Will Cars in the Future Run on Green Gas?.
Millions of years ago, crude oil was formed. It was made by algae, and somehow then buried deep within the earth. These algae are still capable of producing oil. While it's easy to produce an algae biodiesel, a California company has recently been the first to be successful at refining this algal "green crude" into a high-octane gasoline chemically identical to conventional fuels, and capable of being used in any car made today with no engine modification.
The project was stopped in 1996, when crude oil prices dropped, but has recently been revived. Investors are writing huge checks. Many see algae fields developing into the oil fields of the future.
Why is algae farming so exciting? First, it doesn't use valuable farm land, leaving it available for food production. This would reduce our dependence on foreign food imports. Second, algae farming can be done on non-arable land with non-potable water. Land that has never been able to be used for anything can now be used to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
How much does algae based oil cost to produce? No one is saying, but they will say that it is competitive with drilling or producing other biofuels. Obviously, this method of producing oil will be much more environmentally friendly than drilling.
We have been told that the only thing that makes ethanol cheap is the huge government subsides it receives. Ethanol uses massive amounts of energy in production. We have also seen firsthand the effect on grocery prices when our corn crop is used for ethanol production instead of being used for feeds, oils and other food products. Ethanol reduces the efficiency of gasoline, and causes problems in some vehicles. It is not the long term solution to our dependence on foreign oil. Algae farming might well be.
While the most productive biofuel crop, oil palm, only produces 6,000 litres per hectare of land, estimates are that algae could produce almost 100,000 litres of biodiesel a year per hectare.
Foreign Oil Dependence has become a arising problem in our desperate society. ... Oil prices we count of touch the skies because of this problem, Foreign Oil Dependence. Our reliance on foreign oil is crippling our community. ... Such as improving foreign oil dependence. ... Foreign Oil Dependence needs to stop now! ...
Oil is our planet's primary source of energy. ... As material such as zooplankton, algae and other organic materials fell to the floor it was trapped under mud and sand. ... These developments would seal our fate. ... Our whole way of life is tied to the porcupine caribou. It is in our language, and our songs and stories". ...
Drilling For Oil In the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge And the Devastating Reality For decades now, oil companies have pressured for the House and the Senate to allow for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). ... A major claim from supporting proponents is that drilling there would decrease US dependence on foreign oil. Although it seems logical for the US to drill on its own turf to decrease dependence on imported oil, that would not be the case in ANWR. ... In refute of this, some proponents state that any amount of oil in the refuge would lower oil and gaso...
But even with funding for green energy increasing and one of the most persistent promoters of information on global warming (Nobel Prize recipient Al Gore) reaching celebrity status, we are seeing a startling net increase in the emissions of the greenhouse gas Carbon Dioxide and a revitalized political commitment to dependence on oil, foreign and otherwise. Scary Science We are seeing such staggering figures as 9.34 billion tons of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, which figures to a 3% increase of emissions in a single year (2006-2007). ... Drill, Baby, Drill As a political electi...
But even with funding for green energy increasing and one of the most persistent promoters of information on global warming (Nobel Prize recipient Al Gore) reaching celebrity status, we are seeing a startling net increase in the emissions of the greenhouse gas Carbon Dioxide and a revitalized political commitment to dependence on oil, foreign and otherwise. Scary Science We are seeing such staggering figures as 9.34 billion tons of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, which figures to a 3% increase of emissions in a single year (2006-2007). ... Drill, Baby, Drill As a political electi...
So why are we not going after this oil to make it our own? The answer is that some politicians believe that it will hurt the wildlife if we drill up there, even though the Alaskan pipeline has never caused a problem. ... This means foreign nations will no longer have control of how much we pay for gas .I believe these changes alone should make anyone want to drill for oil in Alaska. ... Another good reason for the oil drilling is that it will sink our unemployment rate lower than ever with all the new refineries that would have to be built and manned. ... We would also get more international...
Similarly, the United States can subdue its dependence on the Middle East by exploring alternative sources of energy. ... Our relationship with the oil rich Middle Eastern countries poses many problematic issues. ... Our relationship with oil is complex. ... This way we cut our economic investment in oil importation. ... We can avoid this by developing cleaner and more local energy sources, while weaning ourselves off of our dependence on Middle Eastern oil. ...
This will be beneficial to people in order to understand the impact of the oil industry in our economy. ... What is Oil Deregulation? ... Privatization Program as the first step of Oil Deregulation Privatization program is the core element in economics policy.22 Government owned properties are sold to private sectors or companies as a practical measure for certain problems.23 This program was promoted by the I.M.F. or the International Monetary Fund to underdeveloped countries like Philippines, in order to widen the oil industry and able to pay its debts to the World Bank.24 Its inte...
Although the exact mechanism by which corals bleach is unknown, there are a number of hypotheses that attempt to answer the question. It is thought that there is an imbalance between the coral and algae plants that live inside the coral tissue. Thus the coral reacts expelling the algae and eventually lose its color, appearing "bleached". ... Oil and gas residue wash off the streets, are spilled directly into the ocean, and naturally occur in different parts of the ocean. Large amounts of oil, such as the Valdez incident in 1989 have obvious consequences to the reefs, yet each time a car ...