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Yamaha Unveils Golf Cart Powered By Cow Dung

Posted by samzenpus on from the thirty-miles-per-pound dept.

Jessica Mischner writes "You've seen cars powered by the sun, wind and biofuels — but a vehicle propelled by dung? Yamaha just unveiled the first one at a golf course in Japan. The experimental golf cart doesn't run on cow dung directly — the poo is processed into biofuel which is then converted into methane — but it represents a huge leap forward for green innovations."

57 of 78 comments (clear)

  1. Pointless by eln · · Score: 5, Funny

    How often do you see cow dung on a golf course? If they really wanted to make a useful "green" golf cart, they would power it with the most abundant resources present on golf courses: beer farts and impotent rage.

    1. Re:Pointless by rolfwind · · Score: 2, Funny

      How often do you see cow dung on a golf course?

      Duh! That's because it's eaten by the gold carts!

      (If gas keeps going up again, expect a barn raising on the 9th hole soon.)

    2. Re:Pointless by Marxist+Hacker+42 · · Score: 1

      Or for that matter- one of my "thought inventions" that I really should patent- a porta-potty fuel cell with blades for methane and ammonia and a miniature self-contained composting system. It occurs to me golf carts and boats would be obvious uses.

      --
      SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
    3. Re:Pointless by auric_dude · · Score: 2, Funny

      No shit, Sherlock.

    4. Re:Pointless by eln · · Score: 1

      not only this, they probably also spent a tremendous amount of money for the "research", money gathered from bribing some sheik and agreeing to give some billion dollars from the tax payers more for some billion (metric) tons of oil for... actually themselves, because you have to be an "impotent beer fart" to drive a 5 (metric) tone car just for yourself... and that because you weigh 300 (american) pounds for your (american) 5 feet. But, hey, at least you try, golf is known to be an intensive sport, proven by another research to burn your calories. Ah, at least you get to show that you're an asshole to other assholes. And the answer to the obvious question is: "no, I really don't envy them"

      If they ever found a way to power cars with incoherent rants, you'd be rich!

    5. Re:Pointless by Nerdfest · · Score: 1

      This is the perfect test market for a bullshit powered golf cart. Aren't politicians, lawyers, and marketing droids big golf players?

    6. Re:Pointless by Chad+Birch · · Score: 1

      Don't take the article too seriously, it's just samzenpus' once-per-day "should have been in idle" test post to see how close to digg we're willing to let slashdot become.

      --
      Sturgeon was an optimist.
    7. Re:Pointless by phishfood · · Score: 1

      they really should make it run on goose shit as well. those pesky Canadian geese make quite a mess.

    8. Re:Pointless by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Instead, look up the "bason", a type of composting toilet which could easily be converted to capture methane. What you want has existed for hundreds of years and does not require any power, only patience.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    9. Re:Pointless by DurendalMac · · Score: 1

      Not shit! Energy!

  2. Gotta love those huge Japanese conglomerates by Gizzmonic · · Score: 1

    P**p will soon be powering your hi-fi stereo system and your premier acoustic guitars.

    --
    (-1, Raw and Uncut is the only way to read)
    1. Re:Gotta love those huge Japanese conglomerates by FooAtWFU · · Score: 1

      Not to mention the wombat poo paper!

      --
      The World Wide Web is dying. Soon, we shall have only the Internet.
    2. Re:Gotta love those huge Japanese conglomerates by fractoid · · Score: 1

      Generally I power my acoustic guitar with my fingers, not my p**p.

      --
      Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
  3. Strange by stokessd · · Score: 1

    Usually the shitbags are on the seats.

    Sheldon

  4. Sorry dudes... by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The fact that methane can be made from cow dung(among a large number of other things) doesn't mean that slapping a methane engine or fuel cell on a vehicle amounts to producing a "vehicle powered by cow dung".

    By that elastic standard, any rechargable battery-powered vehicle is actually a "coal/oil/nuclear fission/nuclear fusion(seamless upgrade in-the-field at some future date)/wind/hydro/solar flex fuel vehicle". Nonsense, twaddle, and utter rot.

