sustainablog: You Guessed It!: More Poop to Power

I think we may be onto a meme here, folks -- just remember you saw it first at sustainablog. Spinneyhead has news from Boston.com about how the Rosamund Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, NY, "is looking to become the first zoo in the nation to be powered by its own animal waste -- particularly the prodigious piles produced by its pachyderms..." (You know I simply can't resist clever alliteration!):

The zoo -- world prominent for its Asian elephant breeding program -- is studying how feasible it would be to switch to animal waste as an alternative energy source to reduce its $400,000 annual heating and electricity bill.

The zoo's six elephants produce more than 1,000 pounds of dung per day, said Zoo Director Anne Baker.

"Zoos are about conservation and stemming the loss of animals and
habitat," Baker said. "But conservation also is about how people use natural resources. This is an opportunity to give visitors the whole picture." The zoo sends most of its animal waste to a local farm, where it is composted. The zoo spends about $10,000 a year on animal-waste disposal, but Baker noted it also requires the use of additional fossil fuels for transportation.

"This would be just such a good idea on so many levels," she
said.