It’s Not Like Gasoline Grows On Trees. Oh Wait…

If it hadn’t been published 6 days prior to the 1st I would assume this wasn’t for real, in fact it is so unbelievable I am just going to start off by quoting the first line: “Farmers in North Queensland are doing their bit to be environmentally friendly by investing in a tree that produces diesel.”

The U.S. is currently struggling with oil prices topping $110 a barrel (in no small part thanks to our involvement over seas, can we get a “Go Team!”?). We are fighting to convince car companies and industries that use vast amounts of oil to figure ways to cut back, like producing cars that are more fuel efficient or don’t need it at all. Australians, on the other hand, are taking a tip from Brazil and have purchased over 20,000 trees that produce “oil that can be extracted, filtered and used to power vehicles” that run on diesel.

Although it is apparently a long term investment (it takes between 15 and 20 years for the trees to mature enough and become ready to harvest for oil), though once they have matured, a hectare (100 meters square) can produce 12,000 litres of fuel a year (a bit over 3,000 gallons… or a little more then 75 barrels).

Oh and because it is a tree it is also a renewable source of energy. You can read more about the trees here. Maybe some one might want to mention this to our government.