Did you see or read “Back to The Future”? One of the characters, named Doc, fuels his flying car with banana peels, pop, etc. Are we there yet? No. However, alternative fuel sources like cellulosic ethanol may become more prevalent in the next few years. In fact, there are already several companies manufacturing it in the U.S.

What is cellulosic ethanol anyway? It’s a carbon-neutral biofuel (energy source) made from plants. Unlike corn-derived ethanol, it makes good use of the entire plant structure. That means we can make more ethanol when combining methods of corn and cellulosic forms. This can decrease our dependency on oil and increase the potential of a feed crop distributed for non-energy use (to feed the hungry for example).

How can that be possible? We don’t need to cut down trees and plant crops to get there. Think of all the people that have trees that have fallen in their area due to a storm. We can make them into ethanol. Believe it! Experts have spent at least a decade exploring the possibilities of harvesting source material. It is just a matter of identifying a cost-effective way of doing the gathering. Here’s a short list of material from which you make cellulosic ethanol:

• Perennial grass (lasts 2 growing seasons, or more, after harvesting)
• Scraps from sustainable logging practices and wood mills (wood chips)
• Corn stover (the leaves and stalks left over after harvesting the corn)
• Your tree trimmings and grass clippings
• Straw (stalks of cereal crops)
• Fast growing trees
• Rotten logs
• Hay

What are the benefits? It can lessen the demand on other biofuel sources like Palm Oil. Case in point, logging of rainforests in Borneo and Sumatra has threatened the habitats of, and members of, thousands of species including the orangutan. The methods of clearing include burning which releases CO2 only contributes to the stacking problem of global warming. Using alternative biofuel sources like cellulosic ethanol can help curb the demand on municipal solid waste plants by diverting material that would normally go there.

At what cost? America and other larger consumer countries have already had both a direct and indirect influence on third world countries by driving the demands of related biofuel exports. Will they just swap one product in demand for another? Furthermore, chemicals used in the making of such biofuels, and the manufacturing plants used to make them, need to be safer and greener than the alternative.

Cellulosic ethanol is just an example of where we can source biofuel. Other sources include algae, vegetable oil, and bagasse (the fiber/pulp left over in the process of turning sugarcane to sugar). Can you think of others?

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O.k., I have no scientific proof of that calculation in the title. But, after you read this you may start to wonder if my estimate was a bit low with respect to the amount of plastic in our oceans.

There really is a place in the Pacific Ocean where you can see floating plastic at counts reaching a million pieces per square mile. Yes, it’s real. You betcha!

The Pacific Ocean is host to what some refer to as the “Garbage Patch”. That may sound “cute” to some, but it’s a horrible, massive blob of trash including discarded fishing nets, plastic bottles, caps, and containers, even items you may not think about like tooth brushes, combs, and even computer monitors.

• Why does it gather in that location? That’s where the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre is located. A gyre is a spiraling collection of currents. And, in the North Pacific, you have some powerful currents converging.
• What else makes it collect in that manner? A phenomenon called Langmuir Circulation. It’s when two masses of water push together. You have likely seen this in action if you have ever seen long, organized streaks of sea foam or perhaps seaweed on the water’s surface. During this process, anything that floats stays on the surface.

I highly recommend the following article on the topic.

Why you will make a difference: Whether you are walking on the beach or fishing, take proactive action the next time you see trash. You help the environment by picking it up and disposing/recycling it appropriately before it can be carried away and cause harm. You may be helping protect property too…ever know someone who got fishing line, or other stuff, caught in their boat prop? Not fun.

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