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TODAY 1 April 1998 Each weekday. Conn Nugent on what's new in the world, on the site. |
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TODAY 1 April 1998 Each weekday. Conn Nugent on what's new in the world, on the site. |
TODAY IN THE WORLD: Big News in Renewables
Some of the gloom hanging over green-energy advocates may lift because of a startling development announced this morning at the University of Iowa. Researchers there, working under the direction of Nobel laureate Larip Sofolyad, have produced a prototype of an automobile engine that uses common animal wastes to produce significant amounts of horsepower without emissions of smog pollutants or greenhouse gases. "This is a breakthrough of enormous dimensions," said Vice President Gore, who flew out from Washington for the occasion. "Professor Sofolyad and his colleagues have made history today."
The Vice President and Mrs. Gore took a ride through the rolling country of central Iowa to demonstrate the new technology. With the Vice President behind the wheel of a specially-equipped Chevrolet Suburban, reporters were led on a 30-minute, ten-miles-above-the-speed-limit chase along narrow roads crisscrossing corn and sorghum fields. In the rear of the Gore vehicle, a Secret Service agent employed the equivalent of a garden trowel to transfer portions of a small pile of hog manure into the fuel-conversion tank of the new Sofolyad engine. An overhead exhaust system, operating much like the canopy fans found over standard kitchen ranges, removed most of the odors typically associated with animal waste deployments.
Once the patented digestion-and-combustion process is completed (reporters were stonewalled by Iowa authorities when asking about the particulars of the system), the only residue is a fine black powder found to be rich in amino acids crucial to human development. The powder is soluble in water, and scientists at the university's School of Nutritional Management have already developed a sweetened breakfast drink that they believe holds great promise as a dietary supplement, particularly for children overseas.
TODAY ON THE SITE
Some interesting new developments can also be found in research labs for perpetual motion machines. Our Franklin Stove tells you the best websites for a crash course in what's new in the search for a mechanical device that operates with no visible means of support. Interesting stuff.
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To access more "Today" columns, click "Archives" below.