I swear, some days I wonder how so many good ideas can continuously be swept under the rug in the oil induced coma that is our nation. There are so many energy alternatives, transportation alternatives... When will we convince our congressmen to start funding more alternative energy programs? Here's a couple that would make Christopher Lloyd proud. Cue Huey Lewis and the news.. We're going "Back to the Future".
www.cleantechnica.com is reporting that some garbage collection trucks in California will soon be fueled by trash. Brilliant! Apparently America's largest waste management company "Waste Management" (clever name but I will cut them some slack after reading this) has a goal to reduce fleet emissions by 15% by 2020. They are paying nearly $15M to create a facility at a landfill which will purify and liquify up to 13,000 gallons of liquified natural gas daily. Why can't landfills in Georgia be doing this?? Oh yeah, I forgot, our Atlanta City Council can't add and subtract and we don't even have effective mass transit. Here's a link with more deets:
Its enough to drive you to drink. And drink..... But, when you wake up, take heart , and take those left over beer and vodka bottles with any backwash down to your local fuel station, IF you are in California:
In Las Gatos an entrepreneur has launched a company that will make ethanol for vehicles out of left over alcohol. ( Left over? They don't know me so well.) The dude has invented a machine with a fermentation tank that converts sugar extracted from alcohol into ethanol. Apparently it will fuel any vehicle that accepts 'flex fuels'. Incredible! Obviously this guy spent more time in chemistry class than drinking beer and skipping chemistry class like I did in college. The ideas are out there, we just need a sea change of thinking.. maybe its happening?
2 comments:
Grits, there is a lot of debate on the use of ethanol for energy. Check out the Time magazine cover story "The Clean Energy Scam"
It makes you think about the damages caused to the enviornment (and soaring food prices) to try to convert more crops into "clean fuel"
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1725975,00.html
thanks for your post, Kelly. You are certainly right about the contentious debate around the use of ethanol. I for one am horrified at what the quest to fulfill the "ethanol boom' is already doing to food sources and food prices (as well as how it effects farmers and consumers), this is why I think these two ideas, using alcohol/ sugar and trash are so unique and valuable.
Hopefully people come to their senses and look for alternative fuels beyond ethanol produced from corn... I'll drink to that! -Hope there's some left over to put into my personal 'alcohol -sugar-ethanol' fermenting time machine.
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