Wednesday, December 24, 2008

A Japanese Town That Kicked the Oil Habit



Source: TIME

Shin Abe doesn't find it odd that the picturesque little Japanese town of Kuzumaki, where he has lived all his life, generates some of its electricity with cow dung. Nor is the 15-year-old middle school student blown away by the vista of a dozen wind turbines spinning atop the forested peak of nearby Mt. Kamisodegawa. And it's old news to Abe that his school gets 25% of its power from an array of 420 solar panels located near the campus. "That's the way it's been," he shrugs. "It's natural."


COW DUNG! I always wondered that if we pee in the gas tank, would the car run? :)

1 comment:

Elver said...

"I always wondered that if we pee in the gas tank, would the car run? :)"

Well, the main component of urine is ammonia, which is flammable, but only catches fire in very special circumstances. Most notably it needs some kind of a catalyst like platinum gauze.

Dung, on the other hand, releases methane when it breaks down and methane is very flammable and very powerful as a fuel.

So while peeing in the gas tank wouldn't get your car very far, taking a dump in the gas tank would probably get you somewhere.

Oh and Merry Christmas, too! :D