As our gas prices are skyrocketing, here's some good news: The U.S. Department of Energy has announced that their BioEnergy Science Center has created a new biofuel from woody plants that can be used in place of gasoline in conventional cars.
This method of converting woody plants straight into isobutanol is cost effective and will provide an alternative to depending on oil to fuel our vehicles. It will also potentially create many new 'green' jobs in rural parts of the country, as more farmland will be put into production.
"This is a perfect example of the promising opportunity we have to create a major new industry—one based on bio-material such as wheat and rice straw, corn stover, lumber wastes, and plants specifically developed for bio-fuel production that require far less fertilizer and other energy inputs. But we must continue with an aggressive research and development effort," said U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu.
