Of all the weird stuff you read about on the internet, this one has to be one of the coolest!  A small town in France, called Albertville, uses the whey from their cheese production to make biofuel. 

This town is very well known for the production of some of the finest cheeses in the area, the cheese they use for biofuel is called Beaufort.  Instead of letting the whey from cheese production all go to waste, the renewable energy company Valbio has made an epicly creative and innovative waste-to-power facility.  They take whey, from making cheese, and convert it into electricity-generating fuel.

How is it done?

Whey and bacteria are added to a huge tank in the facility, called Savoi Lactée, natural fermentation occurs creating a rich methane and carbon dioxide biogas.   This biogas is then used to power a steam engine that is used to heat water to 194 degrees Fahrenheit and PRESTO! You then have electricity.

Effects and Benefits:

This is by far one of the biggest strides in dairy-based anaerobic digestion( fancy words for converting organic waste into biofuel)ever. 

I know it sounds very weird at first, but the fact that this town keeps its lights on and its houses warm by using this method is actually way better for the environment in the long run.  Despite the fact that methane, the gas that biofuel emits when it is used, is 80 times more effective at warming our planet, it only stays in our atmosphere for about 20 years or so. This makes it much better for the earth, long term, than the emissions from fossil fuels, as carbon dioxide can stay in our atmosphere for centuries which has detrimental effects on ecosystems by way of global warming.

Wrap up:

Inventions such as the waste-to-power facility in France are essentially the kind of thing that is likely going to save our planet.  By using as many already existing resources as we can, to sustain our way of life, we are able to minimize the negative impact we have on our planet.  This gives it time to heal from all the damage humans have caused throughout the time we have been here on earth.  Although this concept doesn’t sound like it is giving much back to the earth, it is limiting what we need to take from it, even if it is currently only on a minimal level.  Which will essentially make it so the earth can rejuvenate and regrow.

Facilities like this one and any other one that creates biofuel out of waste need to be created and used more often so that we still have a planet 25 ,50 or even a hundred and fifty years from now.  The importance of renewable energy has been greatly overlooked by many.  If we can get people to take a second look at it’s benefits and compare it to the negative effects of fossil fuels, Our planet will stand a fighting chance at becoming healthy again.