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Who knew money really could grow on trees?

The increasing concentration of climate-changing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is a huge problem, but shaking a stick at it may do more than you think -- especially when that stick is converted into biomass charcoal in a special recycling chamber. That’s the solution a team from Rice University proposed for the 5.6 million cubic yards of tree debris downed in Houston by Hurricane Ike. Mayor Bill White logged his approval by awarding the team of students, faculty and staff first place and a $10,000 cash prize for their idea. Not only does converting wood into “biochar” actually create potentially profitable energy, it also traps carbon and, when added to the soil as a fertilizer, reduces the amount of planet-warming carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. You could even go out on a limb and say that if all that Houston tree waste becomes biochar, it’ll be the equivalent of taking about 240,000 cars off the city’s roads for a year. And that’s a great way to turn over a new leaf.