Webs’ Random Ideas

… Yes! Anything! That means, corn husks, trash, you name it. This great news comes from a Wired Magazine article:

A biofuel startup in Illinois can make ethanol from just about anything organic for less than $1 per gallon, and it wouldn’t interfere with food supplies, company officials said.

Coskata, which is backed by General Motors and other investors, uses bacteria to convert almost any organic material, from corn husks (but not the corn itself) to municipal trash, into ethanol.

“It’s not five years away, it’s not 10 years away. It’s affordable, and it’s now,” said Wes Bolsen, the company’s vice president of business development.

This is pretty hug news. Imagine a system of energy where local cities and towns become closed energy loops. The waste we produce is turned into fuel for cars that is only shipped to local gas stations. This minimizes waste and increase efficiency across the board.

The other thing it makes me think of is the last scene in “Back to the Future” where Doc drives up and refuels his car with trash from Marty’s trash can. With the technology presented above this idea is a lot closer than I first thought when I saw the movie.