In the spectrum of alternative fuel sources, biofuel made from algae is perhaps the most easily mocked. How could the slimy green muck that grows in your aquarium and washes up on the beach be a future cornerstone of American energy independence? So when President Obama stood before the University of Miami recently and said algae could provide up to 17 percent of our transportation fuel, we wanted to know: is he right? Here's what we found out:
In February, President Obama announced the Department of Energy would allocate $14 million in new funding to develop transportation fuels from algae.
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While algae has been held out as a promising alternative fuel, University of Kentucky researchers are looking at another possibility: Employing pond scum to scrub global-warming pollution from industrial exhaust. Read Post
Newt Gingrich may mock algae as a source of clean fuel, but the U.S. Navy's got no problem with it. In fact, the Navy is extending - literally - its use of biofuels derived from the stuff. read more Read Post
Expect to hear plenty more about pond scum in the coming months and years. Oh yes, pond scum. A few airlines have already been fiddling with algae-based biofuels for their planes; and now algae may also offer a way to recycle our ca... Read Post