This company claims to have genetically modified an algae to directly produce fuel, yet no one seems to consider that it will surely be a nightmare if released to the environment, which would seem inevitable given the pervasive nature of this organism.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110227/ap_on_bi_ge/us_growing_fuel
Wellll....
Remember how ICE-nine turned out!
🙂
Loyal
Maybe...
this should be released into the environment. In a few years the whole damn thing might burn up and whatever survives can continue on. There is surely no fantasy that it will be humans, is there?!
Great, that could give a whole new meaning to the term spontaneous combustion.
I have been assured by my little reading on this subject that the stuff has also been engineered to be very sensitive to it's environment. In other words it will only survive in a controlled environment. Not to say it won't morph into something else over time.
JRL
The power of life to adapt is amazing. Consider Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) that now love to swim in antibiotics that used to wipe out every germ.
Jeremy, I would be curious to see your reading source that says this will be safe, if you would care to direct a link.
It seems there are safer options, already available.
The cheapest most benign fuel in the world is ethanol. Bio fuels or bio tech is the next silicon valley.
Ethanol is a clean fuel, but at this point it is barely economical and wouldn't be happening commercially if there weren't government subsidies in the form of tax breaks and farm programs for the raw materials.
Corn ethanol just doesn't have a good overall gain in energy out vs energy to produce and takes away from world food supplies. I'm still hoping that cellulosic ethanol becomes economical. There is progress on enzymes to improve the process.
Plus ethanol very corrosive in a combustion engine.
I'd love to have a little "diesel garden" on the farm cranking out fuel for $2 per gallon. I have the land and the water.
$100 yesterday to fill up the truck and it was above a quarter full when I pulled up to the pump. Only $100 because the credit card cut if off but the gauge went to full.
I'm sorry, I don't want to go back to horses and burning juniper trees. I also like all the electric gadgets in the house and the freedom my hydrocarbon fueled truck gives me. And don't forget where all the electricity comes from in the US, mostly from burning hydrocarbons. So shut that down and all yer electric things stop working also.
The folks that think we can go cold turkey on hydrocarbon fuels are delusional. Don't realize the pain they are advocating. Reality imposed to get us out of the delusional thinking will likely kill many. Sad way to fix a problem but necessary none the less. I don't hope for the big crash but there probably isn't any other way to fix the delusional problem, long term. We need energy and we need it now.
Ever heard anyone propose an electric airliner. How about electric 18 wheelers. Yeah, might work if the trailer where a battery but not much freight would be delivered. The airliner, never would leave the ground.
How about a solar clothes dryer. Yeah, that one actually works, it's called a cloths line and modern domestic slaves love em.
