In our ever-increasingly interesting search for alternative energy sources, this one ranks up there as one of the weirdest:

Science & Technology at Scientific American.com: Microbes Convert Wastewater into Useable Electricity

Millions of tiny microbes infest the water that carries the detritus of human life and society. Some of them steadily break down the organic material in waste streams and produce electrons in the process. By harvesting these electrons, scientists have created microbial fuel cells. New research shows how such biological power plants can be stacked to create usable current.

A couple of questions come to mind: for one, how much energy was produced, exactly?  I doubt that the amount was really enough to make a serious dent in our energy needs, but at the same time, what if every waste-management plant in American could be converted into an energy-producing plant?  Or for that matter, what about hospitals where so much waste material is produced?  Could they at least lower the bills a bit by implementing this new process?

The next big question that comes to mind is environmental: what are the waste products of this process, and what are thier effects on the environment?  If the products are managable, then this is something that at least needs to be looked at.  What happens when all those microbes escape from an unmaintained power cell?  What effect will they have on the environment?

All in all, this definately makes for a potentially exiting new venue to cut down on fossil fuel consumption.  The big thing here is not to obsess over the need for the “Next Big Thing” in energy that will by itself replace fossil fuels: the important thing is to diversify our energy base to protect against further crisis.

Technorati Tags: alternative energy, waste management, oil independance

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