According to an article at discover.com, someone has invented a machine that can turn just about anything into oil.
Unlike other solid-to-liquid-fuel processes such as cornstarch into ethanol, this one will accept almost any carbon-based feedstock. If a 175-pound man fell into one end, he would come out the other end as 38 pounds of oil, 7 pounds of gas, and 7 pounds of minerals, as well as 123 pounds of sterilized water. While no one plans to put people into a thermal depolymerization machine, an intimate human creation could become a prime feedstock. "There is no reason why we can't turn sewage, including human excrement, into a glorious oil," says engineer Terry Adams, a project consultant. So the city of Philadelphia is in discussion with Changing World Technologies to begin doing exactly that.
Seems to me that this would be a very cool technology to see mature. For one, it will reduce everyone's dependance on importing oil -- just throw your garbage in one end and get your oil out the other. There are a host of environmental benefits as well. I really hope this, or something like it, pans out and becomes widespread.
