Make no mistake...I love the ingenuity, but I'm trying to get the mental picture of an engineer sitting around one fine day, perhaps looking a mess of those packing peanuts flying around, and thinking, "Hey! I'll bet those things would make a great electrode for a new, improved battery!".

The only downside is that once the Department of Energy and the EPA get done with it, the batteries will be $25 apiece and the styrofoam peanuts will cost $300 an ounce.