Two (from twelve) unorthodox but promising green technology innovations

By Ryan Tracy
(http://www.newsweek.com/photo/2010/11/08/weirdest-green-technology-innovations.html)

Injecting water into the Earth

If humans could harness the heat deep within the earth, it might provide a limitless source of clean energy. That was the promise of companies, like Seattles AltaRock Energy, which have designed geothermal energy systems. AltaRock planned to pump water deep beneath the ground, through a formation of hot rocks, and up again to the surface, where equipment would capture its heat and then send the water back down again to restart the cycle. One key snag: fears that the process might cause earthquakes, as it did on a minor scale in Sweden in 2006. But even though AltaRock closed a test site in California (above) late last year, the idea of geothermal energy remains alive and the Department of Energy is funding exploratory projects.

Converting animal waste to fuel

If theres one thing society has no shortage of, its human and animal waste. Its gross, but the good news is that theres energy in sewage sludge. When that sludge is digested in large tanks that allow bacteria to break it down, methane gas is produced, which can be used to create electricity. One farmer in Pennsylvania powers his entire farm this way. Other methods also exist for extracting energy from waste, but many cities still find it cheaper to send the sludge to farmland for fertilizer or to a landfill. Above, a woman in India sorts through cow-dung cakes, which villages use as an alternative to firewood.