waste-to-energy
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Google gets carbon offsets from hog poo
In its recent report on the company's carbon footprint, Google said that it offsets its emissions with high-quality offsets. We are happy as a pig in shit about that. Which is appropriate, because here's one example of what that means: energy powered by pig poop.
The company has invested in a North Carolina project which collects the methane from the waste of 9,000 hogs. A power plant burns the methane to create power for 35 homes a year. -
Poop-fueled batteries could clean water while generating energy
If there's one thing humans can apparently generate an endless supply of, it's shit. So why not use that to produce things we need but don't have enough of, like clean water and energy? Environmental engineer Bruce Logan is developing fuel cells that may be able to do that, cleaning wastewater while generating and storing energy.
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Phoenix park will turn dog poop into light
Another point for dogs in eternal battle of cats vs. canines: While cats are bad for the environment, dog poop could help cut carbon costs. In Phoenix, a local dog park is trying to capture methane gas from dog waste and burn it in the park’s lamps.
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Bill Gates plans to get gas from your butt. (No, really.)
Bill Gates' latest clean energy investment gives a whole new meaning to the term "natural gas." The Gates Foundation is putting $1.5 million towards developing a "Next-Generation Urban Sanitation Facility" in Accra, Ghana. The facility takes human poop and turns it into biodiesel and methane, the same stuff natural gas companies are so eagerly pumping […]
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Great places and the element of delight (plus lasers!)
This is part five in a series on “great places.” Read parts one, two, three, and four. This great place will delight you. Place enthusiasts (I really need a better term for that) are prone to lapsing into the wonky language of engineers or city planners: transit-oriented development, mixed-use buildings, etc. So let’s not forget, […]