Earlier today I was made aware of a poo-powered motorcycle. Seriously! I’m not making this up. Read about it here.

Essentially, a toilet manufacturer in Japan has conceived a portable poo-to-biogas converter attached to a small, three-wheel motorcycle, and then sponsored a 1,000 km (620 mile) ride through Japan. There is a blog but it’s in Japanese and I’m unable to follow.

My reaction?

If the intent is the stated 50% CO2 reduction, then to be realistic, the overall  footprint (including human fuel) must be considered. Salads and greens would have a small carbon footprint while beef/pork would have a huge carbon footprint. But if beef/pork to biogas conversion is more efficient (volatile?) than greens to biogas conversion, then wouldn’t any (biogas) fuel-based footprint reduction be offset by a (human) fuel-based footprint increase, thus negating the entire concept? What am I missing here?

Back to the drawing board on this one!