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Grass power
Copyright 2007, PRI
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With oil prices near an all-time high of 100 dollars a barrel, our country is well past ready to find a reliable homegrown source of energy. Preferably something we have a lot of, like, grass. Or weeds. Or maybe sawdust. In fact, scientists today are getting closer to harnessing the power inside exactly these garden-variety sources of plant matter to produce what's known as "cellulosic ethanol," a fuel that may someday be running our cars. Wired contributing editor Evan Ratliff wrote about the new chemistry of grass-based power for the magazine.
