Sweet Potato Ethanol Yield is 2X to 3X Greater Than Corn

In experiments, sweet potatoes grown in Maryland and Alabama yielded two to three times as much carbohydrate for fuel ethanol production as field corn grown in those states, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists report. The same was true of tropical cassava in Alabama.

The sweet potato carbohydrate yields approached the lower limits of those produced by sugarcane, the highest-yielding ethanol crop. Another advantage for sweet potatoes and cassava is that they require much less fertilizer and pesticide than corn.

Lew Ziska, a plant physiologist at the ARS Crop Systems and Global Change Laboratory in Beltsville, Md., and colleagues at Beltsville and at the ARS National Soil Dynamics Laboratory in Auburn, Ala., performed the study. The research is unique in comparing the root crops to corn, and in growing all three crops simultaneously in two different regions of the country.

The tests of corn, cassava and sweet potato were in the field at Beltsville, and in large soil bins at Auburn.

http://www.nextenergynews.com/news08/next-energy-news8.26.08a.html

Dubai Pyramid City to Stand 4000’ High and House 1 Million People

A proposed pyramid city for the Dubai desert will stand about 4000 feet in height, dwarfing the Burj Dubai – the tallest tower in the world – by hundreds of metres.

The solar-powered pyramid project – dubbed Ziggurat after the ancient Mayan pyramids – was announced this week by Timelinks, an eco-design firm that plans to unveil the engineering wonder at Cityscape Dubai later this year.

If completed, it’s expected to be the largest man-made residential structure on the planet, with its foundation covering more than two square kilometres.

“The pyramid will be more than a kilometre tall and will house one million people inside,” “It will be completely self-sustainable.”

http://www.nextenergynews.com/news08/next-energy-news8.26.08d.html

Cattle, Deer Graze Along Earth’s Magnetic Field

Cattle and deer all over the world tend to align themselves with Earth’s magnetic field, according to new research.

Both types of animals appear to graze in a north-south direction that aligns with magnetic north, not geographic north, according to European researchers who scrutinized thousands of Google Earth images.

Birds, turtles, and fish are known to use magnetic guidance in migration. And among small mammals, a handful of rodent and one bat species have been shown to possess a magnetic compass.

Sabine Begall, a zoologist at the University of Duisburg in Essen, Germany, and her colleagues propose that large mammals may also sense Earth’s magnetic field.

But why the nonmigrating animals would align themselves according to Earth’s magnetism is still a mystery, the authors say.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/08/080825-magnetic-cows.html