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Scientists searching for the ultimate alternative fuel have tried everything from corn to coconuts.  

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One rather interesting possibility stands out because it addresses some of the problems encountered with biofuels.  

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As Miles O'Brien now reports, we could end up filling our fuel tanks with pond scum.

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This is where the magic happens.

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Glen Kertz believes this is the magic bullet alternative to oil.  

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It's pond scum, but without the pond, and that's what sets his idea apart.

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Kertz is flowing and growing algae through a long winding journey in clear plastic bags suspended in a greenhouse.  

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He calls the system Vertigro.

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It keeps the algae hanging in the sunlight just long enough to pick up the solar energy they need to produce, you know, the lipids to go through photosynthesis.

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The algae grows fast and is siphoned off continuously.  

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The algae oil is extracted, ready to be refined into fuels like biodiesel.  

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Kertz says he can produce 100,000 gallons of algae oil per acre per year.

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Compare that to corn, which yields about 20 to 30 gallons an acre,  

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and the Vertigro facility is a long way from the Corn Belt, in the desert near El Paso, the perfect place.

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If we took about a tenth of the state of New Mexico and converted it into algae production alone. OK, we could do all the transportation needs for the United States.

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Kertz and his team are working full throttle, looking for and patenting the ideal algaes to make fuels.  

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And who knows?  

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Maybe even an energy drink.

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Kind of refreshing.

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Yep, that's not bad.

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If Vertigro pans out as Kertz predicts, we may all be raising our glasses to once-lowly pond scum.