Conservative Blog

Here's an interesting story about a strain of bacteria that eats and converts waste into, believe it or not, crude oil. No, this information doesn't come from the Weekly World News. It's the TimesOnline. Scientists find bugs that eat waste and excrete petrol.

Referred to as "Oil 2.0", this petroleum product purportedly is carbon negative, releasing less carbon than is pulled from the atmosphere by the original material broken down by the bacteria. To me, someone without a scientific background, that smacks of inefficiency, and right now the whole project is a little insane. To create a single barrel of oil takes an apparatus that covers 40 sq ft. To produce enough oil to meet the needs of the U.S. for a week, they anticipate needing a facility that would be approximately 205 square miles.

Still, the technology will continue to advance, to become more efficient and cost effective. And we don't need a 205 square mile plant to radically alter the energy scene. Small amounts of new crude coming into the market would be enough to help crash the speculation that has helped to drive up the prices.