Also, the problem with NG is that when you drill, you often find oil instead. The NG used to be considered an undesirable byproduct in many foreign sites because the cost to make the pipeline was too high. They just burn it off.

It will be interesting to see what $50 oil does to NG. I am still thinking it’s closer to $80 by summer though.

LPG is a pretty sensible fuel, it is popular in Australia. Probably half of urban service stations carry it. Refueling takes longer than a gasoline car, but not much.

Seriously, this is an excellent development in the world of renewable fuels! Leave it to the scientists to make the fungus more efficient and productive (like they’ve done with cows and milk production) and this is a winner all around. I’ve got to find out more, and where can I invest?

Several reasons. Natural gas:
* Isn’t as energy-dense
* Is very difficult to store. You give up a lot of trunk space for that tank,
* Is more prone to accidental ignition. You can (and I’ve tried) put a lit match out by submerging it in gasoline. You absolutely cannot do that with CNG
* Is very difficult to dispense. Commercial systems are slow and expensive. Home systems like Phill are cheaper, but agnozingly slow (like, “eight hours to fill a tank” slow)
* Requires a more expensive distribution system
* Is not a viable option for many engines without a redesign. It’s especially ill-suited to small-displacements.

I like CNG/LPG: it burns very clean, but it’s not really suited to use outside certain circumstances. It also fails to address the unlocked carbon issue. The reason this fungus is a good thing is that it produces a fuel that solves most of these issues and doesn’t release previously-locked carbon into the atmosphere.

Yes, but making sure that every acre of biodiverse forest is burned to the ground in favour of genetically homogenous corn fields. ADM and Monsanto make Exxon look like the Sierra Club.

–chuck