RICE FUEL
(Posted 2008-10-29 12:41:59 by ArchPaladin)

See, now this [ http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/008923.html ] is just
plain cool.

I had no idea that you could extract simple hydrocarbons from rice husks. 
I was even only vaguely aware that you could do this with cellulose
compounds, although it seems obvious to hear it given where biodiesel comes
from.  Using rice husks requires just a small logical leap from that.

This is the kind of technology that will make the future an extraordinarily
cool place, not only this specific example but the general principle of
form-fit ideas.  I am a firm believer that the solutions we implement to
maintain our standard of living over the next 100 years will not be
something that you can homogenize and sell as a mass market.  Instead,
you'll have localized solutions to fit the needs of a particular subculture
and climate.  This whole rice husk electricity thing is a perfect example. 
Useful for certain people, incredibly unhelpful for others.

The unspoken horror in this whole vision is that in order to get from here
to there, we will have to undergo periods of market collapse.  I have a
feeling that smaller, specialty markets are not going to jive well with our
consumerist mindset.  Obscure music is a good example of this.  It's very
easy to find bands that you've never heard of by asking around, and a good
deal of them may not be found in stores, get very little advertising, and
wouldn't fare well when touring.  Yet hundreds of such little treasures
exist.

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