The guy on the right side (left side to Steve) is Creg Venter.
He is planning to transform C02 to bio-fuel, of the fourth generation, using synthetic genomics (read synthetic biology).
“We think we will have fourth-generation fuels in about 18 months, with CO2 as the fuel stock.”
Simple organisms can be genetically re-engineered to produce vaccines or octane-based fuels as waste, according to Venter.
Biofuel alternatives to oil are third-generation. The next step is life forms that feed on CO2 and give off fuel such as methane gas as waste, according to Venter.
“We have 20 million genes which I call the design components of the future,” Venter said. “We are limited here only by our imagination.”
His team is using synthetic chromosomes to modify organisms that already exist, not making new life, he said. Organisms already exist that produce octane, but not in amounts needed to be a fuel supply.
“If they could produce things on the scale we need, this would be a methane planet,” Venter said. “The scale is what is critical; which is why we need to genetically design them.”
The genetics of octane-producing organisms can be tinkered with to increase the amount of CO2 they eat and octane they excrete, according to Venter.
[source]
I like the idea.
Photo by Steve Jurvetson, the rocket guy 
