Big algae bloom in Lake erie, very dry 2015 forecastscientists delivered a mostly negative forecast for how climate change will affect Ohioans during the next year or so and well beyond.
if the 2014 algae bloom could approach the size of the one in 2011--the largest in Erie's history As these blooms move into the Central Basin east of Sandusky they tend to die
An algae bloom not only hinders swimming and boating--it also affects the fishery So tourism and fisheries are both likely to be impacted.
and provide a huge nursery for a variety of algae fish shellfish and birds. But a variety of human influences from bridge building to runoff pollution to smothering loads of sediment have threatened these grass beds globally.
and not realize that these are flowering plants instead of a piece of algae. In classes at the RTC students are learning how to combine genetics
#Algae research gives hope for renewable carbon-negative source of food, medicinesthe University of Greenwich has won funding for three pieces of research related to algae.
Algae have huge potential as a next generation renewable resource to manufacture a whole range of essential products including food medicines and fuel.
The challenge is to grow and process them in a way which delivers that potential sustainably. The three stories are told separately to aid clarity:
Algae research gives hope for renewable carbon-negative source of food and medicinesbright pink-orange microalgae found in salt lakes
Algae are known for their ability to convert CO2 and sunlight into chemical energy five times faster than crops grown in soil.
The race is on to develop a broader spectrum of compounds from algae which can be turned into high-value products including food and medicines.
If we can make algae biorefineries commercially viable we will have developed a new industry founded on an environmentally-kind raw material
By 2020 these algae may also provide us with sustainable fuel--the science is there but at the moment the costs don't add up.
The project hopes to demonstrate the business case for global investment in algae biorefineries and in large-scale production of microalgae within three years in order to raise investment for the first prototype D-Factory in Europe.
Current biofuels may not be sustainable says Dr John Milledge Research Fellow at Greenwich and an expert in the commercialisation of algae.
Saltwater algae are therefore a very attractive proposition as an alternative biofuel if we can overcome the challenges.
***Algae research into new medicines wins awarddrug discovery company IOTA Pharmaceuticals has chosen the University of Greenwich as its academic partner to research the potential of the microalga Dunaliella as a route to new medicines.
which will grow the algae in dedicated photobioreactors offers IOTA an ideal platform through which to study the plant's properties.
Three-toed sloths tend to appear a mottled green color thanks to algae growing in a combination of water trapped by unique cracks in the sloth's hair
More moths more nitrogen more algae (which may also provide camouflage to the treed sloths protecting them from flying predators.
And the broad team of researchers--Pauli tapped entomologists limnologists and bacteriologists--found the algae in samples taken from the stomachs of three-toed sloths.
It could be that even just small amounts of the algae makes ends meet if only because it's so rich in lipids Pauli says.
Having this highly-digestible high-fat algae could be an important input that makes the difference
It's not clear how the algae get into the sloth's stomach or how much of it they're actually consuming.
It may be part of ingesting the algae. Why does the sloth poop in the woods? Maybe because it's hungry.
should we worry about engineering algae for biofuels? The Great American Algae Rush is in full swing.
Dozens of companies and hundreds of scientists are working hard to engineer algae to produce green--literally and figuratively--fuel.
The endeavor is at the crossroads of energy and science, and the trend is spreading worldwide.
Because some algae strains can produce 10 or more times more fuel per acre than the corn that is used to make ethanol,
Better still, you can grow algae on arid land and in brackish water, which avoids competing with food production, unlike the corn and soybeans that coat much of the Midwest's farmland.
algae consume carbon dioxide, combating greenhouse gas emissions. But a new profile of the industry in the New york times demonstrates that this technology has its share of pitfalls.
because algae are the base of the marine food chain. For example: Screw up and over-engineer a strain,
who are at odds over the risk of engineered algae escaping into the wild. Venter says algae should be engineered with a suicide gene to shut down
if they escape. Mayfield says he's not losing sleep over it. His three-year old company has raised $100 million from investors,
Take a gander at recent articles about algae right here on Smartplanet: Video: Turning algae into oil the NASA way Scientists create high-capacity batteries from algae Pressure-cooking method makes an algae-based biofuel Plane takes first flight on 100
%biofuel Can algae-based plastics reduce our plastic footprint? Green algae used to make plastics that dont contain petroleum The algae bloom of alternative energy Video:
Growing the next'green'fuel Clean, sustainable hydrogen from algae could reduce U s. dependence on foreign oil Solazyme founder Harrison Dillon:
Why the U s. Navy wants our green jet fuel What'synthetic life'could mean for the energy industry The Algaeus algae-fueled Prius hits the road Just look at that diversity!
