biofuel

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The Word of the Day for January 13 is: 

biofuel   \bye-oh-FYOOL\   noun
          : a fuel (as wood or ethanol) composed of or produced from biological 
raw materials

Example sentence:
          Many people have begun to push for more research into biofuels, which 
they say would burn cleaner and be more sustainable than fossil fuel sources.

Did you know?
          Since the early 19th century, "fossil fuel" has been used to refer to 
fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas which are formed from the remains of 
plants and animals which have lain in the earth for millions of years. In the 
1970s, a new word, "biofuel," began to be used to describe a different kind of 
fuel, one taken from more contemporary organic matter. These fuels include 
ethanol, which can be derived from such products as corn and sugarcane, and 
biodiesel, which can be formed from vegetable oils. These organic sources are 
reflected in the prefix, "bio-," meaning "life" or "living organisms or 
tissue." The prefix "bio-" was borrowed from the Greek "bios," meaning "mode of 
life."





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