Algae’s worth goes way beyond being a source of food-grade protein – it shows some pretty legit game-changing potential as an eco-friendly source of fuel, plastic, wastewater, and heat.

Microalgae, which are comprised of microscopic, single-celled organisms that turn sunlight into energy (photosynthesis) and carbon dioxide into oxygen, are the fastest-growing plants on earth and absorb pollution. This means that algae can not only serve a specific function like fuel for cars, replace plastic, etc., but also absorb pollution at the same time.

Algae for Fuel

Algae’s most lucrative use will likely be in the oil industry. To make algae into biofuel, oil is extracted from algae with solvents or sonification (sound waves) and then processed at a bio-refinery. Compared to other land-based plants, algae are able to produce up to 60-times more oil per acre. But with more than 100,000 different strains of algae that grow in all kinds of conditions, researchers are still undecided which strain of photosynthetic organisms will make the most commercial sense. To both scale and cost-efficiently produce algae biofuel, it is crucial for researchers to find a strain that both grows quickly and has a high oil content. Until then, large-scale algae biofuel production is still a ways off.

But, private companies are pushing the leverage against the uncertainty. In June, ExxonMobil and Synthetic Genomics published its most recent breakthrough in the Nature Biotechnology journal: a research team modified an algae strain that enabled it to increase its oil content from 20% to 40% without substantially inhibiting its growth.

In Japan, All Nippon Airways (ANA) and microalgae producer Euglena joined forces to develop the microalgae euglena as a source of fuel for the aviation industry. The oil extracted from euglena can be refined into kerosene and ANA plans to collect 33,000 gallons of the biofuel each year from the euglena bio-refinery, which will be fully operational by the first half of 2019.

These developments further feed the realization that algae have more than just potential – they have a future. Experts predict the algae biofuel market will be worth $10.73 billion by 2025.

Algae for Plastics

Equally as game-changing is algae’s prospects in producing plastics. With some 7 million tons of plastic ending up in the sea each year, the world clearly has a plastic waste problem. Algae bioplastics could be the future solution.

In 2010, Rémy Lucas founded the French startup Algopack. Using a natural polymer in brown seaweed to generate biodegradable granules, Algopack is able to manufacture plastic that takes only 12 weeks to biodegrade in soil and five hours in water.

Another company, BLOOM, is using deadly algae blooms to create plastic. The company vacuums up freshwater blooms in problem areas, where overgrown algae leaches oxygen from aquatic life. It separates the algae and returns the clean water to the waterway. The algae is then dried, pelletized and turned into a flexible foam.

Meanwhile, researchers at the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory are using genetically modified blue-green algae to create ethylene, a building block for plastic. Ethylene production typically comes with tons of environmental drawbacks, since it is made from petroleum and natural gas and emits more carbon dioxide than any other chemical process. By changing blue-green algae’s metabolism, researchers enabled the organism to convert some of its carbon dioxide into ethylene, a gas that can then be collected and used to make plastic. Unlike traditional ethylene production, this altered blue-green algae absorb carbon dioxide, instead of emitting it.

Their lofty and promising ambitions aside, all of these ventures are relatively seminal and boutique in nature. Algae bioplastics will take at least another decade to produce on a commercial scale.

Algae for Wastewater and Heat

What may come even sooner than mass use of algae biofuel and bioplastic is algae as a practical wastewater treatment and heating solution.

Global wastewater is the fifth-largest source of methane, comprising 7% of the total global methane emissions in 2010. Global wastewater treatment is also the sixth-largest source of nitrous oxide emissions. The use of algae for wastewater treatment addresses both the chemical process of nutrient removal and its accompanying carbon footprint. Algae remove nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus, heavy metals, pesticides, organic and inorganic toxins and pathogens from water. Meanwhile, it introduces other benefits – the biomass byproduct can be recycled back into agriculture as a fertilizer or utilized as a biofuel.

This resourceful model is also apparent in the system created to heat buildings with algae. In 2013, Hamburg’s BIQ (bio-intelligent quotient) house became the first algae-powered house in the world. The house’s bio-adaptive algae façade reacts to the environment, growing faster in brighter sunlight to offer more internal shading; that is, it relies on photosynthesis to maintain an appropriate interior temperature. Meanwhile, the growing microalgae produce biomass that can be harvested and are able to capture solar thermal heat, which is used to power the building. Multiple building functions are brought together, in one circuit: solar energy, geothermal energy, a condensing boiler, district heating and the production of biomass in the bioreactor façade.

