We've heard in the past that scientists are looking at the correlation between cow farts and global warming. Now a new study shows that termites might actually have something up their guts that might help curb the worldwide crisis.

According to a team of American bioresearchers, termites might be able to provide a clean and renewable energy source that will outperform ethanol and any other means of acquiring alternative energy at this point.

Ethanol has been hailed as the key to replacing expensive and dirty fossil fuels in the face of the climate change crisis currently gripping the international community. However, producing ethanol raises the dilemma of compromising key crops such as corn and sugar which are primarily intended for food.

The new study offers hope of not starving the masses so that transport may live on. Enzymes in termite hind guts have the ability to break down tough cellulose from wood and convert it to hydrogen, which in turn can be used to power engines. If all goes well and the technology is developed, the research team says that an A4-sized sheet of paper may produce close to two liters of hydrogen.

The only problem now is how to convince the fuel industry and the government that this is the way to go if we want to produce clean energy more efficiently.

"Scaling up this process so that biomass factories can produce biofuels more efficiently and economically is another story," says research director Eddy Rubin of the California Institute of Technology.