Shannon Schmidt, of Solar Tech Inc. of Hollywood, discusses solar power options offered by her family company, as Larry Jarboe looks on.                                                        The Bay Net photos by Sean Rice

Near 50 people gathered at the Northern Senior Center in Charlotte Hall on Thursday to participate in an alternative energy and conservation forum, hosted by the Southern Maryland Greens and Sierra Club.

The guests were offered information and displays on preserving and conserving traditional forms of energy, as well as insight on alternative energy sources by people who use these techniques everyday.

“It’s one of those things that right now our country needs to strive for energy independence, and I’m glad to see there’s a group in the county striving to do so,” St. Mary’s Commissioner Larry Jarboe said of the event. “If you’re tired of paying those high fuel bills or high electric bills, they present options and ideas … that make sense.”

Jarboe is the proud owner of “The Green Hornet”, a 1985 Toyota converted into an electric car, which won first place first fastest quarter mile during a National Electric Car Drag Racing Association event last summer. The feat was accomplished with the help of the Great Mills High School engineering club.

On Thursday, Jarboe discussed the effect of alternative energy on his life, and encouraged the crowd to get out, or on the Internet, and do the research about using electric power, or bio-diesel, ethanol or hydrogen to power their vehicles.

He drove the Green Hornet to the event, and pulled along with it a bio-diesel generator used at the racing events to recharge the batteries between runs. He is also working on a generator that burns ethanol, which is derived from corn, to pull behind the electric car.

There has been talk by America’s leaders for the need to end the dependence on foreign oil since the Nixon administration.

“There’s been a lot of talk over the years, but what have they done?” Jarboe said. “This is exactly what we need to do.”

Jarboe set up a simple display to demonstrate a concept that pulls hydrogen out of water, which theoretically could be stored and used to power cars, home heating systems and hot water heaters. The main problem with the electrolysis method he displayed is the process uses more electric power than the amount of hydrogen created can produce. The solution: solar power.

There have been people who already developed hydrogen-powered vehicles, and even water powered vehicles, but their inventions have been suppressed or bought out by large oil companies or the federal government.

Jarboe mentioned that more than 900 patents have been issued for “vapor carburetors” since 1934, which vaporize fuel in the carburetor to increase fuel economy to 100 miles per gallon and beyond. But these technologies too have never gone mainstream.

“It’s kind of an urban myth,” He said. “It’s