009 - 45 comments

Today Boeing completed the first test flight of a commercial jet-liner using a mix of conventional jet-fuel and a fuel created from algae and the african weed jatropha. Boeing hopes that biofueled flights will be common in just three years.
posted by Artw on Jan 8, 2009 - 28 comments

Gas Shortages Throughout the Southeast More than a week after Hurricane Ike, there's little or no gas around much of the American Southeast. [more inside]
posted by mygothlaundry on Sep 23, 2008 - 84 comments

Fuelly tracks your gas mileage over time, helping you save fuel and expenses as you drive.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Aug 21, 2008 - 52 comments

If hydrogen-cell cars are no good, how about hydrogen-cell motorbikes!
posted by nthdegx on May 14, 2008 - 22 comments

Steam locomotives are dead, right? Awe-inspiring though they might be, labor issues and diesel fuel at 4 cents a gallon killed them in the 1950's and 60's, and they survive only in isolated pockets around the world and on tourist railways. [more inside]
posted by pjern on Apr 3, 2008 - 51 comments

Genetically Modified Bacteria to make "Renewable Petroleum" (A biotech startup describes how it will coax petroleum-like fuels from engineered microbes within three to five years).
posted by ItsaMario on Aug 2, 2007 - 66 comments

John Kanzius can make salt water burn using radio waves. It is not yet practical for energy generation, more energy is consumed than produced, but increases in efficiency could make salt water a viable replacement for fossil fuel.
posted by stbalbach on Jul 6, 2007 - 70 comments

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) have launched an interesting campaign to bring more fuel efficient vehicles to our streets.
posted by toddst on Sep 15, 2006 - 18 comments

Fair Price Energy. One persons idea for a free market solution to the fossil fuel problem.
posted by stbalbach on Sep 2, 2006 - 46 comments

Green by Necessity : Armenia is blazing a trail in the move to cleaner fuels -- but not by choice.
posted by Afroblanco on Aug 18, 2006 - 11 comments

Home-brewing of biodiesel is under attack in Salt Lake.
posted by mr_crash_davis on Jun 11, 2006 - 25 comments

Boundless energy or bad math? Randell Mills thinks he has the solution to our energy problems. In his company's patented process, "energy is released as the electrons of atomic hydrogen are induced to undergo transitions to lower energy levels producing plasma, light, and novel hydrogen compounds." It also implies that quantum mechanics is wrong.
posted by Espoo2 on Nov 5, 2005 - 73 comments

Petroleum Industry Christmas Wishlist Conservative pundits are quick to point out that no "new refineries have been built since 1976", and even quicker to blame "environmentalists". But the facts just don't support that. Refiners have chosen the environment that they do business in, and in some cases have willingly contributed to it. (Plenty of data here.) Here's why:

• The government has allowed the industry to merge, consolidate, and restrict refining capacity, thus impacting pricing, supply, and demand.
• The quest for profits has caused the need to run extremely lean supplies (ie. no stockpiles of crude - it arrives when you need it, not before) and has resulted in susceptability to wild volatility in prices, but has allowed refiners to operate at very high efficiency but with no margin of excess capacity for temporary shortages, disasters, etc.
• Oil refiners trimmed back capacity after the Oil Crash of the early 1980s and have been unwilling to reinvest in new technologies unless environmental restrictions and local fuel cleanliness mandates are reduced.

As one would expect, Bush's solutions nicely match up with the wishlists of OPEC and US refiners, who in the past few decades have largely undone the breakup of Standard Oil (via) via mergers and joint ventures. Representative Joe Barton, (R-TX), Chairperson of the Energy and Commerce Committee, incidentally up for reelection and well funded, by "the industry" through various Political Action Committees, has released a draft of the predictably named (to be found here when released) Gasoline for America's Security Act of 2005 (committee discusion and webcast are scheduled for 9/28 at 8 am.) Given that new refineries are years away, there is still no solution for current prices or the (90%?) increase in prices since January of 2001.
posted by rzklkng on Sep 27, 2005 - 22 comments

Your Mr. Fusion is ready. Sort of.
posted by loquacious on Sep 14, 2005 - 13 comments

Can't beat a good protest, and when Less Tax On Fuel (catchy..) start then this definitely won't be a good protest. It'll be about as much fun as their last one, although their Forum's good for a laugh and will let you voice support when you're stuck at home cause the pumps have ran out as a result of their actions!

