This seems far-fetched, but in principle, water can yield highly flammable hydrogen and oxygen gases, but it takes as much energy to separate the molecule as the combusting of that molecule would yield. If I remember my chemistry correctly, 2(H₂O) –> 2(H₂) + O₂ requires as much energy as 2(H₂) + O₂ –> 2(H₂O) produces (with some energy lost due to normal inefficiencies, of course).

Some sites promise ways to Run your car with water, a feat that seems insane, but again, the principle is there. They talk about HHO gas, also know as Brown’s Gas. The difference here is that instead of storing significant amounts of explosive hydrogen gas, the fuel is stored as water, and it is separated into hydrogen and oxygen only as it is needed. I have not yet seen any reports of how efficient or viable this method is in practice, but in theory, this is pretty interesting. The site mentioned above boasts that “your car will become at least 40% more fuel efficient and produce cleaner emissions.” This seems to indicate that the process somehow uses energy from burning excess gasoline (or from braking?) to break down water into flammable HHO gas.

There were two articles in today’s New York Times addressing the issue of rising food prices. At the crux of the matter is that the Green Revolution was not the end-all solution that many thought it was. Certainly, we are now able to produce far more food with less effort than ever before, but our food chain is not something that can be simply taken for granted.

The Food and Energy Research Gaps: By ANDREW C. REVKIN May 18, 2008

World’s Poor Pay Price as Crop Research Is Cut: By KEITH BRADSHER and ANDREW MARTIN
Published: May 18, 2008