Ants!

Robert McKnight

4-10-09

10:32 AM

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin are studying leaf-cutter ants in hopes of applying their finely tuned skills to bioenergy technology.  These ants can efficiently break down cellulose molecules in leafy matter, which is a giant leap from the traditional biofuel-making method of artificially processing only the sugary kernel part of corn plants.

Ethanol and other biofuels aren't very popular amongst alternative energy proprietors primarily because they're burnt and release carbon dioxide just like fossil fuels.  Apparently this is a misconception.  "People don't understand when you burn fossil fuels, you release ancient carbon dioxide...  When you burn ethanol, you release younger carbon dioxide that can get put back into the cycle," says a head researcher.  

So that, plus the fact that the biomass is harvested locally from forests, fields, and even furniture markets (leftover wood!), plus the fact that the money spent on the energy will stay in the local economy, plus the fact that jobs will be created combine to make bioenergy seem a rather positive alternative.  

Ants!

What can you say?  Utilizing ants' natural abilities to synthesize renewable energy from leafy mash and fungus?  Why hasn't someone thought of this before?  So much easier than 200 lazers and fusion...  

Amazing how when people really want to they can come up with the most creative solutions to things.  This research is so interesting in that ants seem such a strange place to look for an answer to the problem of global warming.  They (the researchers) are wise to the fact that these things (the leaf-cutter ants) have evolved over billions of years to do what they do infinitely better than we do.  It's genius!  

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