    1. Re:Sorry dudes... by Bill,+Shooter+of+Bul · · Score: 4, Insightful

      No Kidding.

      I'm going to power my bike tomorrow with fish sticks, a renewable resource conveniently located in my freezer. The natural cycle of womanhood seems to automatically withdraw funds from our checking account and deposit fresh fish sticks in the freezer on a weekly schedule. Like the tides, or the changing of seasons, the reasons for this cycle are not readily explainable to us mere men, we can only gaze upon the glory of Mother nature and wonder at her boundless bounty.

      --
      Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
    2. Re:Sorry dudes... by keithpreston · · Score: 1

      Lucky for you man created Amazon.com for replacing woman in this natural cycle of life. You can subscribe to Fish sticks like their other grocery products and it will automatically charge you and ship fish sticks to your door on a regular basis!

    3. Re:Sorry dudes... by Culture20 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Lucky for you man created Amazon.com for replacing woman in this natural cycle of life. You can subscribe to Fish sticks like their other grocery products and it will automatically charge you and ship fish sticks to your door on a regular basis!

      But then they won't be in the freezer, or cooked in the oven. I'd have to eat them quickly, hunched-over on my front porch before they attracted raccoons. I think Amazon.com has a way to go before replacing the Amazons.

    4. Re:Sorry dudes... by Bill,+Shooter+of+Bul · · Score: 1

      What? A weekly trip to the supermarket for fishsticks isn't a part of a woman's biological cycle? Gasp! Oh, the painful shock being told something I was pretending not to know!

      How shall I live... What shall I do..

      What happens if she stops buying them? Will other frozen sticks of food even work? Chicken sticks? Beef Sticks? What if the fish she buys next, isn't stick shaped? Would a fish Isosceles triangle work?

      And also, what about the daily foot massages? Are those really necessary to keep the blood returning to her head?

      --
      Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
    5. Re:Sorry dudes... by mpe · · Score: 1

      The fact that methane can be made from cow dung(among a large number of other things) doesn't mean that slapping a methane engine or fuel cell on a vehicle amounts to producing a "vehicle powered by cow dung".

      About a year ago there was a Mythbusters special. In that episode they ran a lawnmower (apparently with an unmodified engine) on methane produced from cow dung. The farm they got this from apparently uses gas from the waste as a source of fuel. There are also sewerage treatment plants which use gas produced by bacterial decomposition to reduce their need for "natural gas" and/or electricity. As well as landfill sites collecting methane from rotting garbage to fuel the trucks which bring if there in the first place.

  5. Cow and chicken manure by omfglearntoplay · · Score: 1

    There was something on PBS last night that talked about how agricultural waste, especially cow and chicken crap, is a huge huge water pollution problem in many places in the US. I hope this fuel conversion process is something that can really happen large scale. The other cool info they talked about is that a lot of water pollutants in the Chesapeake Bay area are causing male fish to grow female eggs and other scary things that could cause problems in people, too since people drink this water and the filters at water processing plants can't handle these "new pollutants". Great, we won't just go sterile, we'll grow 6 legs and our balls will drop off.

  6. Just like GM & Ford by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Hell, that's nothing.

    GM, Ford and Chrysler are already selling vehicles powered by organic waste. Granted, the material has been highly compressed and heated through geologic forces over millions of years until it becomes a black goo which is then refined into a flammable liquid.... but you can still call it organic waste, correct?

    1. Re:Just like GM & Ford by aliquis · · Score: 1

      It's more or less all radioactive waste in the end, hydrogen may be an exception.

      Solar power renewable energy my ass.

    2. Re:Just like GM & Ford by esampson · · Score: 1

      Hell, that's nothing.

      GM, Ford and Chrysler are already selling vehicles powered by organic waste.

      Oh. Oil. For a moment I thought you meant the marketing bullshit they ran on.

  7. You're right by Myria · · Score: 4, Funny

    I call bullshit.

    --
    "Screw Sun, cross-platform will never work. Let's move on and steal the Java language." - Visual J++ Product Manager
  8. re: dung car by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yeah, but I bet it gets really shitty gas mileage.

