Turkey power! Bird dung is putting one small town on the map--and redefining alternative fuels.

Today, the United States gets most of the energy it needs by burning fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and natural gas. That may not be true in a decade. Due to environmental concerns, alternative fuels are gaining importance. Leading the way are familiar clean energy sources like solar, water, and wind power. But gaining ground are some weirder energy options--like turkey droppings.

FOWL PLAY

In Benson, Minnesota, that wacky alternative is about to become reality. Under construction in this small town is an energy-producing plant that will burn turkey "litter"--a mix of dung and the wood chips used as bedding material for the birds. The plant will burn 700,000 tons of biomass each year. And when the plant switches on in 2007, it could create enough electricity to power 60,000 homes.

As unsavory as it sounds, burning turkey waste doesn't cause any more pollution than the litter would have created had it been left to naturally decompose (break down chemically), says Carl Strickler, chief operating officer of Fibrominn, the company building Benson's peculiar plant. Even better: Its only byproduct is ash, which farmers can use as fertilizer.

TONS OF DUNG

So where do you get 700,000 tons--equivalent to the weight of about 500 male elephants--of turkey litter? In Minnesota, that's not a big problem. Every year, farmers in Minnesota, the nation's top turkey-producing state, raise 45.5 million turkeys. Those turkeys produce 1.7 million tons of turkey litter.

Traditionally, farmers have spread the litter on fields to fertilize crops. But that stinks. With the new plant, less smelly turkey litter will be stored on farms or spread on fields. Instead, tightly covered trucks will transport it to the plant where the litter will be burned. The heat will turn water into steam, which will drive a turbine and generator to create electricity.

"There is an opportunity for our technology to help balance the environment, [reduce] land application of poultry manure, and produce renewable energy using local resources," says Rupert Fraser, chief executive officer of Homeland Renewable Energy, Fibrominn's parent company. In other words, the new plant will really clear the air in Benson.

THE OLD WAY

Compare that breath of fresh air to what happens in a traditional power plant that burns coal, gas, or oil. These plants--especially old ones--spew particles of dirt, or soot, into the air. Inhaling the soot can cause breathing problems like asthma and, over the long term, can even lead to heart disease. Worse: Burning fossil fuels raises atmospheric levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases--such as carbon dioxide and methane. Most scientists agree that this is accelerating global warming (average increase in Earth's temperature). Result: melting glaciers, altered animal migration patterns, and other environmental problems.

Since 85 percent of the U.S.'s energy comes from burning fossil fuels, alternatives are vital to the environment's health. But turkey dung alone will not save the planet. That's why scientists are trying Rout other novel energy sources--like oil made from pig poop. But that's another story.

SURGE: The Fibrominn team hopes to build 30 to 50 poultry-litter-burning power plants in the U.S.

WEB EXTRA

For more on biomass, visit: www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts /sources/renewable/biomass.html

DID YOU KNOW?

* Fibrominn's turkey-power plant in Minnesota is not the first of its kind in the world. In 1992, their affiliate company in the United Kingdom established the world's first three power plants that turn poultry litter into electricity. The plants have since combusted more than 5.7 million tons of poultry litter and other biomass, which generated over 3.4 million megawatt-hours of electricity, and produced 470,000 tons of ash fertilizer.

CRITICAL THINKING:

* Why do you think the United States is the world's largest consumer of energy? Hint: Consider everyday activities and popular pastimes.

CROSS-CURRICULAR CONNECTIONS:

LANGUAGE ARTS: Suppose you live in a future where all the world's fossil fuels have been depleted. Write a short, science-fiction story about how new types of alternative energy help operate the machines in your household.

RESOURCES

Read about other new types of alternative energy:

* Learn how one Vermont company is turning cow manure into energy at: www.cvps.com/cowpower/faq.shtml

* "How a Pig's Waste Became Oil," by Henry Fountain, The New York Times, April 20, 2004.

DIRECTIONS: On a separate piece of paper, defend or dispute the following statements. (Hint: Defend means to explain why a statement is correct. Dispute means to explain why a statement is incorrect.)

1. The main sources of energy in the United States today are solar, water, and wind power.

2. The plant under construction in Minnesota plans to roast turkey meat, turning the gravy into steam energy.

3. "Turkey power" is cleaner than traditional electricity.

ANSWER

1. Dispute: Today, the U.S. gets most of its energy by burning fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and natural gas.

2. Dispute: The plant under construction in Minnesota will burn turkey litter, which is a mixture of turkey dung and wood chips used as bedding for the birds. The heat will turn water into steam, which will drive a turbine and generator to create electricity.

3. Defend: Turkey power is cleaner than traditional electricity, because the only byproduct in generating this type of electricity is ash, which farmers can use as fertilizers. Traditional electricity plants burn fossil fuels such as coal, gas, and oil. These plants spew air pollutants such as soot, which could cause breathing problems like asthma, and over the long term, can even lead to heart disease. Worse, burning fossil fuels raises atmospheric levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide. Studies show that the increased emission of these gases is accelerating global warming.