Have you heard of the movie FUEL?

[seemslikeadream]

http://thefuelfilm.com/



Los Angeles Times Review Friday, February 13

"Fuel is a vital, superbly assembled documentary…doesn't dwell on muckraking, however; it's more focused on broadly inspiring viewers than preaching to the converted….Smartly animated interstitials, memorable archival material and a lively soundtrack round out the fast-paced proceedings.”

'Fuel' to the fire of oil addiction

"Fuel" is a vital, superbly assembled documentary that presents an insightful overview of America's troubled relationship with oil and how alternative and sustainable energies can reduce our country's -- and the world's -- addictive dependence on fossil fuels.

The film's structure is built around director-narrator Josh Tickell's personal journey of enlightenment, which started in childhood after moving with his family from idyllic Australia to murkier Louisiana, where he came to realize the oil-rich environment was being ravaged by the omnipotent petrochemical industry. Later, as a young adult, he spent 11 years crossing the country in his vegetable oil-powered "Veggie Van," promoting biofuels and compiling footage for what would become this impressively comprehensive film.

The events of Sept. 11 and Hurricane Katrina factor in both visually and thematically, providing provocative anchors for the movie's indictment of what Tickell believes is the Big Oil-cozy, ecologically indifferent Bush administration. Johnny O'Hara's WGA Award-nominated script doesn't dwell on muckraking, however; it's more focused on broadly inspiring viewers than preaching to the converted.

Interviews with a wide range of environmentalists, policy makers and educators, along with such "green" celebrities as Woody Harrelson, Sheryl Crow and Larry Hagman offer serious fuel for thought -- as well as for action. Smartly animated interstitials, memorable archival material and a lively soundtrack round out the fast-paced proceedings.

[msongs]

1. biofuels are not the answer. dump the internal combustion engine completely nt

[seemslikeadream]

3. have you heard about algae?

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/04/algae-farm-to-p.html

An Arizona energy company is betting big on algae. PetroSun Biofuels has opened a commercial algae-to-biofuels farm on the Texas Gulf Coast near scenic Harlington Harlingen Texas. The farm is a 1,100 acre network of saltwater ponds, 20 acres of which will be dedicated to researching and developing an environmental jet fuel.


PetroSun's gameplan is to extract algal oil on-site at the farms and transport it to company bideisel refineries via barge, rail or truck. The company plans to open more farms in Alabama, Arizona, Louisiana, Mexico, Brazil, and Australia in 2008.


Of all the options for future jet biofuel production, algae is considered one of the most viable. It yields 30 times more energy per acre than its closest competitor, and requires neither fresh water, arable land used for cultivation, or consumable food, giving it an advantage over ethanol. PetroSun asserts that an area the size of Maryland could produce enough algae biofuel to satisfy the entire fuel requirements of the United States.

Perhaps seeing the writing on the wall, the once skeptical Boeing is now said to be working with alternative fuel developers from around the world to accelerate alternatives to jet fuel, which at $110 a barrel is threatening to sink the major airlines. Continental has said that it will conduct a biofuel test flight next year, the first US airline to do so. Earlier this year, Virgin Atlantic flew a 747 partially powered by coconut and babassu oil. In addition to its commercial applications, PetroSun says, somewhat cryptically, that it is also working with a "government laboratory" to co-develop an algae-based fuel for military use.

Gordon LeBlanc, Jr., the CEO of PetroSun, is quoted as saying that the company's success is a combination of a superior technological approach, sheer luck, and a "redneck can-do attitude."

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/01/algae-based-jet-fuel-research-gets-25-million-boots-from-darpa.php

Science Applications International Corp. has announced that it has been awarded a $25 million contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, probably better known to readers as DARPA, to help develop an algae-based jet fuel for use by the US military. The target price for this alternative to petroleum-based jet fuel: $3/gallon. This is how SAIC will carry out the research:

The work SAIC has been contracted to do by DARPA will be done at facilities in Georgia, Texas, Hawaii and Florida, in two phases:


Phase 1 will concentrate on technology selection and development, pilot plant site analyses, system integration, and economic modeling and analysis, culminating in a lab-scale production capability, preliminary production facility design, and the delivery of samples for testing. SAIC will also develop detailed commercialization and qualification plans showing a path to commercial and military systems viability.

Phase 2 will focus on the final design, integration and operation of a pre-pilot scale production facility.




http://www.technologyreview.com/advertisement.aspx?ad=business&id=62&redirect=%2FBiztech%2F20319%2F%3Fa%3Df


Solazyme, a startup based in South San Francisco, CA, has developed a new way to convert biomass into fuel using algae, and the method could lead to less expensive biofuels. The company recently demonstrated its algae-based fuel in a diesel car, and in January, it announced a development and testing agreement with Chevron. Late last year, the company received a $2 million grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop a substitute for crude oil based on algae.

The new process combines genetically modified strains of algae with an uncommon approach to growing algae to reduce the cost of making fuel. Rather than growing algae in ponds or enclosed in plastic tubes that are exposed to the sun, as other companies are trying to do, Solazyme grows the organisms in the dark, inside huge stainless-steel containers. The company's researchers feed algae sugar, which the organisms then convert into various types of oil. The oil can be extracted and further processed to make a range of fuels, including diesel and jet fuel, as well as other products.

The company uses different strains of algae to produce different types of oil. Some algae produce triglycerides such as those produced by soybeans and other oil-rich crops. Others produce a mix of hydrocarbons similar to light crude petroleum.

Solazyme's method has advantages over other approaches that use microorganisms to convert sugars into fuel. The most common approaches use microorganisms such as yeast to ferment sugars, forming ethanol. The oils made by Solazyme's algae can then be used for a wider range of products than ethanol, says Harrison Dillon, the company's president and chief technology officer.

[RaleighNCDUer]

5. I'd rather see zeppelins come back as the future of air travel.

With modern telecommunications as they are - and constantly improving - there is really very little need for people to HAVE to fly from NY in the morning and be in LA in the afternoon. If it's that urgent, you can videoconference.

I like the idea of flying at a leisurely 150mph and being able to sightsee, stretch your legs, sit at a real table for meals. With modern materials and computer aided flight controls there is no reason they can't be just as safe as jet aircraft; they have a natural tendency to float rather than fall; the skins could be covered with solar collector sheets which would further reduce the fuel load they carry. A non-stop flight NY to LA would take @ 24 hours, at 100mph, 16 hours at 150mph, which is only about twice the time of a jet flight.

And that, at a fraction of the fuel use of an airliner.

[seemslikeadream]

6. It's not just for jet fuel

cars also

[RaleighNCDUer]

7. For that, I'd have my electric runabout! nt

[seemslikeadream]

8. I think there's room for both

[DemoTex]

2. Great cast!

It'll never play in Greenville, SC, though. I'll have to wait for the DVD.

[TNOE]

4. Will definitely watch!