Imagine receiving a lucrative offer from an energy company to drill for natural gas on property you own. Would you take it? What would that drilling mean in terms of environmental quality for the land itself and the surrounding community? Filmmaker Josh Fox received such an offer, and his documentary GASLAND, which has its world premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, explores the impact of gas extraction, especially the process of “fracking,” and the environmental consequences that can come from the quest for this “clean” energy source.
Like many schools, the University of Florida has developed a number of programs and efforts to produce and promote renewable energy. Mechanical and aerospace engineering major Eric Layton saw an opportunity to learn in a proposed biodiesel plant, and threw himself into the project whole-heartedly: according to the Gainesville Sun, “He helped build and maintain the plant and served as the coordinator for more than 50 volunteers who learned about plant management and operations.” He even received an award for his efforts.
Biofuel and biodiesel are currently being created and consumed in large quantities in Brazil. Cars are running on a mixture of biofuel and gasoline and the sale of ethanol is expected to rival that of gasoline by the year 2020. Part of the reason why Brazil is so successful in biofuel, ethanol and biodiesel production must surely stem from their vast forests and rich arable lands. However, there are other ways such as waste collection and processing that can allow an economy without this amount of arable land to create biofuels.
With the sustainable and renewable nature of the biofuel industry in mind, Brazil’s President, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is touring Africa and exhorting it’s leaders to take a look at the success of biofuels in his country. Is this a path out of the poverty and dictatorships that have wracked the social and political prosperity of Africa for generations? Is a biofuel economy a way to allow Africa to safely develop the nation into a first world country? Can global warming be mitigated at the same time as the economy in Africa can create new jobs and new businesses? Is there a way for communities to sell or process their locally produced organic waste and thereby provide an abundance of fuels for the biofuel economy?
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Diversified Energy Corporation (DEC) [www.diversified-energy.com] is licensing a patent pending, breakthrough algae production system from XL Renewables (XLR). The process is called Simgae (TM), and it makes algae inside a series of airtight tubes. The technology is comparable to agricultural processes in the cost and usage of component parts.
The process requires a few easily obtained chemicals that help process the algae into a vegetable oil-like liquid fuel. Perhaps “Popeye the Sailor” should have gained super strength from chewing on Algae rather than Spinach. The really great thing about this technology lies in the low maintenance aspects to the fuel generation. You need to do very little to keep the algae fuel production pumping; the organism itself and the chemicals you add are mostly self managing.
The overall cost of this feedstock oil is very low, which is perhaps the most attractive fact about Simgae. Most of the equipment needed to produce the biodiesel from the algae comes from common farm equipment, meaning the setup costs are streamlined and competitive. It may be awhile until there is widespread distribution of this technology, but it will happen because there is a serious demand for homegrown fuels.
It looks like those loud rumbling machines we call garbage trucks are being greened up by some cities. This has been a slowly growing trend among garbage truck fleets in various cities including Portland, Oregon; Berkeley, California; Grand Rapids, Michegan; San Francisco, California; and now New York City.
The recent announcement that New York City will be using B5 (5% biofuel) is very exciting and especially important because this change is costing the city nothing and will lower greenhouse gas emission by 5%. Not content to stop there, New York City has commissioned three hybrid garbage truck prototypes for testing in ‘08.
San Francisco has been using biodiesel in the garbage fleet for some time now, and they are using B20 fuel (20% biofuel) which can lower greenhouse gas emissions by some 21%.
I hope everyone can join me in clapping out loud for the people who take away the garbage everyday.
