San Francisco has long been known as a haven of eco-sensitivity, but a new municipal program designed to harness electricity from dog droppings takes Fog City's environmental consciousness [1] to a whole new level. San Franciscans recycle a whopping 60 percent of their garbage, but until recently had no constructive way of disposing of animal poop, which in this pet-friendly community comprises nearly as much of the waste as diapers—roughly 4 percent.

According to an Associated Press story [2] on MSNBC.com [3], San Francisco-based garbage company Norcal Waste [4], which collects much of the city's trash and has been a pioneer of recycling practices, is getting ready to introduce a pet-waste-to-natural-gas pilot program. Norcal will distribute biodegradable bags in which the dog doo can be collected and deposited in carts at local dog parks. Using a simple bacterial process, the excreta will be transformed into methane [5] (i.e. natural gas), that can be piped directly to a gas stove or heater or used to generate electricity.

Photo credit: MSNBC.com [6], Paul Sakuma/AP