Brittany Branyon: State emerges as new energy pioneer

Brittany Branyon
Columnist
Published: September 5, 2008

Many were astonished when oilman T. Boone Pickens came out about the climate crisis and, more specifically, renewable energy.
He puts a fresh face on new energy policy and encourages all Americans to address what has previously been seen as an issue typically left of center. But Pickens isn’t the first of his kind. More Americans are becoming concerned about the energy crisis as it is seen as a pertinent issue.

Something exciting is taking place at Auburn in the means of alternative energy. Professor of Energy Crops and Bioenergy David Bransby, who has been working with biomass made from sources such as switchgrass for 20 years, has been busy the past few months helping line up a Renewable Energy Tour.

The tour, which will travel from Auburn to Berkeley, Calif., will be led by a Dodge Dakota with an eight-cylinder engine powered by wood scraps.

He explained that this technology, though perceived as brand new, has been around for some time. Ben Russell of Russell Athletics launched a similar tour in 1981, traveling in a pick-up powered by wood.

While the Dakota will be powered by the same fuel as Russell’s, Bransby and the brains behind this initiative, Wayne Keith, want to educate the public that everything from garbage to chicken litter can be used to power our vehicles.

Keith, who quit buying gasoline three years ago when it reached $1.75 a gallon, created the technology powering the Dakota. Using about a pound of wood per mile in a V8 engine, it would cost around half a cent to power his truck if he bought commercial wood. But because the truck is powered from scraps that can no longer be used, not only is his fuel more sustainable, it is “practically free.”

I asked Keith what he said to those who question the carbon neutrality of his fuel sources, to which he responded: “The fuel I use today will be replaced today.”

He asked, “Wouldn’t it be nice if we had some way to store solar energy? What is a block of wood?”

Playing devil’s advocate, I asked about the carbon emitted from the burning wood.

He said, “When the tree was growing, it absorbed carbon dioxide in the air; when it rots, it releases it. The cycle will continue.”

I contacted Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture Ron Sparks for a statement regarding the tour.

He said the tour shows that “we’re committed in Alabama” to finding a means to aiding the energy crisis, and that “agriculture is going to lead the way to help us become less dependent on foreign oil.”

The tour, which kicks off Sept. 16, not only highlights the technologies created in Alabama but also the energy alternatives at our disposal.

Alabama has been a leader in agricultural technology for years, but our great state is now emerging as a leader in the new age of energy.

Brittany Branyon is a senior at Auburn University and is co-chair for the Auburn Sustainability Action Program.