The question comes up again and again from various people: "Is GreenFuel a scam?" "Are all these photobioreactor companies scams?"

This question is inevitable when someone takes advantage of human nature and wickedness to sell something.

Was Skype a scam? Was A.O.L. a scam? Both companies sold at the peak of a hype-wave, and did not live up to the expectations of the acquirer. At the same time nobody would equate these companies with selling penis-enhancement formula over the Internet, even if the basic premise is the same: exploiting human emotion to sell something that would not quite live-up to the buyer expectation.

GreenFuel Technologies and other algae companies have a business proposition that is certain to get everyone juiced up. You take water, mix it with the dangerous CO2 pollutant, add sunlight, which is free and abundant, and you get precious fuel, just when we are running out of oil. On the surface, there can't be a better proposition. Only thing missing is ponies and flowers.

Moreover, at the very basic level, these technologies do work: yes, you can grow algae in photobioreactors; yes, you can make fuel from them, and yes, they are likely to grow faster than terrestrial plants like corn.

The only issue is that it makes no economic sense and never will, as long as the laws of thermodynamics are valid. It's too costly.

Yet, with the help of good lawyering and "caveat emptor", these companies can ride the wave of human wickedness and make money off of it, without suffering any consequences.

Therefore, from now on, we will refrain from answering the question "Is GreenFuel Technologies a Scam?". It all depends on the definition...