Global Warming Leads to New Energy Ideas

The fear of global warming has led to some interesting alternative energy ideas for the future that would have less impact on the environment. Constant research takes place daily for sources of energy that utilize our natural resources, have little repercussion on our atmosphere, cost less and are naturally renewable.

There has been much research in the area of solar power, tapping geothermal heat inside the earth, harnessing the power of the tides as an energy sources and wind turbines, but scientists are going further into their imaginations to develop energy from sources never thought of before.

For instance; scientists are studying marine algae in the hopes that they could generate power from the methane given off by rotting algae; the methane could then be harnessed to provide methane for burning to power industrial needs for energy. Corn is being tested as a fuel (ethanol) for cars, as well as home heating sources, and there are many other areas that you may not have thought about.

Early studies are looking at falling rain and how it might be used to generate power (same premise as harnessing wave power). I’m not a scientist, so I can’t even begin to explain how or why this might work.

The idea I like best is powering our own personal IPod, cell phone and home computer by walking power. A leg brace, equipped with an electricity generator, gets the power from your every step. Need it charged quickly? Go for a long run; need a little power to power my laptop to get me through the meeting, go walk an hour!