Algae to Biofuel

Increased demand for biofuel is causing serious environmental problems through destruction of forest lands for palm oil, sugar cane, and other land plant sources of oil for biofuel.  In addition, loss of land for crop production for biofuel raises food prices, particularly in poorer countries where food riots have broken out as a result of the increasing demand for biofuel.  The film “There’s No Tomorrow” [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOMWzjrRiBg ] is an excellent 34 minute cartoon illustration of the environmental problems humanity faces and the adjustments we will all have to make if we are to survive. One of those adjustments could be the production of biofuel from algae.  Algae is a promising alternative source for biofuel since its production does not displace land crops and certain species have extremely high oil content and are extremely fast growing, producing more bulk per acre than any land crop.  In addition, algae growth acts as a valuable carbon sink, reducing global warming. Green Cities Fund is working with scientists at Hanoi’s Institute of Biotechnology and NASA scientist Jonathan Trent, whose OMEGA PROJECT develops open source systems for algae production and conversion to biofuel so that local communities can produce biofuel as an alternative to fossil fuel. Green Cities Fund is also supporting a dialogue between Vietnamese, North Korean and Nautilus Institute algae and alternative energy experts.