Citizens of Norway will soon be able to ride around town on buses powered by nothing other than methane from human excrement. It’s emissions-free, hardly costs a thing and doesn’t require drilling into the earth’s surface. Every single person in Oslo will be contributing something very personal toward this new method of powering the city’s buses.

In Oslo, air pollution from public and private transport has increased by approximately 10% since 2000, contributing to more than 50% of total CO2 emissions in the city. With Norway’s ambitious target of being carbon neutral by 2050 Oslo City Council began investigating alternatives to fossil fuel-powered public transport and decided on biomethane.

Biomethane is a by-product of treated sewage. Microbes break down the raw material and release the gas, which can then be used in slightly modified engines. Previously at one of the sewage plants in the city half of the gas was flared off, emitting 17,00 tonnes of CO2. From September 2009, this gas will be trapped and converted into biomethane to run 200 of the city’s public buses.

Hey, it makes total sense. This is a great example of thinking outside the box to find solutions that don’t require wars in the Middle East or the destruction of ocean ecosystems. The biomethane would otherwise be wasted, and if it can create fuel – isn’t letting it go to waste the same as lighting piles of hundred dollar bills on fire? This is going to be a huge money saver for Oslo, especially since the city’s diesel buses will only require minor modifications.

This idea should definitely be applied on a wider scale. The idea of ‘poo power’ may be kind of gross when you’re first introduced to it, but if it helps us get beyond fossil fuels, it’s pretty rad.