The latest Big Oil endorsement of algae-derived fuels signals that the technology may be feasible--and a better alternative--sooner than anyone expected.READ»
When BP gave itself the tagline "Beyond Petroleum" in 2000, few environmentalists took the company seriously. Just one year later, Mother Jones magazine named BP as one of the 10 worst corporations for its environmental and human ...READ»
Algae is one of the hottest new biofuel materials, with over a dozen companies attempting to make the slimy stuff a viable feedstock. Most of them rely on the natural simplicity of the organism--sun and water turn CO2 from algae ...READ»
It seems impossible, but biofuel startup Joule Biotechnologies claims that it has successfully produced fuel out of thin air--sort of. The company's mysterious engineered microbes require just sunlight and CO2 to squirt out ethanol, ...READ»
In a most extraordinary story, London's Guardian newspaper is reporting that genomics pioneer Craig Venter claims to have created "the first new artificial life form on Earth," as the Guardian puts it.
The Guardian can reveal that a ...READ»
Visionary art is art that purports to transcend the physical world and portray a wider vision of awareness including spiritual or mystical themes, or is based in such experiences. Both trained and self-taught (or outsider) artists ...READ»
We've seen plenty of algae fuel startups pop up in the last year. It's not surprising--algae has been heralded as something of a miracle biofuel because it doesn't compete with food crops (unlike corn) and it has high energy yields. ...READ»
If you want to live forever, change your skin color, or just firm up those abs from the comfort of your own couch, you might be in luck: Gene therapy is on its way--and it's coming fast.READ»
Algae: is there anything it can't do? The slimy photosynthetic organism is already in the prototype stages as a biofuel, and now sustainable plastic manufacturer Cereplast has announced that it can turn algae into a sustainable ...READ»
We recently received a press release from a fledging company called Renewed World Energies claiming that it has created the first commercially viable algae-processing system. The company expects to have two acres of commercial algae ...READ»
Any carbon diet strategy would be dependent upon clean coal. Since carbon capture and storage is logistically unfeasible, I suggest promoting 4th generation fuel production: converting CO2 mined from coal-fired power plants into fuel profitably.READ»
Sometimes, carbon dioxide emissions aren't the enemy. Florida-based startup Algenol Biofuels and Dow Chemical Co. are building a Freeport, Texas algae-based biorefinery pilot plant to turn CO2 into ethanol. The 24 acre plant, ...READ»
Fish plus algae equals oil says a new startup called LiveFuels, the latest algae-based biofuel gambit that's as controversial as it is intriguing.READ»
Genetics, this is your mainstream moment! So says conference founder
and biotech entrepreneur John Boyce, who points to the rapid drop in
DNA-sequencing costs and growing interest in genomics
from consumer-goods manufacturers. ...READ»
There are lots of creative ways to produce biofuel from algae, but NASA's takes the cake. The space agency is growing biofuel in plastic bags of sewage floating in the sea. The Offshore Membrane Enclosures for Growing Algae (OMEGA) ...READ»
A number of companies--Sapphire Energy, Solazyme, and Bionavitas to name a few--are working on methods to convert algae into biofuel. But Genifuel wants to turn the pond scum into something different: natural gas. The company, ...READ»
We've seen every kind of architectural concept related to green design, but here's an exciting new one that may also be the oddest. It seems to borrow from a NASA design concept; it constantly re-builds itself and grows biofuel on its ...READ»
Algae-based biofuels could rule the future--if we can lower production costs. A Seattle-based startup called Bionavitas thinks the solution to producing cost-efficient algae is Light Immersion Technology, which uses pencil-shaped ...READ»
The science of producing hydrogen to power fuel-cells in microbial electrolysis processes has just received a boost with some research at Pennsylvania State University that uses stainless steel components instead of the more ...READ»
Darwin 200
Adapting to a New Economy
An evolutionary perspective on economics can explain how we got into this current mess, and how we might find our way out.
by Rob Mitchum • Posted February 12, 2009 08:00 ...READ»
When the human genome was first sequenced nearly a decade ago, the world lit up with talk about how new gene-specific drugs would help us cheat death. Well, the verdict is in: Keep eating those greens.READ»
