Energy drawn from the wind, tide, sun, Earth's heat, and farm waste is poised to begin replacing oil and other fossil fuels, a prominent research group said Wednesday in a wake-up call to industry executives and government officials worldwide.

''Energy markets are about to experience a seismic shift,'' Christopher Flavin, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Worldwatch Institute, said in a speech to oil executives and energy ministers in Johannesburg, South Africa, site of the 18th World Petroleum Congress.

''The question for oil executives is whether you're in the oil business or the energy business.''

The conference's 5,000 participants included ExxonMobil President Rex Tillerson and Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi, Worldwatch said.

To be sure, oil accounts for about 30 percent of the world's energy use while renewable energy sources make up a slim two percent. However, according to Flavin, the market share of renewable energy sources was growing apace.

Unlike fossil fuels, of which there is a limited supply, renewable energy--including solar, wind, and geothermal power and biofuels--is derived from sources that are continually replaced.

Most renewable energies are non-polluting. By contrast, scientists say the burning of fossil fuels contributes to global warming, which in turn drives the increased incidence and intensity of major storms such as hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Flavin spoke against a backdrop of soaring oil prices and demand. World oil consumption increased by 3.4 percent in 2004, the fastest rise in 16 years, Worldwatch said earlier this year in a report citing U.N., industry, and other sources.

However, the research group added, oil production is falling in 33 of the 48 largest oil-producing countries. These include six of the 11 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC).

In the continental United States, the think tank said, oil production peaked at eight million barrels per day in 1970 and fell to 2.9 million barrels daily last year.

Production of biofuels, wind power, and solar energy are all growing at rates of 20-30 percent per year, compared with growth rates of around two percent for oil and gas, Flavin said.

The costs of renewable energy were falling fast, news reports Wednesday quoted Flavin as telling the conference. Wind power cost 46 cents per kilowatt-hour in 1980 but now costs less than six cents.

New energy sources are attracting roughly $30 billion in investment annually, he added, with Brazil, China, Germany, Japan, and California leading the emerging market.

''Already, 35 million homes in China get their hot water from solar collectors. That is more than the rest of the world combined,'' Flavin told the Reuters news agency in Johannesburg.

''There are prospects for real take-offs in solar and wind power in China, and not just hot water for homes but in industry,'' he added. ''State-owned industries and private companies there are investing heavily in renewables.''

Renewable sources account for 25 percent of Sweden's energy use and 45 percent in Norway. The United States lagged behind, with only 4.2 percent of its energy consumption coming from renewable sources.

Energy companies and governments were driving growth in renewables, Flavin said, with firms including Royal Dutch Shell Group, BP, and Mitsubishi among the major players.

Additionally, 48 countries now have policies and incentives promoting renewable energy, he added.

There's a new designn of wave generators that doesn't require a turbine, thus eliminating the 'fish blender' arguement from the 'pure green' group. It's so simle it's one of those 'why didn't I think of that?' things. A cylinder, sealed at the top and sides to contain an air pocket, bobs on the surface. An inner core is anchored to the ocean floor, As the cylinder wants to bob up and down with wave motion, the outer shell moves up and down in relation to the inner, anchored core. One contains a magnet, the other an coil. The action of the two moving relative to each other generates current, sent down the anchorline.

One such generator, tiny as they are, puts out a small amount of power. Thousands of them could power a town.

that is hopeful news.

There's a new designn of wave generators that doesn't require a turbine, thus eliminating the 'fish blender' arguement from the 'pure green' group. It's so simle it's one of those 'why didn't I think of that?' things. A cylinder, sealed at the top and sides to contain an air pocket, bobs on the surface. An inner core is anchored to the ocean floor, As the cylinder wants to bob up and down with wave motion, the outer shell moves up and down in relation to the inner, anchored core. One contains a magnet, the other an coil. The action of the two moving relative to each other generates current, sent down the anchorline.

One such generator, tiny as they are, puts out a small amount of power. Thousands of them could power a town.

Are these found on Deloreans?

Some EE seniors at my school were working on the buoy inductors. I'd really like to get into the farm waste conversion field..... develop some machine that farmers can put their cornstalks into to ge fuel out of. They hate these high diesel prices.

So how do we plug this energy into a vehicle? Fuck an electric vehicle's 50 mile range limit. I need power and range.

Perhaps electrolysis to create Hydrogen? Or what's the other way to make Hydrogen?

Then we can just Hydrogen convert all internal combustion engines.

IHI, I have sitting on my desk a small jar of biodiesel made from cooking oil that had been destined for waste. In the bottom of the jar is a small amount of glycerin, which must be decanted before the fuel is used. The glycerin is worth big $$$ to the pharmaceutical industry and can be sold for am amount that covers much of the biodiesel production cost.

So while I can't use cornstalks for fuel, I can use canola - and after its already been used to cook food.

While we're on the subject......
I've e-mailed this idea to Ford and Honda, but so far nothing.

Why not make an electric car that charges itself?

How you ask?
I won't go into too much detail, but the idea is simple.

Think about the four moving wheels on the car and how an alternator works. Now think about four non-conventional alternators.


The beauty is..you won't have to re-charge...ever. The car will be generating it's own power while it's doing what it was designed to do...move.

While we're on the subject......
I've e-mailed this idea to Ford and Honda, but so far nothing.

Why not make an electric car that charges itself?

How you ask?
I won't go into too much detail, but the idea is simple.

Think about the four moving wheels on the car and how an alternator works. Now think about four non-conventional alternators.


The beauty is..you won't have to re-charge...ever. The car will be generating it's own power while it's doing what it was designed to do...move.


Yeah or you could just hook up 15 or 20 alternators on both sides of the car that are belt driven by the wheels.


I don't know maybe.

interesting :D

Manntis, you and I need to partner up one of these days and launch a Co.

Religious differences aside, I admire your ideas. :)

While we're on the subject......
I've e-mailed this idea to Ford and Honda, but so far nothing.

Why not make an electric car that charges itself?

How you ask?
I won't go into too much detail, but the idea is simple.

Think about the four moving wheels on the car and how an alternator works. Now think about four non-conventional alternators.


The beauty is..you won't have to re-charge...ever. The car will be generating it's own power while it's doing what it was designed to do...move.

that would make the car slow as hell.

also the car cannot generate enough energy to continue its own motion.

if your idea actually worked, you would have circumvented 200+ years of physics and created a perpetual motion machine.

Manntis, you and I need to partner up one of these days and launch a Co.

Religious differences aside, I admire your ideas. :)

Here it is - the viscosity of diesel fuel, only 10% of the emissions when burned - the reddish/brown stuff in the bottom is the glycerin, a byproduct of the fuel production that can be decanted and sold as a separate product.

This stuff is made from common Canola cooking oil. Safe, inert, no vapour hazards during transportation or fueling, and lubricates the top end of the engine as it passes through fuel lines (something the new low-sulfer diesel is far inferior at)

shoot me an email if you want to discuss further - it's fascinating stuff but would probably bore everyone else.

that would make the car slow as hell.

also the car cannot generate enough energy to continue its own motion.

if your idea actually worked, you would have circumvented 200+ years of physics and created a perpetual motion machine.
I haven't worked out all the bugs yet :D

While we're on the subject......
I've e-mailed this idea to Ford and Honda, but so far nothing.Not surprising. Think about your idea a little longer...

I still don't think it's completely worthless. Don't be so hasty.

What energy source would drive the car's propulsion system? Engine? Fuel cell? ?