Algae: The Most Green Idea EVER

Disasters seem to be running rampant in the energy industry as of late. Maybe it's all just a sign from God telling us that we should rethink the state of our energy sources. Naw, probably not. I must say, however, that both explosions shined the necessary light on both energy issues. In fact, one of Mr. Obama's* tasks is to figure out the future for off shore drilling. Well, thanks BP for showing the president and the idiots off-shore drilling supporters, that off-shore drilling is one of the most dangerous activities a civilization can inflict upon their surrounding ecosystem. ANYWAY, stepping off of my dendrophiliac-pedestal/soapbox let us shift to some ideas for safe, renewable energy.

Both BP and Massey Energy (the company whose West Virginia mine exploded, due to a methane leak, leaving 25 dead) were both awarded with recognitions of safety before their respective disasters. Unfortunately, employees of BP were celebrating the award the night the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, leaving 11 families without their loved ones.

These energy sources are dangerous and detrimental to the environment, not to mention the humans who mine them. There has got to be a better way, right?

YES!

The problem with other energy sources is that there is a lack of Big Money, and Big Companies invested in them. Let's get this straight: corn and soy are NOT the renewable energy sources that we, as Americans, should choose for the future. This thought needs to be squashed, quickly. We can NOT use a food source to power our automobiles. I will spare you the reference and analogy of how dumb that is. So why are we still talking about it? Because the Big Companies understand it is a silly endeavor, they understand that if the public is preoccupied with a pipe dream of corn as a combustion agent, then they won't question the lack of advancement in other fields; it is a way to whet the appetite of the public yet still keep them in check.

Right now, the Buffalo Water Authority is using a bacterium that eats poop and farts fuel. Just think of it, an animal that not only gets rid of our, ever increasing, fecal matter but also exhausts a gas that can be used as a combustible. The methane produced by the bacteria is then used to fuel the incinerators that burn off the excess gunk from the water. Not only is the Buffalo Water Authority using its smarts, so is a prison...in Rwanda. This story is absolutely incredible, read it and start creating your own biogas fermenter, I know I will.

If petroleum was the first visit by Christ, then the gas exchange performed by algae is definitely the second coming that we have all been waiting for. As of right now, algae can be manipulated to produce two types of gases, methane and hydrogen. A company called Cereplasthas also been able to substitute algae for petroleum in the development of plastics. Not only that, but algae could also be used as a natural carbon dioxide and nitrous gas scrubber for smokestacks. Since algae respires oxygen in exchange for CO2, the organism can gather up the harmful gas and produce something helpful. Once the algae have sequestered the necessary gas, it could then be harvested and be "stripped" of its biofuel and plastic properties and used accordingly.

Using algae as a biofuel is not as easy as it sounds. We aren't talking about the algae that grow like wildfire in your aquarium because you set your tank near a window. These algae need to be loved and are very sensitive, much like Nathan Lane in the Birdcage. Although it isn't the easiest way to harvest fuel, it is by far one of the safest, and the most, dare I say it, green.

Getting back to the devastation of the Massey and BP accidents, we must keep in mind that the government controls where the funding for the future goes. As terrible as it sounds, both disasters needed to happen. They were both the largest disaster of their kind in the history of the United States. They were the wake-up-call that we all needed, and the president suspending off-shore drilling for the next 6 months is a great start. So, keep exploring options. I understand the impossibility of throwing petroleum and coal by the wayside, but we have got to start thinking a little more reasonably. We are responsible for all future oil and coal disasters if we do not act on the precedents made this past year, and learn from our mistakes.

*isn't it funny that everyone just calls him Obama, like he's Gandhi, Jesus, or Madonna...I mean no other president has been called by his last name alone, right?