Off Grid World by offgridworld.com
Let’s face it: hydrocarbons are secondhand energy sources. Trees and other plants absorb electromagnetic radiation from the Sun and use that energy to convert water, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen into sugars that the plant needs to survive. Then, when they die, we use their flesh as biomass fuel, or they get crushed under the earth for a few million years, and then up from the ground comes a bubblin’ crude, oil that is, Texas “T”.
Well, that’s just friggin’ inefficient! Of course, you can’t blame the plants; the purpose of their existence is hardly to power your monster truck or RV.
But, really, hydrocarbons are simple molecules: you take hydrogen (hydro) combine it with carbon (yes that’s where the carbon part comes from) and you get hydrocarbons. The smallest kind we call natural gas, or methane (CH4), and the biggest kind we call candle wax or paraffin (C31H64)…
