Do Scientists Have a Solution to the Oil Crisis?
Scientists believe they have found a solution to our current oil crisis by finding a better solution for biofuels.
I am so excited about this news that I could just spit! Let me explain why!
About 100 years ago, when I first visited South Carolina and Georgia, I was enthralled with all the greenness. I was particularly captivated with all the beautiful foliage draping over the trees, banks and hillsides. Having come from the dusty greyness of pre-irrigation Southern California, the green everywhere was a delight to my eyes.
I quickly learned that the greenery I thought was so exquisite was roundly cussed at by the locals.
When I moved to South Carolina in 1987, I began my yearly battle with this insidious and invasive blight upon mankind.
What do I mean? Why kudzu, of course! Kudzu, the weed that ate the South!
Each Spring, Fall, Summer and Winter my husband and I fight a losing battle with our little three acre kudzu patch. The stuff grows so fast that it is virtually impossible for us two old-timers to keep ahead of it, even with help from our kids and neighbors.
Every year, as we re-joined the ranks of those who cussed at the stuff, I would do more research to find productive uses (like bread, flour, jellies and decorative wreaths) that kudzu admirers claim it can be used for. All I ever got was a backache and heat stroke.
But now, scientists have discovered that kudzu is a perfect ingredient for ethanols. In fact, because it is so hardy and invasive and doesn’t have to be replanted every year, it’s actually MORE EFFICIENT than corn or sugar cane as a fuel source. And, the use of kudzu for biofuels doesn’t contribute to sky-rocketing food prices or deplete the world food supply like using corn or sugar cane does.
I hereby volunteer my three-acre patch, in the interest of science and fuel economy. No really, come on scientists. You can have every bit of it.
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