Two scientists, F. Jeffrey Martin and William L. Kubic Jr at Los Alamos National Laboratory, have come up with an idea that could potentially solve the emission problems caused by gas guzzling cars. They call it Green Freedom. They believe they can create a system that would take carbon dioxide from the air and turn it into gas. Since this would be a closed cycle (carbon dioxide released = carbon dioxide removed), it would basically negate the effect of vehicles on the road using normal gas and assure continued availability of fuel (so no more reliance on the Middle East for oil). Because it doesn’t use valuable land (like biofuel), hydrogen (lot’s of energy to create), or electric (won’t take you very far) it could be a superior method, assuming of course it doesn’t have an extremely high energy price. The scientists argue it would be cost effective enough ($3-4 a gallon) to actually work, which is huge, since that’s a problem that has consistently thwarted the efforts of the solar power industry.

Many would probably argue we should look for options that don’t involve the use of oil at all (such as ‘healthy’ forms of transportation like walking and biking), but one must appreciate the ingenuity involved here. It will be awhile before anyone knows if this is a truly viable option, but in the meantime, let’s hope smart people like these guys keep on keepin’ on with the good ideas.