  9. It is still a carbon based fuel by crazybit · · Score: 2, Interesting

    which means it will generate CO2. Maybe less than gasoline, but on the other side it is VERY explosive and has to be stored in high pressure tanks.

    What happened with wind/solar/hidrogen based technologies? shouldn't we be researching on them?

    --
    - Human knowledge belongs to the world
    1. Re:It is still a carbon based fuel by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      You're right and wrong. The problem with burning oil is that you are releasing sequestered CO2 from within the earth. Burning methane from cow waste releases CO2 that was sequestered from the atmosphere by the plant then the cow then released by burning. So it's a 0 sum transfer.

      CO2 in oil was in the atmosphere a very long time ago while the CO2 from dung was in the atmosphere days ago.

    2. Re:It is still a carbon based fuel by esampson · · Score: 1

      Yes, it does generate CO2 but that isn't a problem if the methane is generated from some form of organic waste. In such a case the carbon in the methane was recently (in geological terms) in the air, most likely as CO2, before being pulled out by plants. Burning the methane simply returns it back to the air (admittedly, it would be better if we didn't have to do that but at least it won't increase the amount of atmospheric CO2).

      Like using alcohol using methane produced from organic waste is carbon neutral at worst. Given that after the conversion process and after natural processes that further breakdown the organic waste there is still some carbon left behind (the waste won't convert 100% to CO2) there is really a negative, albeit barely, effect on atmospheric carbon.

      The carbon in oil, on the other hand, comes from deep underground where it has been sequestered. By digging it up and burning it we are taking it out of the ground and placing it back into the atmosphere.

      Of course all those is only important if the methane is produced from organic waste. If the methane is taken from sequestered locations such as methane hydrate deposits in the ocean then burning the methane will add CO2 to the atmosphere.

    3. Re:It is still a carbon based fuel by aliquis · · Score: 1

      Except the plants and later animals have picked up the same amount of carbon from the environment so it's +/- 0.

      The same is true for the fossile fuels as well except it was rather long time ago it was stored.

      But then as someone else mentioned in another thread on Slashdot, rather a warmer planet when a freezing ice-ball in space.

      Imagine earth at less than 0 degrees celsius all the time.

    4. Re:It is still a carbon based fuel by chrisv · · Score: 1

      Hm. Well, methane will generate CO2 as it's end result, whether it's used for power or not - it undergoes an oxidation reaction over time: CH4 + 2O2 -> CO2 + 2H2O. It's also 75 times more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas, and as it decomposes to CO2 anyway, net output of CO2 from burning methane from such sources as cow dung is nil.

      Wind, solar, and hydrogen all have their issues: wind and solar are unreliable over time, because they both ultimately depend on the weather conditions, and hydrogen isn't an energy source. Free H2 uses a lot of energy to obtain, unless it's obtained from fossil fuels, which, while potentially better for the environment, still leaves us with a non-renewable resource.

      --

      Dogma: Dead (mostly because your Karma ran it over)

    5. Re:It is still a carbon based fuel by esampson · · Score: 1

      ...It's also 75 times more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas, and as it decomposes to CO2 anyway

      Not quite sure why but I feel compelled to point out that not only does it convert to CO2 but it does so pretty darn quickly (as I understand it). Methane really wants to combine with oxygen, which is of course why it burns so nicely.

      Maybe I feel compelled because I've seen other people throw out the fact that it is so much more potent in an attempt to discredit the idea that CO2 is a major factor in climate change (which you are obviously not trying to do).

  10. Methane by megli · · Score: 1

    Because cows don't produce enough methane already.

    --
    ===== will post for karma
  11. WTF? by MrEricSir · · Score: 2, Informative

    Since when has "poop" been a swear word that needs to be censored?

    --
    There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
    1. Re:WTF? by chromas · · Score: 2, Funny

      Oh my shit! You fuckin' said "p**p"! I'm tattling!

    2. Re:WTF? by Nerdfest · · Score: 1

      Those asterisks actually represent boobies. He was trying to add a little more raunchiness to the comments.

