Tapping Trees for Electricity?

dr_agonfly writes "Despite many skeptics, a Massachusetts company is getting investor interest in developing a process to tap electric power from trees. MagCap is looking to boost the current power from just under 2 volts to a more useful 12 volts with investor funding." From the article: "Jim Manwell, director of the University of Massachusetts Amherst's Renewable Energy Resource Laboratory, questioned the potential of MagCap's plans. 'I'm wildly skeptical,' he said. 'I would need to see proof before I believed it. It strikes me as pretty questionable for a number of reasons.'"

Comments

Let's just get them out of the way...

[TripMaster Monkey]

• Imagne how much power a beowulf cluster of these trees will deliver!
  
• In Soviet Russia, trees plug into YOU!
  
• In Korea, only old trees produce electricity.
  
• I, for one, welcome our electric tree overlords.
  
• ...but will the trees run Linux?
  
• All your trees are belong to us.
  
  

Re:Let's just get them out of the way...

[Anonymous Coward]

You forgot the most obvious one:

Comes with Sony Rootkit(TM) pre-installed !

Re:Let's just get them out of the way...

[merreborn]

Ironically, the "Let's get the cliches out of the way" post has become a cliche.

Re:Let's just get them out of the way...

[Anonymous Coward]

Ironically, the "Let's get the cliches out of the way" post has become a cliche.

And in time, so will pointing it out.

Re:Let's just get them out of the way...

[biocute]

Am I showing my age if I add:

"Trees? I live in a desert you insensitive clod!"

Re:Let's just get them out of the way...

[thegoofy]

Thanks for taking all the +5 funny mods you ash...

I can see the headlines now... "Tree's Providing Power! Elm at 11"

This is serious business, it's nothing to Oak about...

Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "Root access"

I bet the investors will feel like Saps if it fails...

Re:Let's just get them out of the way...

[Meumeu]

And the cliché will still be modded +5 Funny.

Re:Let's just get them out of the way...

[theguyfromsaturn]

Infinite loop detected. Program aborted.

Watch out, world...

[lpangelrob]

...we'll be living like the ewoks in no time!

On second thought, I don't think they have electricity in those dens. We'll be living better than ewoks!

Re:Could we see this is the future?

[robyannetta]

Broadband over electric trees?

Yes, but they won't be running TCP/IP. They're be running Banyan Vines.

[ducks]

Well

[FidelCatsro]

Now that's what I call Flower Power

I hope this works out...

[MagicDude]

I pine for the day that this kind of energy production becomes poplar.

Re:Long way to go yet...

[winkydink]

so we can all walk around with extension cords hanging off our arms?

That's not where they'll put the cord.

Re:IPO

[joebok]

From TFA:

Wadle became interested in the concept while studying lightning coming from the ground, "which led him to believe that there's some type of power emanating from earth, which led him to trees," Lagadinos said.

Not that that chain of reasoning inspires any confidence what-so-ever in me, the free power apparently comes from the ground, not the sky...

Unless the "trees" he is talking about only have a couple branches at the top and really long, ropey leaves that seem to go to another "tree" just like it...

Re:Could we see this is the future?

[ImaLamer]

Ents could provide Tolkien Ring access...