Biofuel, as any slightly bemused intergalactic observer might explain, is humanity’s clever scheme to turn plants into power. Imagine taking corn, sugarcane or even slimy green algae and telling them, “Right, you’re not just dinner anymore; you’re driving a car now!” It’s a perfectly reasonable idea, assuming you’ve got plenty of sunlight, water and patience to let the plants grow. The result is a clean, renewable fuel that makes fewer nasty smells and greenhouse gases than traditional petrol, which the planet could definitely do with less of.
The brilliance of biofuel lies in its charming versatility. Leftover cooking oil from last night’s french fries? Biofuel. Algae that looks like it escaped from an aquarium? Biofuel. Even crops grown just for the job, like sugarcane, step up to save the day. Of course, there’s the small matter of growing enough plants without accidentally starving anyone, but that’s a detail scientists are busily sorting out. In the meantime, biofuel is a splendid example of humanity’s ability to look at a green, leafy thing and think, “I bet I could drive that.”
The brilliance of biofuel lies in its charming versatility. Leftover cooking oil from last night’s french fries? Biofuel. Algae that looks like it escaped from an aquarium? Biofuel. Even crops grown just for the job, like sugarcane, step up to save the day. Of course, there’s the small matter of growing enough plants without accidentally starving anyone, but that’s a detail scientists are busily sorting out. In the meantime, biofuel is a splendid example of humanity’s ability to look at a green, leafy thing and think, “I bet I could drive that.”
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