A team of scientists from Wayne State University and the University of Detroit Mercy are working to develop what they call "pethanol" to run small, fuel-cell-powered vehicles such as golf carts and riding mowers. Because peat forms naturally and requires no fertilization, it's a benefit over corn, the researchers say. And Michigan, with its swampy environs, has one of the nation's largest peat reserves. "Corn's biggest problem is that you only get one crop a year," says John Shewchun, an adjunct chemistry and engineering professor at Wayne State. "Peat is dirt cheap (to harvest), and with it you've got something that is easily replenished."