Thinking green: can 'weird' ideas cure our energy woes?

• Author: Rusling, Matthew
• Position: ANALYSIS - Renewable energy

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The whir of alternative energy ideas is dizzying. From man-made tornadoes to harnessing the movement of crowds, the number of new energy saving concepts seems to be infinite.

While many new ideas seem whacky, it is a historical truism that figures such as Galileo were tried for heresy and men of vision have been dismissed as quacks. Still, skeptics have trouble buying that anything beyond traditional oil is a viable solution for our energy malaise. And while many alternative ideas are technically feasible, the question is whether they are cost effective.

One invention, called the crowd farm, draws energy from human movement. In a busy train station, a system of sub-floor blocks would depress slightly when stepped on by droves of commuters. The blocks would generate electric current as they rubbed against each other.

A crowd could theoretically power a moving train this way, according to the concept's authors, James Graham and Thaddeus Jusczyk, who were both graduate students at Massachusetts Institute of Technology when their idea won first place in the Holcim Foundation's Sustainable Construction Competition in Japan last year.

They calculate that 28,527 steps would produce enough energy to power a moving train for one second. The principle could also be applied at large events such as rock concerts, where more movement could result in louder music.

George Friedman, chief executive officer of Stratfor.com, a private intelligence firm, said such ideas miss the point. While many new energy concepts focus on generating electricity, few address electricity's storage limitations. Whereas oil and gas can be stored in a bottle and used later, electricity always has to be online, or it quickly dissipates, Friedman said.

"We're always forgetting that hydrocarbons [in their traditional form] are the most efficient storage and transportation system for energy that there is," he said. "We do not know of any other source of energy that you can put in a bottle, walk 15 miles, put in your car and drive. Three weeks later when you go out, you start your car, it's still there."

Another idea purports to generate electricity from man-made tornadoes. The Atmospheric Vortex Engine, invented by Canadian scientist Louis Michaud, is a more than 200-yard-wide area whose walls are 100 meters high. Warm air enters at the sides and flows in a circular motion. The air reaches speeds of up to 200 mph and a vacuum forms in the center. The winds...