French researchers have taken similar steps in promoting algae as a power source for buildings. Researchers at the Ennesys Lab in Nanterre, France say that growing algae in a building’s wastewater can lead to the production of oil and vegetable biomass that can be used as a fuel to form heat or electricity. The fuel has the same energy value as coal and can suffice 80% of a building’s energy needs, leaving no carbon footprint in its wake.

Algae for the Future

Despite all their inherent glory and multitude of applications, algae remain in the specialty market for a few reasons; namely, they are expensive and difficult to produce on a large scale.

Typically, algae are grown in the “raceway pond” structure, where water and algae are stored in an open pond and kept in constant motion using a paddle wheel. But as algae start to grow, they self-shade, or block the light of each other due to high density. This method does not allow for high concentrations of algae and must be amended for commercial practicability.

In anticipation of large-scale algae production, producers are turning to the “flat panel” system, a closed system that mixes gas into algae and water in order to continuously push algae toward and away from light. This system encourages faster growth and higher densities. In the Netherlands, researchers switched from the raceway pond to the flat panel method and were able to decrease costs from $3.70 per pound of dried algae to $1.40 per pound.

Another growth solution is darkness. This method steers production away from relying on light and can result in higher densities. Unfortunately, only a few algae are capable of growing in darkness.

It is the biofuel industry that will lead the charge and what will likely command the pace of technological innovations in mass algae production. A growing demand for low-cost and reliable energy sources in a post-oil world puts algae on a promising track. However, high capital investment and technological advancements needed to make algae biofuel and other bioproducts fit for commercial production limit advancement. It remains to be seen how researchers, producers, investors and consumers collaborate to take algae to the mass market.

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Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and all around green-energy badass, is a powerhouse of an innovator. That got us thinking that perhaps Musk should become the president of Earth. Not convinced? We’ll give you three reasons why.

1. He’s dedicated to creating clean energy for everyone

According to the Wall Street Journal, Musk recently unveiled a line of “home and industrial battery packs” that he says will “change the fundamental energy infrastructure of the world.”

Grist reports that the new endeavor is called Tesla Energy: “[Musk’s] goal is to riddle the world with much-needed solar power storage devices that will usher us into a post-fossil fuel, carbon-zero future, thus saving humankind from climate apocalypse.”

Musk made this announcement, appropriately, on May Day (May 1); a traditional day of renewal about Powerwall, the new battery, which will be wall-mounted and can be used in all homes. More from Tesla Motors’ press kit:

“Tesla Powerwall is a rechargeable lithium-ion battery designed to store energy at a residential level for load shifting, backup power and self-consumption of solar power generation. Powerwall consists of Tesla’s lithium-ion battery pack, liquid thermal control system and software that receives dispatch commands from a solar inverter. The unit mounts seamlessly on a wall and is integrated with the local grid to harness excess power and give customers the flexibility to draw energy from their own reserve.”

Read more about Powerwall’s undeniable benefits here.

2. Musk has been all about renewable energy and space exploration since a young age — and he was willing to make sacrifices to work in those fields

Musk was recently interviewed by Neil deGrasse Tyson. In the interview, Musk revealed that he has always wanted to work on creating renewable energy. But to prove to himself that he could survive if he failed, he decided to live off almost nothing. To survive, he bought food in bulk from a supermarket and lived on hot dogs, pasta, and oranges. The Washington Post quoted a bit from the Tyson interview:

“‘You get really tired of hot dogs and oranges after awhile,’ he said. ‘And of course pasta and a green pepper and a big thing of sauce. And that can go pretty far, too.’ “

Now, that’s dedication.

3. He’s open about how hard it is to do what he does

Now, this isn’t the most flattering news about Musk floating around, but it’s undeniably real. In Ashlee Vance’s biography about Musk, she reports that one time, Musk got after an employe for missing a meeting to attend a child’s birth. Now, Musk has forcefully said that this isn’t true, and truly, we’ll never really know if it is or isn’t. But in a recent interview, Musk admitted to an interviewer that he doesn’t always give his kids direct attention.

