Coconut Cars in Our Future?
When we think of greening the automotive industry, we usually think of alternative fuel sources. At Baylor University, though, they’re thinking outside of the box and researching ways to replace synthetic parts with natural materials, like coconuts.
It really isn’t as weird as it first sounds. Think about how hard it is to crack a coconut. From AboutMyPlanet:
Preliminary reports show that coconut replacements can easily meet most of the industry’s requirements and that the mechanical properties are just as good as there synthetic counterparts. Coconuts apart from being an environmentally friendly alternative do not burn very well or emit toxic fumes, which is one of the specifications in passing tests required for their certification as commercial automotive parts.
This could be huge for not just the car industry, but also coconut farmers around the world, most of whom are living in poverty. You can read more about coconut cars here.
[...] Originally posted here: Coconut Cars in Our Future? : Ecoscraps [...]