http://www.smh.com.au/environment/the-answer-to-everything-20110803-1ibh9.html
I do and always have seen peak oil as a promise not a threat.
This may not be the answer but it could be part of it.
I ask do other posters share my fears self interest, from those who own current fuels, stand in the way of our progression?
And too we must ask, what if.
What short term and long term impacts on the world economy if some thing like this replaces currently use fuels in just years.

belly..the joe fuel cell provides free energy
costs arround 100$ to make
and few are using it

we can generate power..by driving the magnet in the coil
with other magnets..instead of coal or gas[both of which make greenhouse gasses]..both release methane in getting them out of the ground

the joecell just needs 4 stainless steel cylenders
and the generators just need a few big magnets

but then energy would be free
then we wouldnt be 'consuming'[ie needing to by petrol or even coal gas]..and guess what..they love the income

your link seems to be
about replicating what algie allready does
only doing it 'artificially'..meaning we will be eating some form of gmo like algie...when others have allready found algies that would do the job..[on captured c02]

mate its all about money
even if we got free energy today
the price will still go up..cause people love income

its the love of income
that keeps free energy from us

im angry that all these 'new' ideas
allways want govt funds

giving the big business the income from carbon trading
only means they get more income...

buy it [carbon crdit]..cheap in nz..or europe
with american dollars [amero's]
then trade it on the market...
to the 500 held hostage

[we are subsidising at 23 bucks [au$]..per 'ton']

the industrial revolution only happend cause of cheap energy
once that is gone..no more income..except for those 'clever people'..getting govt cash..[coorperate welfare]

Belly I'm sure private industry, as distinct from publicly funded institutions, will come up with a number of sources of energy , provided idiots like Obama, & Gillard have not caused too much destruction of the industry that must do it.

Of course it's probable that Asia will drive future development, as the west continues to loose it's way.

I wonder who inserted all the hype in the article? It certainly avoids anything other than a good reason for a holiday on Lord Howe.
It really does read like an application for funding, than an announcement of a break threw.

I did not see any discussion of the area required to collect the sunlight. If you think the vegetation currently doing the job, it does take quite a bit of space.

I do wish the media was smart enough to differentiate between love-ins & actual announcements of something.

Yes, Belly there have been quite a number of articles on those techniques.
On the hydrogen producing one it fell over to some extent by
the energy needed to compress the hydrogen for storage.

Most of these suddenly appearing systems fail either because of the
very large area ponds needed or other difficulties in scaling them up.
Still they are working on it and that is a good thing.

I see that the latest deviation to the fashionable is a high speed
train, Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra (couldn't miss that) and Melbourne.
Will they never learn ?

It is not like building a normal railway it is really a line of sight
project. That means massive earth works.
It is a good project for the 1990s, but it is now too late.
There will be no way to finance such a project since the end of growth.
It might have just been possible to build some of it if they had
used the funds devoted to the NBN. However if I remember correctly
the cost was in the 100s of billions.
They would be much better off duplicating, some triplicating and
electricfying all main lines. We will need them to get our food
moved around the country.
Remember the current lines were built when earthworks was done with
horses and scoops. So the tracks went around hills instead of how it
would be done now with cuttings etc. We would get more bang for our
buck by straightening out the present track through hills while
duplicating the line. The speed increase would be dramatic.

No, projects like that have gone for good.
Why the even discuss it is strange, have they not heard of the US &
Europe going broke ?
We will probably be next.

OUG you know more about this than I do, but if it is so my roof should be covered with them, power is my greatest need.
Bazz I think it is known you have little faith in the future without Petroleum.
When you and I are silent key [ a team us old fuddy duddy ham radio operators use for dead]
The same youthful drive that saw our hobby develop radio TV coast watchers of ww2 even satelights will exist.
And as Hasbeen says we will develop one day, maybe ten new ideas.
Yes hasbeen but such is the very nature of media, to invent story's but those who attend are not floor sweepers.
I see a black and a White here, other shades no doubt exist.
Black are the self interested owners of todays fuels/technology's.
Hopefully the fate of new fuels and tec is in the hands of private enterprise too, self interest drives best.

Dear Belly,

Thanks for this thread and the link you provided.
The article is right on topic. Nobody denies that
the planet has a finite amount of resources or
that it can tolerate only a limited amount of
pollution. If world population continues to grow
rapidly, if industrialisation spreads around the
world, and if pollution and resource depletion continues
at an increasing rate - and all these things happen -
where is human society headed? Your link provides
some food for thought.