Forbes reports that Musk said that often times, he is with his kids while he is working and emailing. He contends that he has to do both at once in order to get his job done. Now, that may sound harsh, but it’s probably true. While that information may not sit well with all of us, it’s at least refreshing to hear him speak his own truth.

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Image: Steve Jurvetson

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As the global environmental crises dawns upon us, renewable energy models are taking center stage.

Around the world conversation is swirling concerning what we, as a global society, will do to combat the negative effects of climate change and become less dependent on oil and other fuels to power our energy needs. Fortunately, renewable energy sources are becoming increasingly more fashionable and economical around the world. Here are 10 facts about renewable energy you may not know.

Renewable energy is any energy derived from natural processes, such as sunlight and wind. They are replenished faster than they are consumed, hence “renewable”. Some forms of renewable energy include solar, wind, geothermal, hydro and biomass. They’ve been around for quite some time but are only picking up steam recently, when the world has found itself in a position where it has no other choice but to embrace renewable technologies. The following 10 fun facts about renewable energy highlight its growth, efficiency, and effectiveness.

1. Renewable Energy creates three-times more jobs than fossil fuels.
2. Fossil fuels have received 75-times more subsidies than clean energy.
3. Renewable energy is expected to jump to 25 percent of global gross power generation in 2018, a rise on 20 percent in 2011 and 19 percent in 2006.
4. One wind turbine is able to generate enough electricity to power up to 300 homes.
5. Within a 5-year period, Portugal’s electric grid jumped from 15 percent to 45 percent renewables.
6. If taken advantage of to its fullest extent, sunlight that beams on the earth for one hour could meet world energy demands for an entire year.
7. Europe and North Africa could run on 100% renewable energy by 2050.
8. In 2009, China built about one windmill per hour.
9. Solar photovoltaic may account for 5 percent of global power demand by 2020, and up to 9 percent by 2030.
10. West Virginia is able to replace all its electrical capacity with a mere 2% of its geothermal potential.

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Photo Credit: Charles Cook

Sources: Cleantechnica, Oilprice.com, Greenpeace.org

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Cigarette butts are the most littered item in the U.S.  And worldwide, it’s estimated that 5.6 trillion cigarette butts are disposed of inappropriately daily. But what if all these nasty, stinky used cigarette butts could be used for good? South Korean researchers are trying to do just that.

Scientists are trying to turn dirty filters into a reusable material that more effectively stores energy. They’re using cigarette butts from Marlboro Light Gold, The One Orange, and Bohem Cigar Cigarettes and breaking them down using a process called pyrolysis. Once broken down, the butts are able to store energy more efficiently than carbon.

Co-author of the study Professor Jongheop Yi, from Seoul National University, said: “Our study has shown that used cigarette filters can be transformed into a high-performing carbon-based material using a simple one-step process, which simultaneously offers a green solution to meeting the energy demands of society.

“Numerous countries are developing strict regulations to avoid the trillions of toxic and non-biodegradable used cigarette filters that are disposed of into the environment each year; our method is just one way of achieving this.”

Researchers in the study showed the cellulite acetate fibers from cigarette filters can be transformed relatively easily into carbon-based materials. The end result was a material that had tiny pores which actually performed better than carbon.

According to the Institute of Physics:

Once fabricated, the carbon-based material was attached to an electrode and tested in a three-electrode system to see how well the material could adsorb electrolyte ions (charge) and then release them (discharge).

The material stored a higher amount of electrical energy than commercially available carbon and also had a higher amount of storage compared to graphene and carbon nanotubes, as reported in previous studies.

I’d rather the world give up cigs all together, but until then, this is a pretty cool solution instead of leaving butts all over the streets.

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Corporations are criticized for putting the pursuit of profit above all else (and most do). But being a slave to the bottom line can also boost clean energy technologies that are as business-smart as they are planet-friendly.

Let’s get one thing straight: no matter what you’ve heard, corporations are not job creators. Big companies do not exist to make sure everyone makes a living wage or that our economy is progressing in the right direction. By law, the sole duty of a corporation is to make as much money as possible for its shareholders–a duty that is best achieved when overhead costs like labor are tightly controlled.

Although there are a thousand examples of how this mentality has harmed our culture and planet, I’ll save them for another time. Multinational corporations are here, most likely to stay, so why not focus on ways they can help?