Algae can impact our environment, consumer electronics, cars, military--you name it. But the debate really comes down to this:
like genetically modified (GM) food--such as Roundup Ready soybeans--should we be concerned that scientists are tinkering with Mother Nature?
Or simply: is it really sustainable to tip nature's scales so drastically
Bringing the cloud to the farmthe beautiful vistas of the heartland are hardly short on clouds,
It leads to algae that grows everywhere. They proliferate and take off, and there s a population explosion of algae.
At first that s not so bad, but when they die and float to the surface or sink,
One such possible hope is algae. Earlier this week, researchers at the University of Bath found evidence that algae could grow in the desert
where it would not compete against food. Photo: Friends of the Earth Note: This version updates an earlier version with information on Energem,
Sustainable plastic manufacturer Cereplast announced that it can turn algae into a sustainable bioplastic resin,
tapioca and wheat, says algae-based plastic could replace up to 50 percent of petroleum content found in traditional plastic resin.
But algae must still be sourced. Cereplast plans to get it from companies that use algae to minimize carbon dioxide emissions from polluting smokestacks.
In this case, the algae serves as a biopolymer on the opposite end of the manufacturing pipeline--instead of reducing pollution from the creation of traditional plastic,
it's helping create less-polluting plastic from the get-go. Based on our own efforts
as well as recent commitments by major players in the algae field, we believe that algae has the potential to become one of the most important green feedstocks for biofuels,
However, for our algae-based resins to be successful, we require the production of substantial quantities of algae feedstock.
Cereplast's algae-based bioplastic is still under development, but the company expects to make commercial algae bioplastic resin available by the end of next year.
If a major company were to adopt the new material --which hopefully is at a cost that is competitive with traditional materials--you might find your beverages delivered in green,
not clear, bottles. via Pictured: Samsung's E200eco mobile phone, which is made partially of  corn-based bioplastic.
More stories about algae and alternative fuels on Smartplanet: Turning algae into oil the NASA way Growing the next'green'fuel Algae could be jet fuel of the future The algae bloom of alternative energy The Algaeus algae-fueled Prius hits
the road Scientists create high-capacity batteries from algae
Green initiatives highlighted at international flower showthe theme of this year's  Philadelphia International Flower Show,
which opened Sunday and runs through the weekend, is Passport to the World with a focus on floral designs from around the globe.
The project has experimented also with culturing heat-tolerant algae, growing salt-tolerant grasses for fodder or biofuel,
Visuals. 2. Genetically-engineered saltwater algae. In the March-April 2009 issue of THE FUTURIST, Dennis Bushnell, a chief research scientist at NASA
wrote that algae and bacteria are the two most important biofuel technologies of the 21st century.
As a replacement for oil, algae is extremely practical, utilizes mostly cheap and abundant resources like saltwater and wasteland,
Unlike corn or even sugar ethanol, halophyte algae (algae that grow in saltwater) do not compete with food stocks for freshwater. oewhen the cost of pumping ocean water into so-called wasteland regions such as the Sahara
the cost of halophytic algae biofuel is less than the cost of petroleum trading at $70 per barrel or higher.
halophyte algae farmers could use solar-powered pumps to move water up from sea level or even up from underground aquifers such as the Nubian sandstone aquifer system that sits beneath desolate regions of Libya, Chad, and Sudan.
productive real estate. oehalophytic algae, cultivated correctly, could lessen the world food and water shortages. Some 68%of the freshwater that is now tied up in conventional agriculture could
algae require only a fraction of the land area of many other crops. Read Bushnell op-ed for THE FUTURIST. 3. Ocean-current power.
or even algae. If that hard to imagine, think of it this way: a tomato and basil membrane that houses gazpacho, a chocolate membrane holding hot chocolate,
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