CO2 + bacteria => miracle fuel?

[Doctor Cynic]

I'd like to see if this guy is for real, but if he is, the chance of him somehow being found dead in 16 months isn't exactly zero.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080228/ts_afp/scienceusitgenetics

[lapfog_1]

1. No, there has been a lot of research already into

genetically modified bacteria and algae for producing biofuels.

here is a now dated paper on the subject, covering research done a long time before that.

http://www.unh.edu/p2/biodiesel/article_alge.html

But it's the place to start.

For comparison to standard food crops that are currently being used for biofuels (like oil palm, corn, soybeans, etc).. look at this table.

http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_yield.html

This person (I think he has backing from Gore's new venture fund, but I don't know for sure) is talking about bio engineered life to produce fuel... his research is likely many many years away from having something commercial, if ever. Algae is maybe 5 to 10 years away now.

[leftrightwingnut]

2. Craig Venter is very definitely "for real."

His company's work is exhilarating and frightening at the same time.

They basically have the power to manufacture a life form with custom characteristics completely from scratch.

He won't turn up dead. But I bet certain lawmakers (and lawbreakers) suddenly become very concerned about the environmental impacts of custom life forms.

That's when you know the technology is able to do what it promises.

[eppur_se_muova]

3. Um, ALL plants make fuel from CO2 ... they just need SUNLIGHT for energy input ...

I hate seeing the word "miracle" tossed around like bad ad copy, which is what this headline is.

EROI and sunlight input are the bottlenecks here. I'm skeptical that we need GMO's to get around that. There are already algae making fuel at other research projects.

It's interesting that nowhere in that article is sunlight mentioned. Ignorance of thermodynamics is bliss?

Not sure what AFP is, but they could use some real science journos, stat.

[AlecBGreen]

4. amen to that

"EROI and sunlight input are the bottlenecks here. I'm skeptical that we need GMO's to get around that."

Considering there are more bacteria, protists and fungi in a handful of soil than all the worlds population of humans...

Considering we have classified less than 1 % of all soil life...

Considering we find new, startling forms of life everywhere we look...

I think you're right. There ARE little critters out that that could help us detoxify the air by removinge excess CO2, excess methane, excess NOx, etc. The point is we need to FUND research, not cut it, and make a rational, long-term plan based on real science and not hysterics.