An Irish company called Steorn has claimed that they have found a way to use magnetism to generate ‘free’ energy, i.e. a generator that creates more energy than you put into it. This kind of thing is generally considered crackpot science as it defies the laws of physics as we know them.

This one has an odd twist: They’ve run an ad in The Economist asking for 12 physicists to step forward and test the technology. Until it is verified to be real they don’t intend to try to commercialize it. I usually get my copy of The Economist on Saturday (tomorrow). I’m looking forward to seeing the ad.

Update: The ad and their various claims can be found here. They have forums which appear to be unmoderated which is a good sign. Most of the posters are sceptical to say the least. I will be following this issue to see if it’s a scam or the real deal. Of course if it’s the real deal a lot of other people are going to be all over it- imagine the kind of pressure the oil establishment would put on to quell something like this. Should be entertaining…

Well, I finally got out and saw Al’s movie. What can I say? It should be required that every kid in the country see it and then send a copy home with them so they can make their parents watch it. As a film it is very well done, including autobiography that actually has a context for his interest in climate change. The presentation is visually stunning and I’ve never seen complex information conveyed so clearly. Nothing like a lecture at all.
I don’t know what happened to Al Gore but this is probably the best campaign spot ever made. He is confident, sensitive, humorous, and above all, real and passionate. This guy should run for President again so we can rectify the terrible mistake made in 2000.
More posts coming related to this topic- the film is terrifying and entertaining and thought-provoking. You don’t get that combo very often.

I try to avoid the ‘did we cause it?’ argument about global warming because there is an underlying religious context to the side of the argument that says: No way we caused it. Essentially, if the Christian Right admits that we screwed up the planet by burning too many fossil fuels then their belief in the supremacy of man will be threatened.

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Exxon Mobil announced record earnings increases yesterday of 36% over the same quarter last year. Let’s look at this both from a global perspective and a personal one. We are in a regional war which would not be taking place were the region not oil-rich. This isn’t a theory- we’re alledgedly fighting terrorism which is funded by oil money. Remember 19 of the 9/11 terrorists were Saudis.

Oil is a commodity which means its price is driven by market conditions rather than brand quality or added value. Therefore, all things being equal, if light sweet crude rises a penny a gallon, then gas should rise exactly the same amount and oil company profits should remain steady. If they don’t and gas rises proportionately higher than an increase in the underlying cost then we are seeing additional mark-ups added, hence higher profits. If your local station does it, it’s called goudging; if ExoonMobil does it, its called profits. I call it profiteering.

Profiteering, which is illegal, is taking advantage of wartime or disaster conditions and scarcity to make higher than normal profits on a product. Our 2600 dead soldiers and the thousands of maimed and wounded soldiers and the innocent civilians dead in the middle east are the source of these profit opportunities. It is malignant. If these oil companies are willing to increase profits based on the misfortune of others then we certainly can’t expect them to care a whit about climate change, regardless of what their ad campaigns say.

Now to the personal:

Coincidentally, I filled my tank this morning at an Exxon Mobil. I paid $3.18 a gallon and the fill-up was $46. (four cylinder Honda Accord). This is about twice what I paid a year ago. These increases have decreased my ability to buy other stuff by about $45 a month or $540 a year. This loss of discretionary income takes that money out of the rest of the economy including local businesses and global businesses and puts it into burnt fuel and oil company profits. Their obscene profiteering is literally coming out of everyone else’s pockets.

And what is our government doing? Absolutely nothing.