Power to the People

With the growing threats of global warming, will we be able to meet our energy needs in the future without destroying our atmosphere? I read a book recently that offers some compelling alternatives to the traditional alternative of Solar and wind power.“The Scientist, the Madman, the Thief and their Lightbulb”, talks about the unknown history of “fuel-less” energy, the strange worlds of cold fusion, magnetic energy, and zero-point energy. Was cold fusion really a scam or was it prematurely dismissed without enough investigation. Evidence suggest that maybe we should take a second look. Or what about zero-point energy, if you’ve ever seen an episode of Stargate you will be familiar with the ZPM (zero point module). The basic idea is that empty space is not really empty at all, it is a seething cauldron of energy and quantum particles that if tapped could offer an almost endless supply of energy. Is this science fiction or as the book claims, science fact. Have these possible new sources of cheep, clean energy been suppressed by “main-stream” science and other interests, what Arthur C. Clarke calls this “The biggest scandal in the history of science”. I’m pretty skeptical about these things, especially when they seem to violate the laws of conservation of energy and thermodynamics but it is an intriguing read and who knows, the answer to the energy crisis could be here. If you want to borrow the book let me know.