But if that isn't green enough, how about banana power? An Australian company, Growcom, is digesting final plans to build a plant that makes biomethane out of bananas. The process essentially eats banana waste and poops out the natural gas, which then can be used to "flatulate" our way down the highway, adding new meaning to the phrase "in the wind."
Bob Lutz, the General Motors vice chairman who once declared global warming "a total crock of sh*t," is moving forward on lithium-ion battery technology he expects will power the anticipated Chevy Volt within two years. Lutz is not acting out of any sudden environmental enlightenment: "I'm motivated more by the desire to replace imported oil than by the CO2 [argument]," he says.
Which means that if necessity is the big mother of invention, market pressures will surely be our salvation. If Hoeve's auto-to-bike principle holds up, we'll be riding whisper-quiet battery bikes by about 2015. Sort of like the ones we played with as kids. I liked to add my own motorcycle noises-I mean sounds.