COULD A PRIMEVAL PLANT BECOME A FUTURE FUEL, FOOD, AND BIO-PLASTIC?
At a time when most conventional fuels cast ever longer shadows of unintended consequences, algae ­that lowly pond scum-- offers a pleasant surprise: a near-term, low-tech alternative with apparently few of the hidden costs of more elaborate, expensive and exploitive energy sources, writes Mark Sommer, host of the internationally syndicated radio program, A World of Possibilities.
The first, simplest, and fastest-growing life form, algae holds unheralded promise to become a pivotal resource for the planet's future as the basis for a high quality biodiesel that doesn't (like corn) siphon food from humans. And it’s not just a fuel. It’s animal feed, human food (think spirulina), and the building block for a wide range of biodegradable bio-plastics to replace petroleum-based plastics. And algae does all this as it grows by absorbing enormous amounts of CO2, the very greenhouse gas we most urgently need to reduce.
At the moment algae is not a high priority on most national or major corporate energy R&D agendas, but it is rapidly gaining traction in the private sector and academia as its potential becomes clear. In some cases it is being researched by giant energy conglomerates as a byproduct of the development of so-called "clean coal," since it effectively absorbs the CO2 generated by the burning of carbon.
Like every other "solution" that’s ever been devised, algae undoubtedly has shadow sides that have yet to be discovered. But the greatest danger it poses is that, like the electric car, it won’t developed. But one great virtue of algae is that you can grow your own. Algae grows most everywhere other than the Arctic. If researchers focus on scaling down as well as up, local communities could grow their own municipal algae farms and farmers could cultivate algae for new sources of income and fuel to power their own equipment. (*) Mark Sommer is host of the internationally syndicated radio program, A World of Possibilities ( www.aworldofpossibilities.org).
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© Inter Press Service (2011) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service