The Fuel Crisis: A Solution

[kaasirpent]

I was just chatting with a friend in Google Chat and I believe we have hit upon the plan that will save this country billions of dollars in fuel costs while simultaneously lowering food prices and ridding the south of a perennial pest.

Yes, I'm talking about turning kudzu into ethanol. Just think about it: Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi could become the hub of a global fuel cartel. We could call it: BUBBAPEC (but that's just a working title, for now). You think Arabs are scary? Give a bunch of rednecks with shotguns a chance.

Yes. Yes! Forget corn! Forget switchgrass! Kudzu is everywhere and it grows anywhere and you can't kill it! It's...it's....perfect!

We'll make millions! Billions! Dare I say....trillions? <drool>

Comments

[joeylemur.livejournal.com]

Kudzu would probably be perfect fodder for celluosic fuel production... not sure if its sugar content would be enough for regular alcohol fermentation.

I'm curious, though, what the yield-per-acre difference would be between switchgrass and kudzu...

[kaasirpent]

We should plant an acre of switchgrass and see how long the kudzu takes to eradicate it. :)

[friend-soscho.livejournal.com]

Are you looking for investors???

[kaasirpent]

<dreamy look and voice> KaadzuCorp? KudZoom? K--

Oh. Uh...investors? Maybe. All we need is a few handsful of kudzu...seed?...and some unsuspecting enterprising landowners....

[the-peej.livejournal.com]

And with the profits from BUBBAPEC we could open a chain of Jimbo's House of Nothing But Meat (JIHONBUM).

I'll invest! Sign me up. :)

[ddreslough.livejournal.com]

That is a GREAT idea!!

Kudzu is a vastly undervalued natural resource. Animals /LOVE/ it. Goats eat it up, and pigs love digging up the roots. I don't know how it is for cows and sheep...but if we were a more goat-oriented society, we'd be thanking Heaven for Kudzu. The Japanese make a delicacy out of the roots, too.

I hope it happens. I hope we find a use for Kudzu. If we don't, it will devour us.

[peteyfrogboy.livejournal.com]

Something to think about is the fact that kudzu clearly loves to grow vertically, as opposed to any sort of grass that only grows along the ground. One would think that would make better use of available land, and it obviously doesn't need very good soil to grow. The only question is how to harvest it off of poles.

[peteyfrogboy.livejournal.com]

http://www.kudzunol.com/

[dorsai.livejournal.com]

There was a humor column in an issue of Mother Earth News back around 1980 or so that discussed the proper method for cultivating kudzu. All I remember was that you were supposed to lubricate the undersides of the leaves with motor oil if they were on a rough surface, and mulch with concrete blocks. :)

I'd try to dig the article up, but I think all my mom's back issues have fused into a giant lump of wood pulp over the decades. :(

[kaasirpent]

This?

[dorsai.livejournal.com]

I don't think that's the same piece, but it's awfully similar. Maybe written by the same author, or possibly the Mother column was an extract of this.

Either way, your google-fu is powerful. :)

[ex-prunesnp.livejournal.com]

And, by god, plant bamboo in all the bottom land instead of just leaving the land devastated after you log it.

[hoo.livejournal.com]

Dare I say...

Dare! Dare!

[elims.livejournal.com]

North Carolina volunteers to offer it's share of kudzu, I'm sure I could get it through to some public officials! We have plenty up here!

[tonysalieri.livejournal.com]

If Thunderbirds 2086 taught me ANYTHING it's that kudzu WILL eventually betray you and try to destroy your space station.

But only if you let it.

[slymongoose.livejournal.com]

You, Sir are a FRICKIN' GENIUS!

Or you could invest in Kudzu Eating Goats. :D

[kaasirpent]

No, no no. No goats. Say it with me, now: "Kudzunol."

Huh? Huh? Makes a great product name. People would smile every time they pumped it into their tank!