The Toronto Zoo + Poop = Energy

Mom is a little under the weather today. What exactly does that mean anyway? I always hear mom say it so now I am saying it but I don't even know what it means! Anyway, with mom in bed, I have the computer all to myself and I couldn't be happier.

I could not believe what I heard mom telling me yesterday. She said that the Toronto Zoo (never been there) wants to turn animal poop into energy. What? I wish mom hadn't read about this because now she'll want to look into doing this at home.

The Toronto Zoo has a collection of more than 5,000 animals and with that many animals you have a lot of poop. They are proposing to build a plant that would convert animal and food waste into biogas using bacteria. The poop just goes to waste these days, but due to the current need to find alternative energy sources, poop may just fit the bill. The biogas would be used to power the zoo and surrounding community. Mom thinks this is a great idea, but I wonder if it smells..

The more I think about this, the more I think that it is a good idea. Mom should suggest building a plant like this at her zoo. They are always looking for ways to be more green and what is more green than poop? The only problem would be the cost: the plant at the Toronto Zoo would cost an estimated $13 million. This is probably in Canadian dollars, so it would be less expensive here in the U.S.

Hey, I've got an even better idea. Mom should suggest this to her friends at the Caretta Research Project. They could build a small plant on Wassaw Island (never been there either) so that their cabins could have electricity. Mom and Carole could hike all over the island looking for poop instead of hanging out at the beach all day! I'm sure that mom and Carole wouldn't mind doing this because it is for the turtles of course. I am going to mention this to mom when she is on top of the weather!