Life Is Like a Fuel Tank of Chocolates

British duo’s carbon-negative road trip fueled by chocolate 1

This weekend, while you're finishing up the last of the chocolates in your advent calendar -- oh admit it, you ate them all already -- Britons Andy Pag and John Grimshaw will be rolling to the end of a chocolate-fueled road trip. The duo claim that their trip from Poole, England through the Sahara desert to Timbuktu, Mali, will be the world's first carbon-negative voyage, thanks to their fuel: 396 gallons of chocolate discarded by a British manufacturer. "This way we're doing the chocolate factory a favor by taking away their waste, we're doing the local government a favor by occupying less space in their landfills, but most importantly, we're doing the environment a favor by reducing our carbon footprint," says Chris Elvey of biodiesel maker Ecotec, which developed the chocolate-to-fuel technology. Pag and Grimshaw plan to leave their vehicles and equipment in Timbuktu to be reused -- at which point we assume the carbon-negativity will end, unless they plan to walk home.

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  1. teagads Posted 1:04 pm
    22 Dec 2007

    Not the firstHow can they claim to be the first carbon-negative voyage? They're ignoring the cost of production for their vehicle, the cost of building all the roads they will travel on and the cost of all the food they will consume along the way. If you want carbon-negative voyages look back, not forward. Progress offers a world of myths; stop trying to be the first and learn from the past. Try biking and dumpster diving or walking to farmer's markets.

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