Flesh-eating biofuel crops – return of the Triffids…

Greenbang’s a happy bunny today. Not only is it almost the weekend but the BBC has revealed it is to remake the sci-fi classic The Day of the Triffids.

For those unaware of the Triffids, this tale of man-eating plants scared the hell out of UK telly audiences in the early 1980s.

TV special effects being what they were back then it’s a series that has dated badly, with the terrorising plants looking like a cross between a giant leek and a lily.

What’s all this got to do with renewable energy and clean tech, you may quite rightly be asking yourself? Well The Day of the Triffids, by English sci-fi author John Wyndham, sets out a what was then a futuristic vision of 2011 with the earth’s fossil fuel supply exhausted and a new crop discovered that can be cultivated for biofuel – the Triffid.

The bit about the flesh-eating biofuel crops might be a little far-fetched but the rest of this sci-fi vision from the original 1951 novel is a little too close to the truth for comfort.

ER and Law & Order writer Patrick Harbinson has scripted the Beeb’s latest Triffids adaption, which will be shown in two episodes on the small screen next year.

More from the Beeb here.