Hi all,
GeneWatch UK has just released a new report on the many proposed uses
and dangers of using genetically engineered organisms to produce biofuels.
Perhaps the most alarming section of the report is on the possibility of
genetically modified micro-organisms being developed to be particularly
aggressive at breaking down the crucial protective cellulose skeletal
structure in plants.
The report notes that these aggressive traits would be very useful to
naturally occurring plant disease microbes, and it is quite possible
that those aggressive cellulose decaying traits could be transfered to
such wild microbes and therefore trigger extensive and more rapid plant
die-offs.
If such modified organisms were then to spread extensively in the wild
planet-wide, they could trigger a mass rapid collapse in plant species.
Such a mass die-off would vastly increase CO2 in the atmosphere, and
conceivably could even result in a total collapse of virtually all life
on the planet due to a catastrophic meltdown in the survival of plants.
To read a four page summary of the report go to:
http://www.genewatch.org/uploads/f03c6d66a9b354535738483c1c3d49e4/Biofuels_…
To look over the full 72 page report go to:
http://www.genewatch.org/uploads/f03c6d66a9b354535738483c1c3d49e4/Genewatch…
peace
Eric
--
"I am not a liberator. Liberators do not exist. The people liberate
themselves." – Che Guevara
Hi all,
I regret to report yet another tale of biofuel madness from San
Francisco; this time regarding algae.
The story below (which actually naively promotes as good, an incredibly
dangerous and frankly ridiculous idea) highlights just how much of a
Frankenstein's monster algae based biofuel will become if we let it
proceed any further. (Also note my public response comment at the end,
for a concise blurb with which to challenge the nonsense proposed in the
article..)
http://www.sfbg.com/printable_entry.php?entry_id=8950
<http://www.sfbg.com/printable_entry.php?entry_id=8950>
The algae solution
/GREEN CITY: The San Francisco Bay may soon host a dramatic new
environmental project/
By Gabrielle Poccia
The San Francisco Bay may soon host a dramatic new environmental project
that backers say could solve three problems at once: clean wastewater,
remove carbon from the atmosphere, and produce biodiesel fuel. Yet it's
gotten remarkably little attention.
"For the most part, people are just ignoring me," says Jonathan Trent, a
researcher at NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, who is one of
the driving forces behind the project.
The new technology Trent and his colleagues have created is called OMEGA
(Off-shore Membrane Enclosures for Growing Algae). The idea is to grow
large colonies of freshwater algae in what amounts to large plastic bags
floating in the bay.
Wastewater from local sewage plants and carbon sequestered from power
plants would provide food for the algae, which then produce oxygen and
freshwater along with an oil that can be refined into fuel.
The OMEGAs are giant semi-permeable membranes; the design allows
freshwater in but keeps saltwater out.
Using algae for biofuel isn't new --- there are a number of algae farms
on land. But they require large amounts of real estate and fresh water
and enough electricity to keep the water moving.
In this case, light from the sun provides the energy, and the motion of
the waves stirs the algae around.
Trent is looking at ways to collect the freshwater that gets released by
the OMEGAs --- potentially another major breakthrough for a state
desperately short of water.
Trent has shopped his project all over the world and many countries have
showed interest, but he believes San Francisco is the perfect fit. "The
people of San Francisco really have an enlightened attitude and are
aware that something needs to be done to fix the problems we've
created," he told us. "It's a great place to demonstrate to the world
that this is a feasible technology."
The OMEGA project still faces political hurdles. Trent recently survived
an internal audit. And U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.) has been critical
of federal spending for biofuel projects.
But the scientist isn't discouraged. "Actually I'm glad we have been
audited," he said. "I've been able to get attention and show that not
only does our system not use water, it actually produces clean water."
On July 29 the project received approval for an $800,000 grant from the
California Energy Commission. According to Trent, the approval for the
grant was ready for approval months earlier, but Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger wanted to put it on hold because of the budget crisis.
The CEC grant is coming just in time. A previous grant, from Google, was
due to run out at the end of September. "We're optimistic that if people
see that the CEC has invested, maybe others will want to invest," Trent
said. "But we need more than just financial resources --- we need brain
power as well. The next step is to find engineers to really make this a
workable option."
Trent would like to get a working model up and running within the next
18 months and hopes to see a full-scale operation in place in five years.
San Francisco may be the first city to host OMEGA. San Francisco Public
Utilities Commission staffers have met with Trent and are cautiously
optimistic. "Although it is just at the preliminary stages of
discussion, it doesn't dampen our excitement about the project," said
Tyrone Jue, spokesperson for the SFPUC. "We have to know what good we
will get out of it and if it is feasible in this area."
Environmentalists caution that it's far from a perfect solution to the
planet's problems. Sierra Club staffer John Rizzo notes that "biofuels
themselves are not a good solution. It's a good bridge, but they are
still burned and create carbons that are bad for the planet." In the
short term, however, it sure beats drilling for oil off the California
coast.
Wednesday August 5, 2009
( 1 comment | Comment on this article
<http://www.sfbg.com/entry.php?entry_id=8950&catid=&volume_id=398&issue_id=4…>)
*brookse* on Tuesday, August 4, 2009 at 11:18 PM
You have got to be kidding...
You are actually asking readers to believe that covering the bay with
giant plastic bags, filled with sewage and genetically engineered algae
(yes - genetically engineered - just do a good web search on algae
biodiesel and you'll discover this little inconvenient reality); bags
which also separate salt from the baywater leaving it unnaturally saline
and therefore deadly to wildlife; bags which of course will end up
leaking their toxic genetically engineered soup into the bay; you are
seriously asking us to believe that this is actually a good thing...
Readers, for the straight story about the incredible screwed-up-ness of
the recent biofuel craze and how it is drastically messing up our planet
even more quickly than global warming, go to the Biofuel Watch web site
at: [link] <http://biofuelwatch.org.uk/>
Eric Brooks
San Francisco Green Party Sustainability Working Group
*Comment on: The algae solution*
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--
"I am not a liberator. Liberators do not exist. The people liberate themselves." -- Che Guevara