Even though it’s still motivated by a desire to reduce costs and up profit, many of today’s most well-known brands are embracing clean energy technologies in a big way. While the powers that be remain remain handcuffed to fossil fuels, these bastions of capitalism are voluntarily making the switch to solar, wind, and more. Why? Because it’s cheaper, more efficient, and better for their bottom line.

1. Starbucks – Wind Energy

In 2008, the Frappucino giant set a goal to purchase renewable energy credits certificates (RECs) equivalent to 50 percent of the electricity used in its U.S. and Canada company-owned stores by 2010. While RECs aren’t the same as solar panels on the roof, their cost funds renewable energy projects pumping clean energy into the national grid. Encouraged by their early success, Starbucks set a new goal in 2011: to purchase the RECs equivalent to 100 percent of the energy electricity used in our company-owned stores globally by 2015. As of 2012, they were already more than 50 percent of the way there, making Starbucks one of the nation’s largest purchasers of American wind energy.

2. IKEA – Solar Energy

In 2012, this Swedish furniture powerhouse release its “People & Planet Positive” long-term sustainability strategy. Among other things, the plan revealed Ikea’s ambitious goal of relying on only the sun and wind to produce all the power it uses at its stores and buildings by 2020. Unlike others who’ve made big claims only to backpedal later, Ikea set about achieving its goal almost immediately. In the US, Ikea has increased the number of solar installations to 34 stores and distribution centers, with five more underway. Many of these arrays, like the ones in Maryland and Florida, are the largest in their states.

3. Apple – Fuel Cell/Biogas

As the unofficial brand of technology-savvy hipsters the world over, Apple knows cool. But hipsters are also concerned about the environment, and don’t want their iProducts with a side of eco-guilt. According to a 2012 EPA survey of companies that use the most renewable energy, Apple came in at a safe number 10, producing an impressive 537.4GWh, or 85 percent of its requirements through clean technologies. The company’s newest data center in Maiden, North Carolina, features the nation’s largest end user–owned, onsite solar photovoltaic array. The maiden campus also boasts an onsite 10-MW fuel cell installation that uses directed biogas to provide more than 83 million kWh of 24/7 baseload renewable energy annually — making it the largest non-utility fuel cell installation operating anywhere in the country.

Image: Thin film solar panels being installed on a Wal-Mart in Mountain View, Calif.

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Mayor, mayor, on the wall: Who is the greenest of them all?

My neighboring hometown across the Bay, San Francisco, makes all the greenest cities lists, with its mayor, Gavin Newsom, regularly billed as “America’s Greenest Mayor.” But behind the glossy Priuses, how green is SF?

Google “country’s greenest mayor” and you get some interesting results. Rocky Anderson, former mayor of Salt Lake City, comes up first. Greg Nickels, former mayor of Seattle, also gets some hits. Then there’s Chicago’s Richard Daly, New York’s Bloomberg, Shirley Franklin of Atlanta, and Bill White of Houston, along with Gavin and others mentioned in this article. L.A.’s chief executive, Villaraigosa, just loses out to Newsom in this article about the two mayors’ dueling plans to cut greenhouse gases.

San Francisco definitely stacks up among the greenest of the green and deservedly so, but is San Francisco all about the shiny green PR-driven gestures, neglecting the concrete hard daily work that nobody notices? Let’s find out.

What San Francisco Does Right

1. Curbside recycling and composting

San Francisco was one of the first (if not the first) large cities to institute curbside composting and recycling. As of late last year, San Francisco made composting mandatory for houses, apartment buildings, businesses and restaurants.

2. Plastic Bag Ban

San Francisco was the first American city to ban plastic bags.

3. Green Building

San Francisco has some of the strictest green building codes in the nation.

Mayor Newsom clearly enjoys being the first to do anything, but what about the everyday, not-so-flashy actions he could take to green the city and set an example for its citizens?

If I were mayor for a year, here are five things I’d do.

1. Spread the composting bug to the airport.

If they can do it in El Salvador, they can certainly do it in San Francisco. The above picture is one I took  about a year ago in El Salvador, yet on that same trip, in the San Francisco International Airport, I couldn’t find a place to recycle my water bottle (I  know, I know) or compost my apple core. A green airport is a great way to show the world that San Francisco walks its talk.