    3. Re:WTF? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Oh my shit! You fuckin' said "p**p"! I'm tattling!

      That reminds me of one of my favorite oldies -- the redneck who told his wife, "Let's put the kids to B-E-D so we can fuck."

  12. Tiger Woods? by daveywest · · Score: 2, Funny

    I can just see the endorsment touting the "sweet smell of victory."

  13. Smart feller ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    The guy who invented it was definitely a fart Smeller and so will be those around the cart

  14. Coming Soon...? by MightyMartian · · Score: 1

    Now let's see if they can design a golfer that isn't.

    --
    The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
  15. This is so Thunderdome! by polyomninym · · Score: 1

    They should call it "Master Blaster" Ok ok that was lame.

  16. Who runs bartertown? by fragMasterFlash · · Score: 1

    Apparently Yamaha does ;-)

  17. So uh...an interesting fact... by anotheranothernick · · Score: 1

    Methane is about *20 times* more effective at trapping heat than CO2. Both are "Green house" gases.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methane#Methane_as_a_greenhouse_gas

    Let the flames begin! ( pun intended :P )

    1. Re:So uh...an interesting fact... by Al+Dimond · · Score: 1

      Right, and when you burn it it turns into carbon dioxide and water.

    2. Re:So uh...an interesting fact... by shentino · · Score: 1

      which is still better than leaving it unburned and greenhouse potent.

  18. just combine bullshit sports: by gandhi_2 · · Score: 1

    If you put a wind sail on a golf cart, then arrogant rich people can combine their favorite two past-times: golf and sailing. It's okay to stereotype rich people, right?

    --
    THL phish sticks
  19. slogan by shentino · · Score: 1

    Cowadunga duude!

  20. Fueling from the top... by geekmux · · Score: 1

    Hell, that's nothing. GM, Ford and Chrysler are already selling vehicles powered by organic waste. Granted, the material has been highly compressed and heated through geologic forces over millions of years until it becomes a black goo which is then refined into a flammable liquid.... but you can still call it organic waste, correct?

    Boy, there for a minute, when you were talking about highly compressed organic waste, I thought you might have been referring to those tall piles of shit they call Executives.

    Then, I realized you were serious.

    My observation still stands as a viable source of highly refined bullshit, in case GM were to look towards another vehicle line...

  21. All I'm picturing in my head by Xaedalus · · Score: 1

    is some drunken golfer dropping his pants and crapping down the exhaust pipe of his cart.

    --
    Here's to hot beer, cold women, and Glaswegian kisses for all.
  22. Cattle Herding by JuzzFunky · · Score: 1

    How about using this to build an autonomous cattle herdiing robot!

    --
    Unexpect the expected!
  23. New meaning by goombah99 · · Score: 1

    to the term "chip shot"

    --
    Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
  24. hhahahaahha!!!!!!! by Chees0rz · · Score: 1

    It's painted to look like a cow!!!

  25. This would be perfect for Mongolia, NZ and AU by FishTankX · · Score: 1

    This could totally be perfect for Mongolia, and New Zealand and Australia.. Cattle puts out ALOT of crap. Next thing you know, New Zealand will be powering their golf carts off of methane directly extracted from the asses of all of their sheep.

    1. Re:This would be perfect for Mongolia, NZ and AU by twosat · · Score: 1

      The Christchurch City Council in New Zealand has been generating methane gas from its sewerage for many years and using it in its vehicles and generators. In fact, the sewage works generates a substantial portion of the power required to run itself. In addition, there is a large council swimming pool complex (Queen Elizabeth) that is heated by the gas given off from an old rubbish dump.

  26. Old news by wagr · · Score: 1

    On our farm, we used to run a little still-like contraption that captured methane from manure that we used to run a water pump. My brother and I took that pump and made a go-cart with it (for a few days until my grandfather found out). Is the news here that a company has done this instead of a farm boy?

  27. I'll bet it runs like shit! by Tragedy4u · · Score: 1

    couldn't resist

  28. Better alternative... by grumpyman · · Score: 1

    ...is to have golf-cart powered by human dung. Converting the seats to toilet seats, put in built-in microwave and a mini fridge. That'll be truly self-propelling.