Mushrooms as a source of energy?

[CreamOfWarholSoup]

Could mushrooms be used in any possible way as a source of energy? They're one of the few things that can grow near-anywhere (including underground) and rarely require maintenance (unless you're trying for incredibly potent shrooms) seeing as they live off of anything around them that can die.

I haven't done any research into it but could it be a way to get rid of our organic waste by using it to grow mushrooms that could be used for energy? Or if they're the right species, food.

I won't be disillusioned in the slightest if they can't but it was an idea I had over a year ago when people were arguing about ethanol.

[bornkiller]

Quite Possibly (http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/06/07/radiated-mushrooms-a-source-of-alternative-energy/)

The fungi apparently uses melanin, the same pigment which colors our skin, as a way to convert the radiation to energy, much like most plants use photosynthesis to grow.

[fretbuzz]

Mushrooms have fuck all in nutritional value, at least the visible fruiting body.

[gunjah]

Id say that the best idea would be to somehow develop some sort of plant (for lack of a better term) that could use photosynthesis to break the H20 bond and separate out hydrogen. This is probably a couple decades away, but it would certainly be more efficient that electrolysis.

Plants already break the bond but we need to find a way to extract the hydrogen before it has a chance to use it.