Friday, December 03, 2010

Making fuel from garbage

Mother Jones has an article on how "clever Ugandans" are turning garbage into fuel.

What bothers me is

1) essentially they are rag pickers.

2) no one seems to be pressuring the government into collecting trash.

3) no one seems to worry about toxic fumes from their "factory", where they not only roast left over food but also tires and other toxic plastics to get fuel.

4) how safe is this "fuel"? will those using it find their engines clogged up and useless after awhile?

5) the word "clever" in English sounds like they are amazed that Africans might be intelligent enough to do something (the word is commonly used to describe when children or animals are smart, but rarely used in the context of adult activity).

6) it points out that those in the west who think higher prices for oil is a good idea don't notice how modern oil and gasoline products are needed in third world countries, or that a rise in oil prices can devastate these economies.

Aside from these points, it is a good article about grass roots green business.

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