Oil as a renewable energy

I knew I liked Minnesota. With that headline anyone reading this thinks I have been huffing paint thinner in the mystery room in my basement but you, my friends, are wrong. Beyond building a giant palace made of ice and firing professional and college sports coaches who could beat a team of seven year olds (fine examples of how Minnesota is always evolving), the thinkers at the University of Minnesota are creating a form of renewable petroleum.

I saw it last night as I tuned out of "The Daily Show" for the depressing real news when I was smacked inthe face with a ray of hope. Honest to gosh crude oil from the very prairie grasses that once covered the fruited plains of Minnesota and still do to a certain degree.

The scientists at the U said that one ton of bio-mass (corn stalks, grass, etc.) would yield a half-ton of crude oil. The byproducts would be incinerated to produce electricity and anything remaining is essentially fertilizer which would sustain the next "crop" of oil.

The best part of this renewable oil is that the exhaust released is actually cleaner than the air the engine takes in. This may be a number of years off before it's a feasible form of energy but it's not a pipe dream and when produced in large quantities it would likely be an affordable alternative to the volatile markets we are subjected to.

There are so many possibilities, I just hope that the research is well-funded and that the powerful industrial leaders in our country realize that our country could once again be an energy powerhouse.