Convenience and petroleum retailers are probably tired of hearing about how new fuel sources – from biofuels to hydrogen gas – will power motor vehicles in the years ahead. The fact is that fossil fuels will likely remain the dominant energy source for both the mid- and long-term future.
For a little fun, though, check out this entry from the Driving Directions blog (http://green.yahoo.com/blog/daily_green_driving/35/the-seven-weirdest-car-fuels.html) that suggests cars of the future could be powered by such alternative materials as chocolate, coffee grounds, used diapers, turkey guts, Styrofoam cups, sawdust, woodchips or nuts.
The article claims that scientists have figured out how to make diesel fuel from disposable diapers and a company in Canada is building a pilot plant in Quebec to process the plastics, resins, fibers and poop into a mix of gas, oil and char.
Maybe more nauseating was the suggestion that using methane gas from cows (it apparently comes out from both ends, who knew?) could be used to generate electricity. “Cow power” is apparently already being sold to a college in Vermont.
Which just reminds me of a joke from one of my favorite comedians, Ron White (of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour fame).
White says he asked a friend, “Why are you a vegetarian?” And the friend replied that it wasn’t even because meat is bad for you. He told White that raising cattle was bad for the planet – with cow flatulence in the ozone and the cleaning of land for the raising of cattle. Then, he asked White: “What are you doing to help the environment?”
Replied White: “I’m eating the cow.”
Perfect!
-- Don Longo, Editor-in-Chief
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