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 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 on MSNBC.com, San Francisco-based garbage company Norcal Waste, 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 (i.e. natural gas), that can be piped directly to a gas stove or heater or used to generate electricity.

Photo credit: MSNBC.com, Paul Sakuma/AP