Tools

Email this article
Print this article
YouNews™
Share
- Delicious
- Digg
- Facebook
- LinkedIn
- MySpace
- Newsvine
- Reddit
- StumbleUpon
- Tweet

Switchgrass to be used as energy and as food

By By MIKE LaFAVE

Story Created: Jun 17, 2009 at 3:04 PM EST

Story Updated: Jun 17, 2009 at 4:27 PM EST

VERONA, N.Y. (WKTV) - VVS and Cornell University are teaming up again to go green. Cornell used willow trees to create bio-energy at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill High School earlier this year, and on Wednesday they were planting switch grass.

Not only does the program benefit the planet, and produce energy, but it gives students a hands-on learning experience. Associates say this is just the first step to reducing America's dependency on oil.

"This is just part of the equation, along with solar, wind, biomass, and conservation," said Hilary Mayton, a Cornell Cooperative Extension Associate. "So, we're really gonna need everything to held us get over our addiction to oil."

Mayton says this is the wave of the future when it comes to energy, and that grasses are better than crops like corn because it's not functioning both as an energy source and as food.