John Rodgers wrote:

> As for current fuels - I guess gasoline is the fuel that pound for pound
> has the most energy available for ease of release. We have not yet found
> a truly suitable substitute, and I believe that the corn based fuels are
> going to prove out to be a disaster in the making in the long haul.

Most of the 'fuels' mentioned that are replacements for gas are simply
another technology to burn something and all require some way to create
the fuel...beans, switch grass, electricity generated somewhere else.

These trade the oil producers and refineries for hydrogen or alcohol
producers and technology producers.

It's a gimmick politicians can use to act like they're doing something
and too few have caught on so they keep doing it.

Renewable sources like solar, wind, tide, geothermal are all driven by
the sun but the conversion technologies are only slowly getting
efficient enough to make them cost effective.

Fusion is not driven by the sun but utilizes the same method as the sun
to produce energy...energy that would originate on Earth and not be
dependent on the sun to produce the raw materials or energy.

Fusion research has been big budget and big project and the meal ticket
for many but produced no real result.

Recently, Dr. Robert Bussard (recently passed away on Oct. 6) has done
research into an older method of producing fusion pioneered by Philo T.
Farnsworth (inventor of Television)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_W._Bussard

and his technology is a variant of the Inertial electrostatic
confinement (IEC) Farnsworth-Hirsch fusor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farnsworth_Fusor

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polywell

This research was conducted under contract for the Navy.  This was under
the radar of the (DOE) department of energy which claims territory of
fusion research and has focused on the big science Tokomak fusion
reactors for decades with no result.

He's stated in this presentation at Google that 6 years and 100 million
will produce a working prototype.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1996321846673788606

..that this process produces no radioactive waste, actually cleans up
nuclear waste used as fuel and can be retrofit into existing coal
burning power plants.  If you turn off power to the electrostatic well
the reaction stops.  There is no potential for a meltdown or other
catastrophe.

This seems to look really practical and could conceivably drive
transportation and energy consuming technologies with electrical power.

It is mentioned in the Wiki link above that arrangements were made for
funding his research on His work will continue as funding was arranged
and received on August 21, 2007.

Something like this should be done and the plans given away so the world
can finally shift away from a petroleum based economy.

Since the funding seems to be in place, 6 years from now we all may be
running everything on electrical power for near free.

Now to get the batteries and electric Vanagon conversions done!

--Wil