Bacteria genetically altered to provide 'renewable petroleum'...Eats waste and Poops out Oil

[masmdu]

the genetic alteration of bugs – very, very small ones – so that when they feed on agricultural waste such as woodchips or wheat straw, they do something extraordinary. They excrete crude oil.


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article4133668.ece

[WCGreen]

1. Yea and then they will mutate and start eating children to poop out

oil and then, before we know it, the bugs will rule the world....

[Kittycat]

2. But not before the birds get their tasting

[hokies4ever]

3. More pizazz than substance

Here's what you do:
1. Identify chemical process to make oil. (Already know how to do this)
2. Design bugs to mimic this chemical process.

Step #2 is economically inefficient but sounds cool. We already know how to make oil. It's just MUCH cheaper to drill for it. Just like we already know how to make cars that don't run on gasoline, it's just somewhat cheaper to use gasoline right now. Oil and gas prices aren't skyrocketing because it's getting more expensive to drill for oil. They're changing quite simply because some other people have realized that you can charge a lot more for oil without decreasing demand by too much.

[Gabi Hayes]

4. We already have that:

George HW and Barbara Bush

also Richard H. and Marjorie Cheney

[lurky]

5. Fantastic! Terrifying!

This could save the earth. This could destroy the earth. Used wisely, it could provide a renewable, non-food-based, carbon-neutral solution to our energy problem.

But if, no, scratch that, when these critters get out into the wild, what's stopping them from turning all the organic material around us into toxic petroleum? Our food, our trees, our homes, slowly dissolving into poisonous black slime... Pardon me, I am getting chills thinking about it. Hopefully my nightmare scenario is unfounded, but I saw nothing to ease my mind in the article.

[Marrah_G]

7. Sounds like a great bad scifi channel saturday movie !

[masmdu]

6. Kick (4 morning crowd)