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Can we save the planet by algae oil?
Can oil made by algae save the planet?
In our green real estate section we usually try to focus on environmentally friendly ideas for our homes. However, this time it will be about some interesting research, which can help us to get rid of the feelings of guilt connected with driving our oil guzzling cars. Oil is an important ingredient of our everyday lives. Almost everybody in the developed world has a car, which is a fundamental part of everyday life, and so do I, as most of the realtors who have to drive around their region on a daily basis. Picture a life without a car - isn’t it nearly impossible? Of course, the two fundamental problems of driving are well-known: prices driven up and down because of unsound oil supplies, and the environmental damage caused by fuel burning and emissions of carbon dioxide.
Craig Venter is an American biologist and also a prosperous enterpreneur who founded The Institute for Genomic Research. The main topic of his work is genetic engineering. A great deal of heated debate has been caused by his latest project.
A number of experiments have already been concerned with biofuels, some of them also with natural oil created by algae. Venter has ambitions to go further. He is trying to modify the genomic structure of algae in order to produce oil, which is nearly identical to traditional crude oil. If that works out, we could use the existing refineries and other oil industry infrastructure already available. Also plastics could be made the same way as from crude oil refining, using the same production plants. It is no wonder that Exxon Mobile, one of the biggest oil producing companies on the planet, gave him a $600 million subsidy to go on with his research.
Now your concern might be, where is the ecological benefit? Well, right here. The oil produced by algae may well contribute to solving one of the most difficult problems of our world. Plants take the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, use it in a photosynthesis process to create the oil and then the oil is burned and changed into oxalates. Of course, this miracle solution won’t be available this or next year, but definitely it is a good way to go. The team of Craig Venter are trying to succeed where others have tried and failed, but this time there is a good chance of success. There are plenty of people in Canada and elsewhere that would love to go easy on the environment, but due to their occupation, it is very difficult for them to stop using cars, just like my Toronto real estate colleagues can’t.
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