Misstuned

Those crazy scientists! Don’t they know we’re all going to die in a fiery hellstorm when the Sun enguls the Earth anyway¹?

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So why are they still trying to develop alternative fuels made from clean materials?

Ethanol made from a prairie grass shows promise as a viable fuel that could be much more environmentally friendly and energy-efficient than corn ethanol, a new study says.

Ethanol is often touted as a cleaner-burning gasoline alternative that lessens dependence on oil. (Get the basics on greenhouse gases and global warming.)

But a key criticism of the biofuel is that large amounts of fossil fuels are required to farm and refine it.

Switchgrass ethanol, though, can yield 540 percent more energy than is required to produce it, the new study says.

Part of the reason switchgrass ethanol is more energy efficient is that the whole plant is used. Corn ethanol, by contrast, is made only from kernels.

In addition, producing and burning switchgrass ethanol releases 94 percent less greenhouse gas than burning gasoline does, the researchers found.

Source.

Mari loves reading these National Geographic articles about the crazy things scientists do when they realize we’re all going to die sooner.

</cynicism> (again)

What do you think?
Awesome way to ensure that we live long enough to blast some of our species off in a rocket to another world in a feeble and basically pointless attempt to preserve ourselves combat global warming, or futuristic bovine scatology?

</cynicism> (once more)

¹ Mari is aware that scientists are now hypothesizing that the sun may actually not engulf the Earth after all, but rather push it along the way. Or something. Mari can’t seem to Google properly enough to find a reference.