While everyone I know agrees that we pay too much for petrol here in the UK, blocking the roads and disrupting supplies isn't going to help. I don't know of anyone who supports a return to the protests of 2000.

And besides, there are some motorways in the UK where they'll be lucky to reach 20mph at rush hour. They might even speed things up..
posted by Nugget on Sep 11, 2005 - 41 comments

Resource wars and gas rations, what will be next ? I bet you didn't know we gobble oil like two-legged SUV's.
posted by graytopia on Aug 31, 2005 - 20 comments

Gas prices too high? Try Europe. $7 a gallon? That's what drivers in Amsterdam pay. But Europeans have long adapted to high prices.
posted by Postroad on Aug 28, 2005 - 117 comments

Around the world on 8 litres of fuel? I'd be more excited about this if the automotive industry hadn't been teasing us with cool, feature laden concept cars for years, and then actually producing boring combustion engine sedans.
posted by Fozzie on Jun 29, 2005 - 10 comments

Shell Eco Marathon UK is coming up in England (6-7 july). It is a race not for the swift, but for those who can drive immense distances in super-efficient vehicles. Two years ago, the current world record of 10,706 MPG was set at one of these events. The lessons learned are useful in development in other fuel-efficient cars, such as the 100 MPG Honda Insight. Interesting in these times of high oil prices, then, when considering that despite tactical driving, normal petrol cars rarely get better than 45 MPG. Diesels are slightly better, as illustrated on BBC Top Gear, where Clarkson drives an Audi A8 from London to Edinburgh and back on a single tank of diesel. That's 800 miles.
posted by SharQ on Jun 25, 2005 - 13 comments

Gas Pump Hacker. "CHICAGO -- In a bold and outrageous theft staged in broad daylight, a driver pumped about $900 worth of gasoline at a suburban gas station. The man removed the panel of a pump in Country Club Hills and manipulated the mechanics of the pump so that it would continue to pump gas without registering inside the station... Other cars then pulled up to the pump and, apparently, cut deals with the thief, who then filled up their tanks and took off..."
posted by azul on Apr 16, 2005 - 31 comments

I know this has been on everyone's mind, but I just read this article today and was astounded at my lack of foresight. Silly me, here I was worrying about global warming when what I need to be fretting about is the decrease in fuel's impact on the structure of international banking! Will we run out of fossil fuel before it's too late to save the environment from pollution and greenhouse gasses? The abiotic nuts think we've got plenty more. Personally, I think we can kiss the marvel that is suburbia goodbye and start contemplating the fact that the focus on the post-post industrial revolution will not be information, but rather agriculture. And since solar panels and windmills and the like are made of materials that are extracted, transported, and fashioned by using oil-powered machinery, my money's on the folks who're stockpiling uranium for all those shiny new nuclear plants we're going to need. So, do we have a plan? You bet we do! Oh. Well, we'll just rely on the advancement of technology to allow us to weasel out of it! Me? I've actually always wanted a horse.
posted by Specklet on Apr 14, 2005 - 67 comments

Obsession: Mr. Singh’s Search for the Holy Grail American visionaries, cranks and con men have long sought the simple key to boosting the efficiency of the gasoline engine. Now a barefoot tinkerer in India believes he has unlocked the door. Is he for real?
posted by Shanachie on Jan 2, 2005 - 14 comments

First it was turkey parts, then pig waste and now straw added to the camels back. Thermochemical and biochemical conversion make use of natural processes such as enzymes, heat and pressure to create oil from garbage so one day landfills may become the new domestic oil fields.
posted by stbalbach on Apr 23, 2004 - 5 comments

Ocean Power Technologies is one of the leading Ocean Wave Power alternative energy companies. The technology is simple to understand, easy to deploy and costs about the same as fossil fuel power 3 to 4 cents. OPT just signed a deal for a 1M farm off the coast of Spain with a 100M farm by 2006, a major step forward for wave power generation.
posted by stbalbach on Mar 2, 2004 - 16 comments

The real reason we're going back to the Moon? "Researchers and space enthusiasts see helium 3 as the perfect fuel source: extremely potent, nonpolluting, with virtually no radioactive by-product. Proponents claim it’s the fuel of the 21st century. The trouble is, hardly any of it is found on Earth. But there is plenty of it on the moon."
posted by kablam on Jan 21, 2004 - 35 comments