2. Leave the SUV in the garage and ride that bike once in awhile.

Ok, so the mayor’s ride is a hybrid, but a $58,000 SUV paid for with tax dollars and driven to Montana by a staffer while the mayor took a private jet? Come on. When he was mayor, Rocky Anderson’s personal car was a compressed natural gas Honda. The plan to revitalize Market Street and make it more bicycle and pedestrian-friendly is a good one but is only happening now after years of lobbying by bicycle and pedestrian groups. The Mayor could lead on this.

3. Want to leave the SUV in the garage and rub shoulders with a few strangers on Muni? Get ready for a mess.

Fare hikes, service cuts and allegations of misplaced public funds have riders fuming. The mayor should see what it feels like to be packed onto the N Judah at rush hour. Or have his local bus line cut out completely.

4. Support Clean Public Power.

One of the city’s oldest and most heavily polluting power plants, The Potrero Power Plant needs to be shut down. It is scheduled for closure, but unfortunately, the city wants to replace it with another polluting fossil fuel burning plant. Also, the fight for public power is heating up again in San Francisco. Advocates say public power would open the way for more green technologies. The mayor doesn’t necessarily agree and PG&E is shelling out gigantic, steaming piles of money to put a measure on ballot seeking to require 2/3 majority to pass public power.

5. Speaking of gigantic, steaming piles, stop selling toxic sludge – we know it’s not good for us. That high-quality, nutrient rich “compost” you’re giving away to gardeners? No thanks. It’s just the toxic sludge industry’s way of gaining public acceptance.

How does your city stack up? Is it all bells and whistles, or is it like Portland, with a unified green front at all levels?

Images: Dave Minogue, Vanessa Barrington

The post Dear San Francisco: 5 Ways You Can Go Green appeared first on EcoSalon.

When the economy crashes, the knee-jerk reaction delivers a painful blow to the design industry. How many  remodeling and decorating projects have been put on hold? How many clients tell their designers they can’t spend another dime?

Showrooms in design centers throughout the country are struggling to hang on due to inactivity. The industry trickle-down effect dries up the business for architects and interior designers, especially in the middle-income sector which is playing it safe while riding the tide.

Does that mean no new appliances, landscaped yards, carpets or lighting? Not entirely. In many cases, homeowners are going the green route which also means the more energy-efficient and cost-saving path to boosting their environments without over-investing.

With that in mind, a Denver, Colo. firm is launching the first online Green Design Summit June 29-30. Gail Doby, co-founder of the Denver-based Design Success University, is hosting the two-day educational series, which is expected to draw 800 to 1,000 participants, according to ASID. Industry pros will enlighten participants with knowledge of how to go green stylishly. Plus, we all know green marketing is the new key to success.

“The green training may help these professionals’ finances to stay in the black,” observes Doby, who has lined up 10 speakers immersed in different realms of the eco-renaissance.

Gail Doby, co-founder of telesummit

They include authors, like Cassie Walker, The Green Office Handbook, Michael Port, Think Big manifesto –  Think you can’t change your life? Think Again, and Penna Bonda, green blogger for Interior Design Magazine and author of Mother of Green Interiors.

Also lending guidance are eco-friendly product designer Robin Wilson,  HGTV star Libby Langdon, and Tom Hamilton, Senior Product Manager for Philips Color Kinetics.

Tickets go on sale June first for the summit ($297) being delivered by webcast beginning both days at 11 a.m. EDT. Members of the home industry aren’t the only ones who will benefit from the huge endeavor.

Proceeds will aid the town of Greensburg, Kansas, which was leveled by a huge tornado in 2007. May 4 was the second anniversary of the disaster. It  was commemorated by townspeople with a dedication of the first LEED Platinum John Deere dealership.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, left, and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius along with Mayor Bob Dixon take a walking tour of Greensburg, Kan., on Wednesday

As in post-flood New Orleans, this small city is using its rebuilding effort as an opportunity to green public facilities, including the city’s theater and museum.

Greensburg Mayor Bob Dixon says his city will greatly benefit from five percent of the telesummit’s profits, in addition to a request for material donations being sought by the design summit organizers.

“We’d like to see Greensburg become the eco-tourism capital of the world,” says the mayor. ” Companies can bring their customers here to see sustainable building products and all kinds of eco-friendly businesses.  We want to be a living laboratory.”

Images: Orlin Wagner, AP;

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