He had a broad face and a round little belly that shook when he laughed like a bowl full of jelly. He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf, and I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself.
Whale blubber once provided the fuel for the nation's lanterns. Could the human equivalent soon become the fuel of your future?
I'm inspired for my first post by Kate Sheppard's "You Want Me to Put What in My Tank?", in which she documents the growing interest in making biodiesel from unconventional sources.
One of those sources is human fat obtained from suction lipeptomy, commonly known as "liposuction." The trend was started by New Zealand biodiesel enthusiast Peter Bethune, who recently contributed some of his own fat toward his quest to break the round-the-world speed record in a powerboat fueled entirely by biodiesel. Now, it seems, a Norwegian company is close to signing an agreement with Miami, Florida's Jackson Memorial Hospital to produce biodiesel from blubber extracted during the hospital's liposuction operations (see "Fortune in Fat").
The supply of liposuction-derived fat is rather limited, however, except in the neighborhood of major medical complexes. Pondering that weighty problem, my colleague Monika (who asked that I not reveal her family name; I can't imagine why) posed the obvious question: Why use only lard from the living? The potential supply of biodiesel feedstock would be so much greater if folks would be willing to donate their body fat after they pass away, just as many now donate their organs post mortem. She suggests printing up some "Triglyceride Donor" cards ("Fat Donor" might dissuade people from carrying such a card on their person) and distributing them to people as they enter shopping malls and fast-food restaurants.
Even Hollywood might be persuaded to get into the act, perhaps by re-issuing an updated version of the classic eco-flick Soylent Green. The character played by Charlton Heston in the original film could then shout in horror, "Biodiesel ... is ... people!", just before a squadron of angry venture capitalists descends upon him.
Morticians would obviously have to be trained to look for the donor cards, and in the careful removal of fat, but I cannot see this as a major barrier. And think of how post-mortem liposuction would improve the appearance of at least some of the deceased. "My, my! He never looked so good when he was alive!" may become a commonly heard utterance at open-casket memorial services.
Of course, like other forms of biodiesel, any that is made from liposuction fat would also benefit from generous federal subsidies. As a "virgin oil" -- virgin in this case having nothing to do with the condition of the donor -- derived from an animal fat, it would presumably benefit from the $1.00/gallon federal tax credit for agribiodiesel, rather than the measly $0.50/gallon tax credit earned for the production of biodiesel made from yellow grease (generally, waste grease and oils recovered from restaurants). That depends, of course, on lipodiesel entrepreneurs being able to convince the IRS that humans are, well, animals too. Assuming they can, a small-scale facility like the one proposed for Miami, which is expected to produce only 135,000 gallons of biodiesel a year, would qualify in addition for the $0.10/gallon "Small Agribiodiesel Producer (tax) Credit" on its entire annual output.
Lipodiesel would presumably benefit also from state-level incentives. In Florida, the site of the aforementioned lard-to-biodiesel plant, the state government offers a credit against the state sales and use tax on 75% of all capital costs, operation and maintenance costs, and research and development costs, incurred between 1 July 2006 and 30 June 2010 in connection with an investment in the production, storage, and distribution of biodiesel in the state. In many other states, producers could tap into state-financed production or blender credits. In Arkansas, for example, a biodiesel supplier is entitled to a tax refund of $0.50 per gallon of biodiesel fuel that is used to produce biodiesel mixtures containing not more than two percent (2%) biodiesel.
Fat profits are guaranteed, whichever way you cut it.
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Biodiversivist Posted 4:20 am
16 Dec 2006
It turns out that cases of spontaneous combustion are nothing more than burning body fat. Whale oil lamps are an example of how flammable blubber can be in the right circumstances. However, the fire that starts them to burning is not spontaneous, but some accident, often caused by the person having a heart attack with a cigarette in their hand.
On a serious note, I think your friend has a good idea. We need options that allow people to donate their bodies to some environmental cause as opposed to having it cremated or stuffed in the ground pumped full of a toxic preservative, wrapped in a wood coffin.
In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world
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caniscandida Posted 6:24 am
16 Dec 2006
Biodiv, I have never seen a wooden coffin used in a Catholic funeral in the US. The very unfortunate practice that we have is to bury our dead in these large, elaborately constructed metal cases. The traditional doctrine of the resurrection of the dead lies behind it: at the end of time (?), at the Last Judgment (??), all the dead shall rise, to be judged. Hence arises what is basically a superstition, that it is necessary to preserve the integrity of the dead body as well as possible. But then, what is the story with all the embalming fluid? And what about all those bodies of saints which have been intentionally disassembled, so that as many churches as possible have heads or fingers or collar bones to venerate as relics?
Cremation had never been permitted till recently. Even in that case, the stipulation was that the ashes must be gathered in a single vessel, and not scattered. And yet, the late JFK Jr. had expressed a wish to be cremated, and that his ashes be scattered from the air over the sea to the south of Cape Cod -- ironically, where he died -- ; and I believe that is what happened, given that the Kennedy clan are notoriously much more successful than, say, Henry VIII in making deals with the Catholic hierarchy.
I very much like Monika's suggestion, and I hope it takes off. Already the Jews have a most admirable attitude toward organ donorship: to donate one's body or one's organs, either for medical research or to help people who need healthy organs, is a "mitzvah," a benefit explicitly in accord with God's will. I would hope that members of other religions come to share this enlightened attitude.
And I would hope that the attitude can be extended to include some well-chosen environmental purposes to donate one's body to. There will always be a serious need for dignity, however, and I am not sure converting a corpse into fuel for a car, or a lawn-mower, or a leaf-blower, quite measures up.
Back when I was a projectionist, in the mid 1970s, I showed the movie "Soylent Green": really creepy. It did not help that the dismal dystopic portrait of a future NYC somewhat corresponded to NYC's decline in that decade. In that story, of course, the main moral horrors were cannibalism, and the systemic secrecy surrounding it.
Chickens are our cousins!
So are other sensitive animals!
Enough is enough!
No more factory farms!
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Biodiversivist Posted 8:36 am
16 Dec 2006
In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world
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Ron Steenblik Posted 11:46 pm
16 Dec 2006
"A Norwegian newspaper wrote about the man and his plan earlier this month, and the story promptly got picked up by other Internet outlets. UPI wrote an article and a (gullible) Pittsburgh daily newspaper even published an entire column about it.
"One problem: There's no evidence that there's truth to any of this. ... First, the hospital in question -- Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital -- says the story isn't true. In fact, the hospital, which serves a lower-income population, does "little if any" liposuction work, said spokeswoman Lorraine Nelson. [RS: Any relation to "Bio" Willie?]
"Second, there are zillions of regulations about medical waste. It would be difficult, perhaps even impossible, to send human fat out to a recycler. Third, you'd need to liposuction a whole lot of fatties to produce much biodiesel.
"While it is possible to make the fuel with the help of animal fat, you'd need a lot of it -- a pound of fat only produces a pound of biodiesel."
Oh well, with the kind of subsidies on offer, somebody's bound to try it some day.
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Biodiversivist Posted 6:25 am
17 Dec 2006
In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world
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