I didn’t know this, but apparently asphalt requires huge amounts of oil to make. One way around this is a novel approach that uses bacteria and sand, which, when combined, create a cheaper, more environmentally friendly road surface. Pretty cool, huh? Read about it here. As oil becomes more expensive (and we reach Peak Oil – if we haven’t already), we’ll have to increasingly turn to alternatives. This is also a potentially great solution because it avoids making the roads significantly hotter during the day due to solar exposure.