Safe, Cheap Energy for All

There is a safe, alternative fuel source. It is better than nuclear, coal, or oil. That is methane. Methane can be produced from human, animal or vegetable waste. Anaerobic digestion is the process which transforms waste into power. Methane has a very high calorific value. It is highly efficient and will also effectively deal with transforming waste into energy.

It is safe, and is cheap and easy to install.It provides cooking, heating and automotive fuel, and can be used to generate electricity.

When I lived in Hawaii in a flood prone zone, an edict came out banning burying septic tanks in the villages. They always overflowed when we had floods. It was quite awful trying to clean your house after it was filled with ordure.

In our neighborhood we all waited to see what would happen to a Chinese man who had built a new house. He had ordered a very large tank and it awaited installing. What would he do?

Especially, what could he do without breaking the law? We didn't have long to wait. He cut away the 15 foot timbers supporting the house. (It had been raised because of recent floods.) He replaced them with metal T beams to support the house, and moved the septic tank in underneath. Then he boarded it up with siding. All anyone could see was a wooden wall. It was still not clear what he was doing.

One day I solved the mystery simply by asking. He told me that he had connected the main sewage pipe to the inlet of the tank, where it digested the sewage.

After a month he had accumulated methane. When the septic tank was partly full and the natural process had produced methane, a small gas pump propelled the methane up into his kitchen were it was used for cooking and washing. Methane stoves and boilers are readily available. Methane has a high calorific content so it is entirely suitable for cooking.

He told me that in six months time his sewage would be giving off enough methane to run his car, and still leave enough for cooking and heating purposes. A fairly simple adjustment to the carburetor was all that was needed. His car with a flapping container for the methane on the roof became a familiar sight on Waimanolo roads in Oahu.

It was amazing. No fuel costs! This would also work to obviate the need for sewage plants which release raw sewage whenever floods hit our cities, and sewage works overflow. He also said that he was lucky to have four daughters, as this helped to produce more methane more quickly. "Just think what some sons would do," I said. He chuckled.

In fact, methane has been used in India and other cultures for at least the last fifty years. The waste collectors are inexpensive to produce, and virtually run by themselves.

As one friend said, "Methane is as safe as any gas, safer than most, and is cheap and easy to produce. It's only drawback is that Shell and Exxon don't make any money off of it."

Methane is the power of the future. India is using it already. The Phillipines has started a methane project. When will the so-called First World get with it? Hopefully, soon. Afer all, coal pollutes, oil is running out, solar power can't do it all, and Fukushima sure showed us about nuclear power.

For further information go online and source methane generators.