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October 6, 2008 10:58:00 PM CDT

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Algae: Lean, Green Biofuel?

Posted Jul 2, 08 2:47 PM CDT in Science & Health,  Opinion,  Business 

(Newser) – The steam engine wasn’t invented in the eighteenth century—it was invented in AD 60. But Romans instead stuck to their old standby technology: slaves. Now, we’re in danger of repeating that mistake with biofuels, writes David Ewing Duncan for Portfolio. While Congress is pumping subsidies into corn-based ethanol, better solutions—such as algae—are begging for attention.

Sapphire Energy, for example, has devised an algae-based fuel that it says it can produce for $60 a barrel. Unlike corn, the algae fuel won’t increase global food prices, and it’s carbon neutral. But agribusiness has lobbied hard to tilt the playing field toward ethanol. “The government runs the risk of discouraging a real future of renewable energy,” says Sapphire’s CEO. Just like Rome.

Source Portfolio

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A steamboat sails down the Mississippi River.   (Archive Photos)
Steam trains would never have come along if someone wasn't willing to take a chance on a new technology.   (Earth Explorer)
The steamboat Sultana is shown in this historical photo.   (KRT Photos)
Chinese volunteers help to clean a beach of the blue green algae invading Qingdao, in eastern China, Wednesday, July 2, 2008.   (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Chinese soldiers remove blue green algae from a beach in Qingdao, eastern China, Wednesday, July 2, 2008.   (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
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