An Alternative to Ethanol: Algae Fuel?

The debate over whether corn should be used to make ethanol has been going on for quite some time now. There have been pros and cons to each side. Whether corn affects food prices, whether its efficient, there have been many questions and the answers seem to be still unclear. The United States government seems to still support corn ethanol but has slowly weaned away from it, turning its attention to other biofuels. This past drought of 2012 has affected the world supply of corn and gained attention to corn ethanol production.

An alternative to corn ethanol production in the U.S. is another biofuel, algae fuel. Recently (2012), president Barack Obama has shown support for the biofuel. Sources say that Obama's administration is spending about $14 million to help develop algae fuel. Algae fuel isn't something new, its been in research and development for over 50 years but the programs that largely do the R&D have low funding or have been shut down. This support from the president may spark a new future in biofuels for the U.S.

 http://energy.korea.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/obama_algae.jpg

There are many benefits to algae fuel that make it a perfect candidate as an alternative to corn ethanol. Several studies have shown that algae fuel is very efficient, producing oil in quantities many times that of other biofuels. Algae can be virtually grown anywhere and does not need freshwater or arable land to be grown. Other benefits to algae fuel are algae use doesn't affect food prices, its environmentally friendly, and of course reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Plus green fuel looks cool.

To learn more about algae fuel visit some of these websites:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/08/opinion/the-droughts-alert-for-corn.html
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-24/obama-promotes-pond-scum-as-renewable-fuel-source.html
http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/Why-are-we-not-Drowning-in-Algae-Biofuel.html
http://www.energyrant.com/benefits-advantages-of-algae-oil-fuel/
http://algae.ucsd.edu/potential/economic-benefits.html