The 10 Wackiest Greentech Ideas

6. Imperium Renewables:

Geez. Did I say that? Excuse me all over the place (see Another Setback for Imperium).

7. The Portable Nuclear Plant:

Hat tip to Katie Fehrenbacher at Earth2Tech for this one. Hyperion Power Generation wants to make nuclear plants that are about the size of a hot tub.

These plants could churn out 70 megawatts of heat, or 27 megawatts of power. They distribute nuclear power, which is good from a meltdown point, and bad from a meltdown point. The technology comes from Los Alamos National Labs.

Bonus points to Hyperion for putting a picture of San Francisco Victorians in the “News” section of its Web site. It makes it seem like Grover Cleveland could have owned one.

8. The Geodesic Dome:

This is a walk down memory lane for those of us who grew up in the ’60s and ’70s. These soccer ball-like domes, championed by Buckminster Fuller, represented the future of construction: light, large, potentially cheap.

The only problem is that you can’t build internal walls easily, so the family all lives in one room. And they leak. And sometimes they go up in flames. The domes faded away about the same time my mom stopped letting me buy Space Food Sticks.

9. Phlogiston:

Another theory taught in my high school that’s been debunked.

The idea, coined in the 17^th century by Johann Becher, was that combustion was caused by a fifth element undiscovered by the Greeks. We now know goblins cause it.

10. Photovoltaic Dyes:

Konarka Technologies and others have shown that dyes can harvest solar power. The problem is that the time for these to become a big market may have passed. By the time dyes are ready for mass production, only niche markets may be left.

Honorable Mention: Ocean Seeding

Planktos and Climos. Spooky idea, but great names. “I am Planktos. I fight with the strength of 10 men.”