Surgeon uses human fat to run his cars

[aruna]

One way to end our dependency on Middle East oil....

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-wellbeing/health-news/surgeon-uses-human-fat-to-run-his-cars-1211431.html


A leading Beverly Hills plastic surgeon claims to have found an environmentally friendly way to combine two of America's great obsessions – after converting his 4x4 to run on fat removed from clients during liposuction operations.

However...


Scientists say there is no reason why human fat cannot be turned into biofuel, since it contains triglycerides which are no different from those found in waste animal fats that are already being used for the same purpose. However the discovery left medical regulators unimpressed. Using human medical waste to power vehicles (or indeed for any other commercial purpose) is largely illegal, and Dr Bittner's clinic has been raided by California Health Department officials. The magazine Forbes says that Dr Bittner's ability to create what he calls "lipodiesel" first came to light in lawsuits filed by several former patients, who recently accused him of allowing his girlfriend and assistant, who were both unlicensed, to carry out intricate operations.

Sadly, Dr Bittner is no longer around to bask in his new-found fame. His practice in Beverly Hills suddenly closed shortly after last month's raid, and he is believed to have moved to South America.

[LaceWing]

This story lights up my fiction circuits, makes me think of James Morrow's The Philosopher's Apprentice, in which he considers a certain perspective on human cloning.

My first (visceral) reaction was: but then we might as well use crematoriums as heat generators and hook them up to the electrical grid.

But then I thought about people who are paid to become kidney "donors," and how easily such schemes devolve into very profitable scams that take unfair advantage of the poor.

So, I get why any profit-oriented use of the human body is legally questionable, and I also get how it's not that different from processing human sewage into fertilizer.

[scarletpeaches]

My dad's got enough arse to run a whole fleet of limousines in that case.

[donroc]

A novel set in the near future? Disappearing patients at a fat farm?

[astonwest]

Even though they paid him to remove it, I wonder whether any of his patients would have sued him for a share of the profits. But since they shut down his operation for other reasons, it sounds like the world may never know.

:)

[mario_c]

Robin Williams said to do this over 2 years ago on TV. I laughed a lot, mainly because it was a good idea. And I knew that someone would actually try it.
Chuck Pahlanuk had some interesting thoughts on using liposuctioned human fat for industrial uses...

[Plot Device]

http://www.scene-stealers.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/fp1773-fight-club-soap.jpg