Can Pond Scum Save the World?

March 18, 2012 from Climate Desk

In the spectrum of alternative fuel sources, biofuel made from algae is perhaps the most easily mocked. So when President Obama stood before the University of Miami recently and said he thought algae could provide up to 17 percent of our transportation fuel, we wanted to know: is he right?

(more) (less)

In This Video

Algae

Algae are a very large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. Most are photosynthetic and "simple" because they lack the many distinct cell and org... Explore this topic

Biofuel

A biofuel is a type of fuel whose energy is derived from biological carbon fixation. Biofuels include fuels derived from biomass conversion, as well as solid biomass, liquid fuels and various biogases. Biofuels are gaining increased public and scientific attention, driven by f... Explore this topic

Alternative fuel

Alternative fuels, known as non-conventional or advanced fuels, are any materials or substances that can be used as fuels, other than conventional fuels. Conventional fuels include: fossil fuels, as well as nuclear materials such as uranium and thorium, as well as artificial r... Explore this topic

Price of petroleum

The price of petroleum as quoted in news generally refers to the spot price per barrel (159 liters) of either WTI/light crude as traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) for delivery at Cushing, Oklahoma, or of Brent as traded on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE, i... Explore this topic

Jürgen Polle

Jürgen Polle is a professor in the Department of Biology of Brooklyn College, City University of New York. Explore this topic

Garden State bioEnterprises

Garden State bioEnterprises is a New Jersey company exploring ways to commercially produce biofuel from algae. Explore this topic

Climate change

Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions, or in the distribution of weather around the average conditions. Cli... Explore this topic

David Rejeski

n/a Explore this topic

US Department of Energy

The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material. Its responsibilities include the nation's nuclear weapons program, nuclear ... Explore this topic

Carbon offset

A carbon offset is a reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases made in order to compensate for or to offset an emission made elsewhere. Carbon offsets are measured in metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent and may represent six primary categories of greenh... Explore this topic

Also See

Algae

Biofuel

Alternative fuel

Watch Next

2:04

Ready for Slime Time? Algae-Powered House Unveiled

Al Jazeera English | Apr 24

An experimental house covered in living, energy-producing algae is the star of a futuristic urban housing show in Hamburg. Its creators say that if...