We all have dreamed of producing an abundance of useful food, fuel, and chemical products from the cellulose in urban trash and the residues remaining from forestry, agricultural, and food-processing operations. Such processes potentially could: 1) help solve modern waste-disposal problems; 2) diminish pollution of the environment; 3) help alleviate shortages of food and animal feeds; 4) diminish man's dependence on fossil fuels by providing a convenient and renewable source of energy in the form of ethanol; 5) help improve the management of forests and range lands by providing a market for low-quality hardwoods and the other “green junk” that develops on poorly managed lands; 6) aid in the development of life-support systems for deep space and submarine vehicles; and 7) increase the standard of living – especially of those who develop the technology to do the job! At present, all of these aspirations are frustrated by two major features of natural cellulosic materials, crystallinity and lignification.