NationStates Jolt Archive

Inventor fuels car with dead cats (http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/09/14/germany.catfuel.reut/index.html)

ERLIN, Germany (Reuters) -- A German inventor has angered animal rights activists with his answer to fighting the soaring cost of fuel -- dead cats.

Christian Koch, 55, from the eastern county of Saxony, told Bild newspaper that his organic diesel fuel -- a homemade blend of garbage, run-over cats and other ingredients -- is a proven alternative to normal consumer diesel.

"I drive my normal diesel-powered car with this mixture," Koch said. "I have gone 170,000 km (106,000 miles) without a problem."

The Web site of Koch's firm, "Alphakat GmbH", says his patented "KDV 500" machine can produce what he calls the "bio-diesel" fuel at about 23 euro cents (30 cents) a liter, which is about one-fifth the price at petrol stations now.

Koch said around 20 dead cats added into the mix could help produce enough fuel to fill up a 50-liter (11 gallon) tank.

But the president of the German Society for the Protection of Animals, Wolfgang Apel, said using dead cats for fuel was illegal.

"There's no danger for cats and dogs in Germany because this practice is outlawed in Germany," Apel told Bild on Wednesday in a story entitled "Can you really make fuel out of cats?"

"We're going to keep an eye on this case," Apel said.

Cats are cheap.

Inventor fuels car with dead cats (http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/09/14/germany.catfuel.reut/index.html)

ERLIN, Germany (Reuters) -- A German inventor has angered animal rights activists with his answer to fighting the soaring cost of fuel -- dead cats.

Christian Koch, 55, from the eastern county of Saxony, told Bild newspaper that his organic diesel fuel -- a homemade blend of garbage, run-over cats and other ingredients -- is a proven alternative to normal consumer diesel.

"I drive my normal diesel-powered car with this mixture," Koch said. "I have gone 170,000 km (106,000 miles) without a problem."

The Web site of Koch's firm, "Alphakat GmbH", says his patented "KDV 500" machine can produce what he calls the "bio-diesel" fuel at about 23 euro cents (30 cents) a liter, which is about one-fifth the price at petrol stations now.

Koch said around 20 dead cats added into the mix could help produce enough fuel to fill up a 50-liter (11 gallon) tank.

But the president of the German Society for the Protection of Animals, Wolfgang Apel, said using dead cats for fuel was illegal.

"There's no danger for cats and dogs in Germany because this practice is outlawed in Germany," Apel told Bild on Wednesday in a story entitled "Can you really make fuel out of cats?"

"We're going to keep an eye on this case," Apel said.

What are the animal rights activists complaining about? Isn't it cats that are already dead? Plus it doesn't need to be only cats, so other dead animals can work, as well as other organic matter. Lots of meat are wasted every year, let's use it. No (extra) animals have to die.

This is a rumor that spread a bit further then it ought to have, possibly from something Koch said, possibly from something someone made up and claimed he said.

link (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050914/od_nm/germany_cats_dc;_ylt=AnDpHeL1OkjN_vnpxsCPhICs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3NW1oMDRpBHNlYwM3NTc-)

Pretty spiffy. I bet Egyptian cultists are probably having a field day with this, though.

The success of his own vehicle isn't exactly proof on a clinical scale, but the concept sounds promising. He really should use cats, though, even if they aren't useful, just to piss people off.

Hooray! Now we can gas up at the animal shelter!

HECK YEAH!!! now we won't be so reliant on the middle east and Africa and we can go and become reliant on all the enviromentally healthy countries out there who can start cat breeding farms.

What about fat cats? Will their greasy blubber increase price?

I bet animal rights activists will have field days about this.

Now we have 101 uses.
http://www.eddnet.org.uk/comedy/deadcat01.php

"There's a whole dead cat in every bar of Dead Cat Soap".