Re: Are Biofuels the Answer?

For those who are interested, the October 2007 issue of National Geographic has some good, balanced articles on the pros and cons of various biofuels (See: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/2007-10/biofuels/biofuels.html).

Here's an interesting blurb that caught my attention:

"There is no magic-bullet fuel crop that can solve our energy woes without harming the environment, says
virtually every scientist studying the issue. But most say that algae–single-celled pond scum–comes closer than any other plant because it grows in wastewater, even seawater, requiring little more than sunlight and carbon dioxide to flourish . . . GreenFuel Technologies, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, is at the head of the pack. Founded by MIT chemist Isaac Berzin, the company has developed a process that uses algae in plastic bags to siphon carbon dioxide from the smoke-stack emissions of power plants. Algae not only reduce a plant's global warming gases, but also devour other pollutants. Some algae make starch, which can be processed into ethanol; others produce tiny droplets of oil that can be brewed into biodiesel or even jet fuel. Best of all, algae in the right conditions can double in mass within hours. While each acre of corn produces around 300 gallons (1,135 liters) of ethanol a year and an acre of soybeans around 60 gallons (227 liters) of biodiesel, each acre of algae theoretically can churn out more than 5,000 gallons (19,000 liters) of biofuel each year." (emphasis added)

I'm not saying that this (or any) new green technology is perfect, and I'm not advocating one energy source over another. I do think algae based biofuel is one of several promising green options for the future worth learning more about.