Energy Dept Asked to Probe Gasoline Price Rise The power outage came and went. Prices for gas keep going up. Is it Iraq? We were to get more not less fuel from that country. Or is it a nation-wide scam? I know: paranoia. But then there is Enron as model. Your view?
posted by Postroad on Aug 31, 2003 - 36 comments

U.S. Energy Scenarios for the 21st Century. There are three for you to choose: Awash in Oil and Gas, Technology Triumphs or Turbulent World.
posted by samelborp on Jul 30, 2003 - 4 comments

$400 Dollars (yes, that's four hundred) is the price per gallon of gas for our military. The cost of moving fuel to a war theater can boost its price to about $10 dollars per gallon. And if it has to be airlifted in, that price tag can reach $400 dollars a gallon or more. This story is the opening piece on this week's edition of Living on Earth on NPR. Read the transcript here, or listen via MP3 or Real Player.
posted by bluedaniel on Apr 12, 2003 - 13 comments

More Jet Fuel means higher prices for gassing your cars- The production of jet fuel has gone up. From what I've read when refining oil, you get a higher percentage of gasoline than jet fuel per barrel. Then why are the gasoline prices going up, as we are producing extra gasoline compared to jet fuel.
Some terms. What to do, bitch.
posted by thomcatspike on Feb 15, 2003 - 10 comments

Sure, we all know the story about how Detroit developed, and then kept under wraps, a 100mpg carburetor is false. However, affordable 80mpg family sedans are real: behold the Supercar! They are the results of a nearly decade-long partnership between The Big Three and the Clinton administration. However the program was quietly shelved last June, the victim of the Bush administration, and corporate backpedaling. Read the whole sordid tale here. [use username/password for login] In the meantime, you'll have to settle for one of these.
posted by thewittyname on Dec 13, 2002 - 22 comments

Is That an Ethanol SUV? I recently found out that some of the most popular SUVs (Suburban, Yukon, Tahoe, Explorer) are already capable of running completely on Ethanol (E85). The National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition website has lists of cars and SUVs that already run on Ethanol. A handy map of refueling locations is also available. It is surprising (and good) to see the large auto-makers tangibly supporting alternative fuels.
posted by jsonic on Dec 4, 2002 - 23 comments

"I've halved my motoring costs since I started running my diesel Subaru on cooking oil. The car runs just as well and even smells a lot better than diesel."

The police 'Frying Squad' are on the case and "home in on any car smelling like a mobile fish and chip shop". Other than the dreadful puns, are there other reasons why we shouldn't all run our cars on Mazola?
posted by niceness on Oct 10, 2002 - 42 comments

GM are looking to the future with plans to get a fuel cell vehicle (dubbed AUTOnomy) on the road by 2010, unlike past attempts where fuel cell powerplants were shoe-horned into conventional cars GM are redesigning it from the ground up with a six inch flat chassis that contains the fuel cell and powertrain allowing them to plonk a variety of different bodies on top all the while cutting costs by being far simpler to produce than conventional cars.
posted by zeoslap on Jul 9, 2002 - 16 comments

VW introduces a car that gets around 235 miles per gallon (1 liter per 100km).
When should we expect Ford to release a commercial in which the newest heir to the auto dynasty relates how his father shot bears with Einstein and was told by him, in confidence, that he thought small cars were for whiny little babies?
posted by internetgeniuses on Apr 17, 2002 - 48 comments

BP made an incredible achievement. I originally heard this on NPR and thought it was worth sharing.
posted by BlueTrain on Mar 11, 2002 - 17 comments

How green is your car? If it's the Honda Insight (at 57 MPG), it's very green... if it's the Dodge Ram 2500 Pickup (at 11 MPG), well, shame on you. Check out the "Green Book: The Environmental guide to Cars and Trucks".
posted by hotdoughnutsnow on Feb 6, 2002 - 9 comments

If you're on the road this summer and on a budget, you might want to check out Gas Price Watch. Volunteers report on gas prices in their area around the country and in Canada.
posted by aflakete on Jun 1, 2001 - 4 comments

He gives a whole new meaning to the word "Conservation may be a sign of personal virtue, but it is not a sufficient basis for a sound, comprehensive energy policy." NY Times
posted by crunchland on May 1, 2001 - 138 comments

Teenager runs his VW Jetta with used canola oil.
posted by Mr. skullhead on Jul 20, 2000 - 5 comments

Looking for a real renewable energy source? Feces powered cars: the future of transport?
posted by chaz on May 30, 2000 - 4 comments