So apparently, motorcycles and other forms of transportation are being developed that run on magetic/electric hybrid power sources that run silent, and litterally leave almost no carbon footprint of any kind. No need for petrolium or any other form of burning fuel, period.



Click link for videos and additional information.

http://s2nd.com/videos/motorcycles/magn ... -japan-35/

WHY AREN'T WE FUNDING THIS?!

Because we love our pollution!

...and gas prices.

The oil companies. 'nuff said.

However, awesome as hell if it gets here!

Who should be funding this?

Funding what part of it exactly?

Leave to the Japanese amirite!?

wasn't this invented and stuff ages ago but the oil companies bought it out and buried it in the desert so not to lose business? .. or something conspiratorial and rumourish like that =D

To some extent, yes.

Various things were boxed out by the industry, though it's far more blatant and simple than it's made out to be on the part of the industry.

Muscling in legislation against counter-petrol items, muscling in on those who fund counter-petrol items, and a fat lot of etc. after that, basically.

It's not conspiracy, really, it's just business.

If these things existed in the past and their technology is understood, there should be nothing preventing others from making them now.

In other words someone can't remake Coke exactly because it is a trade secret and no one knows HOW to make it. But if you knew how to make something, the only thing that can prevent you from making it is something like a patent which not only specifies how to make it but loses its monopoly power after a certain time frame like around 20 years.

If there is interest, it can be funded, if not publicly, then privately.

Not if Car companies and others buy up the patents to battery technologies that would allow for electric cars. Electric cars are viable now, but the mass production of the batteries needed to power them are not available.

Let's not forget car companies bought up most of the light rail in this country around the 40's and then dismantled most of it (ever wonder why mass transit sucks so much in most american cities), so doing something like preventing the mass production of electric vehicles would be a cake walk. Also GM did make an electric car in the 90's, then destroyed all of them, even against some of the public wanting the cars. Oil is just too profitable to give up, and they'll keep draining it until there is a crisis, because what do they care, they're making money, and can make even more from the crisis (see current Atlanta, and other southern states Oil economy because of the temporary shut down of the Houston pipeline).

So to answer your question Lantis, big Oil and Car companies influencing the government to give them money and not fund the alternative fuels groups anywhere near as much. Unfortunately most of the American public is either too poor or disillusioned/apathetic to make something like this happen. Especially now with the economy in the state it is in I don't see too much investment going on.

Oil companies don't want this as it would destroy their industry for the most part (40% of all Oil is used in American Automobiles). Car companies don't want them as Electric engines are much simpler, require less maintenance, and last a lot longer than their IC counterparts. Both of these industries have big says in the government (Bush owing a lot of his fortune to Oil), so without private funding these are not going to be going anywhere, while Oil still gets quite a bit of funding from out government as we seek out to drain the last of the oil from the planet.

As for the motorcycles, normal motorcycles already get great gas milage, so I don't really see how this particular technology would help that much, also because many people would choose not to have one for the same reasons not a lot of people own a motorcycle today. What we really need are electric cars which get 200+ miles on a single charge, which are already possible, just not in high volume currently. Of course with this would requite major political, industrial, and infrastructural change (current electric grids would likely not be able to handle the power draw of everyone switching to electric). Besides private funding the best thing we can do is encourage our elected officials to ween off oil and shift our budget more towards alternate fuels.

@Thetruecoolness

I guess we would need to find out who presently owns the rights to any still effective patents which provide ownership over vital technologies.

I am not convinced that the original inventors will necessarily sell to anyone, particularly if their invention was for the purposes of helping the world and the environment. As hard as it is to believe, there are still some intelligent idealists who do not value money the most. Also for those who do want to make money, I would expect them to find a high bidder from international competition as well, which may have even more incentive and capital to buy IP regarding battery manufacturing than those who are trying to block it.