The dialogue around alternative and renewable energy has reached a fever pitch, and that's nothin' but good. The airwaves around the world are rife with groups and individuals espousing their own plans (and often their own agendas) to remove the burden of fossil/foreign fuels from their countries and the world.

In the U.S., the natural gas industry is pushing - shockingly! - natural gas. The oil companies are advocating - surprise! - increased indigenous drilling for oil. Some, like T. Boone Pickens, actually seem 100% genuine.

So, I was surprised to stumble on a unique approach that's original, practical from someone without a dog in the fight.

J.C. Bell is the founder and CEO of Bell Bio-Energy, Inc. Mr. Bell, with a background in engineering and agriculture, has developed and patented a process that converts just about any biomass - any living thing, like a plant - into hydrocarbons that can in turn be converted to crude oil.

It's alledged that Mr. Bell first got the idea after observing cows - ahem - pass methane. Thinking of the process that took place in the cows stomach to convert food to gas inspired him to pursue his biomass project.

Before you laugh, know that Bell Bio-Energy is slated to open 7 initial plants at U.S. military instillations this month - all inconjunction with the U.S. Department of Defense.

Bell's plan is to use data collected from the DOD phase of this project to refine the full-scale process. Once that process is defined, he thinks it could produce up to 500,000 barrels of oil per day within the first 18 months. He also predicts that full-blown production would reach 5-million barrels per day in 3-4 years.

Still laughing?

Of course, the perfect solution isn't to produce more crude. If the pollution side of the equation isn't in the mix, we still have serious issues to deal with. But biomass is biomass - Bell's process converts any biological materials into crude. That includes plants, lawn clippings, human waste, and several kinds of refuse.

Personally, I like Picken's Plan. But when you add this as a bridge (along with natural gas) to fruition, it seems like an obvious alternative.