Calif. trying rice waste as fuel OROVILLE, Calif. (AP) - California's first attempt to turn rice stubble and tree trimmings into ethanol resembles a scene from "Back to the Future" when trash is dumped into Mr. Fusion at one end and pure energy comes out the other. The proposed "bio-refinery" will convert thousands of tons of rice straw, orchard prunings and other agricultural waste into ethanol, a sort of 200-proof moonshine that state air-pollution fighters hope will soon replace the unpopular additive MTBE in California gasoline. "We see it as an efficient waste-based ethanol plant that takes advantage of low-cost and no-cost materials," said Stephen J. Gatto, head of Boston-based BC International Corp., which plans to start construction next year. See full story <http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2560828719-bbb>
