[SeekAndFind]

Is this the energy of the future?

[preacher]

Algae Biodiesel: It's $33 a Gallon

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/algae-biodiesel-its-33-a-gallon-5652/

[Sioux-san]

Even if it could be, I would be worried about the ecosystem- we need the oxygen produced by these vast fields of green goo. Sooner or later we will run out of algae - don’t you remember, that was the original source of Soylent Green until they ran out of algae ;O The same with water - I would rather have it for drinking than for fueling my car—there’s simply not enough potable water to squander it on car fuel. We need to change our thinking on Oil as “carbon-based.” I am in the Abiotic school of thought, i.e., oil is not from the oozy remains of dinosaurs and plants - rather, the earth is continuously cooking it deep down and squeezing it out all over the place. Only a fool would stop using it as a fuel.

[sickoflibs]

RE :”But Green also suggests a less innocent motive for the administration’s touting of its algae efforts. “The Obama administration has adopted a cynical tactic of finding things that Republicans or the private sector have approved of in highly qualified theoretical discussions and using that to try to bullet-proof their highly specific, politically twisted cronyist policies,” he says. “This began with cellulosic ethanol, and has persisted through cap-and-trade, the GM Volt, renewable electricity, and now, algae fuels.”

Obama’s favorite line :”This is an idea that Republicans once supported”

[Bigh4u2]

Sounds great, until the EPA steps in and declares the entire site a ‘wetlands’ and is therefore a ‘protected area’.

Heck, they declare areas ‘wetlands’ that don’t even have any water!!

[Heartlander]

Algae Akhbar!

[GonzoGOP]

At present, algal fuel would cost about $8 a gallon. That same gallon would also require 350 gallons of water to produce

A couple of things. First the 350 gallons of water are used, but not used up. That is an important distinction. It is like saying farming uses land, but if you do it right the land remains usable for next years crop. Sure improper land and water use can screw it up. But a good farmer doesn't waste a resource. And that is what this is algae farming.

You grow the algae in water, strain it out an squeeze it to get out the lipids. Now the water is still there and ready for another batch of Algae.

As for the price I see that as defining the floor. If you can manufacture gasoline from a renewable source for $8 per gallon then that is the most that gasoline will cost. Unfortunately we have seen what $5.00 a gallon gas looks like. Pushing the price up to $8.00 would be economy and possibly society collapsing.

The ability to define a floor is important. It is the difference between Titanic and Costa Concordia. If the Middle East melts down and there is no place to get more oil we go all the way down. If the mullahs drop the bomb and we can manufacture oil it will be bad, but at some point the bad stops getting worse.

[LevinFan]

Can’t we just wait and see how this research goes? Dems see a new idea and want to depend on it without thinking. But too many people here are opposed to anything that isn’t oil from the ground. Science can advance and provide new answers to our problems. But whether it’s algae, or fusion, too many oppose it with knee jerk enthusiasm.