Yes, grow crops to burn them as fuel, and subsidize those who grow them with taxpayer dollars. Very efficient.
Just get a trade in vehicle or a hybrid van or even a natural gas car from GM!! :MARIS61: Stop whining and buy a new fuel-efficient vehicle, like a golf cart. [video=youtube;0vwVaEJ55Iw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vwVaEJ55Iw[/video]
High-speed rails like in China!! That's the answer! Or maybe even a moon colony with Newt Gingrich! [video=youtube;k4yFsaxw6L8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4yFsaxw6L8&feature=related[/video]
You don't need to grow crops. All we need is Algae. It's more efficient than anything we eat in terms of process of viable fuel.
There is no way that any biofuel can ever fully replace petroleum. One of the best things about petroleum, and one of the most overlooked is that it lies beneath the surface of the earth. The amount of land, and the environmental impact, necessary to convert to a biofuel-based transportation system would take resources away from feeding the population. Plus, the recovery of massive amounts of biofuel would cost literally hundreds of billions, if not dozens of trillions, of dollars. No private companies would invest in such a massive overhaul, because either the length of the ROI would bankrupt the companies, or they would have to charge a lot of money to their customers in order to shorting the ROI period. That doesn't even include the taxes associated with the cost of fuel, and how the biofuel companies get a fraction of their profits compared to what is received in the form of local, state, and federal taxes. As for the government funding it, we simply don't have the money at this point, and the federal loan program for green energy can't even prop up some companies of a year with $500 million loans, let alone revamp an entire economy. Biofuel such as algae is a great idea, but in terms of practicality, it's a pipe dream. It's easy for a President to flap his gums about converting to alternative fuels, but the reality of such an overhaul is completely unrealistic.
If blue algae can be harvested from aquatic environments (lakes, oceans) then it isn't taking up land that we use for other crops or resources either. Someone other than me, though, would need to chime in on whether it could be, or whether it needs to be cultivated in specially designed pools or something.
Introducing blue algae into areas where it didn't exist beforehand does what to the ecosystem? I know there are severe dangers involvling toxic shellfish, but in terms of harvesting existing oceanic blooms, how could that be at all economically feasible?
Reading up on algae biofuel and how it's made and harvested, part of the process of allowing the algae to bloom quickly involves piping in massive amounts of CO2. Unless you cover acres and acres of land, how do you keep the CO2 from escaping into the atmosphere?
I wasn't saying it should be introduced to habitats where it doesn't already exist, I just know that it is naturally occurring in oceans and fresh water lakes. It can even be found in damp soil. Obviously, all of these places aren't going to be feasible to harvest, but some might be. While I don't know the practicalities of scaring up blue algae in vast quantities, I doubt that it's clear that biofuel can never replace petroleum-based fuel. It probably isn't feasible as a complete replacement right now, from what I've read, but technology is improving at an exponential rate. The changes we'll see in the next 50 years will be greater than those we saw in the last 50 years. To say nothing of 100 or 200 years from now.
Can you cite your source? As a plant, algae absorbs CO2 and converts it to hydrocarbons. In theory (yes, emphasis on theory) its cultivation should be a net sink of carbon dioxide (at least until it is processed and burned as fuel).
You can't keep high concentrations of co2 in the water because it becomes carbonic acid. That's one of the main drivers behind ocean acidification, and why shellfish are starting to have a hard time making calcium carbonate shells.
Your problem is that you're assuming we would need to pump co2 into the algae like it was extra work. We could instead use the blue green algae as filters (and generating energy) of our already existing co2 emitting sources, like the exhaust from coal fire plants.
Interesting (and long) read on, among other things, the surface area needed to mass produce blue algae-based biofuel, and the sustainability of a food supply chain. http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Ene...els-May-Never-Hold-the-Key-to-the-Future.html
yeah, they mention the smoke stack idea i mentioned. You could also harvest this on the side of buildings, that are otherwise unused, for sunlight if you wanted as well.
2008 [video=youtube;Ka_tjPLJwVI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Ka_tjPLJwVI#![/video] http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Ka_tjPLJwVI#!
"I don't take money from oil companies." - Barack Obama 2008 Just a flat-out fucking liar. http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/05/05/us-politico-obama-bp-idUSTRE64420A20100505
