Look no further than Michigan for more out-of-the-box solutions to our energy dilemma. That’s where an anaerobic digester plant in a town on the outskirts of Grand Rapids is taking garbage and turning it into energy!
It’s become sexy to talk about wind, solar, and geothermal energy sources. But garbage? Not so sexy.
The Detroit Free Press reports this particular digester is generating enough energy to power 1,200 homes. The means by which it’s accomplished? Bacteria in giant vats eat rejected baby food, bad yogurt, pharmaceutical alcohol, remnants of processed meat, and more!
Now, the price point on this energy is not financially viable — yet. But the reason I mention it is because it’s not any one thing we should be using for energy. It’s a lot of different things thinking outside the box like we always have.
I know a lot of people are furious with me because I’m a coal opponent. I think it’s dirty, filthy, threatens people’s lives, and causes asthma.
But we’ve got the sun that is a heat lamp providing free energy. We’ve got wind that is a curse in the Great Plains and some parts of Texas that creates energy. We’ve got natural gas creating energy. And nuclear energy too.
We need to be creative. We’ve got a lot of good answers out there!
