In defense of biofuels

Environmental Science: Biofuels

Biofuels: Environmental Science

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Gold, Russell (2009) Biofuel Bet Aims to Harvest Fish that Feed on Algae. The Wall Street Journal.

The work of Russell Gold published the 18th day of August 2009 in the Wall Street Journal states that in the search for a new domestic source of fuel marine scientists and entrepreneurs alike seeking "a new domestic source of fuel." (Gold, 2009) p.1 Attention has turned toward a "giant oxygen-deprived "dead zone" where fish cannot survive" due to runoff of fertilizers in the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. Resulting is a "massive algae bloom" that results in depletion of the water regions oxygen supply. The nutrients found in fertilizer create a "buffer zone" for phytoplankton, simple yet quickly reproducing sea organisms. The idea that has been developed is one that will take the algae and turn it into a "bio-based oil to run conventional refineries alongside crude." (Gold, 2009) p.1

A partnership has been announced between Exxon Mobil Corp and Synthetic Genomics Inc. owned and operated by genomic scientist J. Craig Venter, who spent $600 million on development of algae biofuels. The technique used in this process is quite simple and reported to be that as follows:

"The fish would gobble up the algae and then be harvested, cooked and pressed to extract fish oil -- a method already used to produce omega-3 fatty acid dietary supplements." (Gold, 2009) p.1