Tag Archives: algae

Food security and biofuels

Posted on April 15, 2014 by argylesock

Biofuels are renewable because they’re made from plants or animals, which grow. But sometimes biofuels are produced in ways that are not sustainable. Hungry people sometimes pay the cost. Can food security and biofuels go hand in hand? Today Léna … Continue reading →

Posted in food, knowledge transfer, money and trade, weather and climate | Tagged access to land, algae, biodiversity, biofuel, climate, development, export, farmer, fire, food security, knowledge, land grab, land use, law, livestock, plant_dicot, plant_gymnosperm, plant_monocot, politics, poverty, prosperity, tillage, trade, tradition, waste, water | 7 Comments

GM oilseeds for Britain?

Posted on January 26, 2014 by argylesock

This year in Britain, we heard there’d be no GM (genetically modified, genetically engineered, biotech) crops. It didn’t last. A new GM crop might soon be field-tested here. Eventually this crop might reduce pressure on overfished seas. A land plant … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, fish, human health, knowledge transfer, money and trade | Tagged Agrobacterium tumefaciens, algaculture, algae, aquaculture, Atlantic salmon, bioaccumulation, biotechnology, blue mussel, brassica, brown crab, brown trout, butternut squash, conservation, crop, false flax, fat, fatty acid, feed, finfish, fishery, fishing, flax, genetic modification, grocery, hemp, hunting, International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications, invertebrate, linseed, nut, nutrition, oilseed, oilseed Omega Camelina, oyster, pecan, plant_dicot, rainbow trout, research, sea, seed, skipjack tuna, sustainable, trade, value-added, vertebrate, wild food | 7 Comments

Using Algae to Control Industrial Emissions

Posted on December 3, 2013 by argylesock

argylesock says… Algae have great potential to bring us to a cleaner world. argylesock says… Algae have great potential to bring us to a cleaner world.View original post

Posted in knowledge transfer, miniculture | Tagged algaculture, algae, biobased industry, bioremediation, development, pollution, research, technology | Leave a comment

Developing advanced biofuels

Posted on October 31, 2013 by argylesock

In the United States, the Agriculture Secretary is Tom Vilsack. He’s offering money to develop commercial-scale biorefineries or retrofit existing facilities with appropriate technology to develop advanced biofuels. ‘Advanced biofuels’ means that these fuels are to come from non-food sources. … Continue reading →

Posted in knowledge transfer, miniculture, money and trade | Tagged algaculture, algae, biobased industry, biofuel, biotechnology, conservation, corn, finance, food waste, forest, fuel, land use, maize, palm oil, plant_monocot, tree, waste, woodland | 9 Comments

Where are we going with biofuels?

Posted on July 13, 2013 by argylesock

The word ‘sustainable’ can ring hollow. Like ‘the environment’ and ‘the people’, ‘sustainable’ is an easy thing to say without meaning much. One of my most loyal blog followers, eqfe, has commented a few times about my ‘sustainable’ tag here. … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, food, miniculture | Tagged algaculture, algae, arboriculture, arthropod, biofuel, biotechnology, brassica, breeding, canola, corn, crop, energy, entomoculture, food, fuel, grain, insect, land use, law, maize, oilseed, palm, palm oil, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, politics, rapeseed, renewable, sustainable, technology, trade, transport, tree, waste | 4 Comments

Microalgae: renewable biofuel source with no need for fresh water. Just give them our wastewater.

Posted on June 17, 2013 by argylesock

Originally posted on Just Science:
Last week, I presented illustrations for yeast and a microalgal species of Chlamydomonas. Today I will expound on part of this. Ongoing research is working to identify ways to circumvent the need for fresh water,…

Posted in knowledge transfer, miniculture | Tagged algaculture, algae, biofuel, biotechnology, fuel, knowledge, research, sustainable, waste, water, water waste | 4 Comments

The High Cost of Cheap Nitrogen

Posted on May 3, 2013 by argylesock

Originally posted on Global Food Politics:
West Fertilizer Plant Explosion. Source: The New Yorker. The explosion of the fertilizer factory in West, Texas, earlier this month was lost amid discussion of the Boston Marathon bombing. Yet the tragic explosion highlights…

Posted in ecology, food, knowledge transfer, money and trade | Tagged algae, crop, duckweed, eutrophic, fertiliser, nitrogen, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, pollution, river, sea, soil, water, water plant, waterway | Leave a comment

Fact sheet on ocean acidification

Posted on February 4, 2013 by argylesock

Ocean Acidification Key points Increasing amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) are being absorbed at the sea surface. When this CO2 enters the ocean it rapidly goes through a series of chemical reactions which lowers the pH of the surface … Continue reading →

Posted in ecology, fish | Tagged air, algae, alien species, carbon dioxide, climate, ecosystem, invasive species, pH, sea, temperature | Leave a comment

Algal biofuels

Posted on January 24, 2013 by argylesock

Jim Gilmour of Sheffield University asks, ‘Can algal biofuels play a major role in meeting future energy needs?’ The link I’ve just given will take you to an open-access review of research by Dr Gilmour and others. There are great … Continue reading →

Posted in knowledge transfer, miniculture | Tagged algaculture, algae, biotechnology, fuel, knowledge, research, sustainable | 6 Comments

Using marine algae

Posted on January 22, 2013 by argylesock

Saltwater algae might be a crop for the future. My fellow blogger narhvalur draws attention to G. Narasimha Rao’s article in The Hindu, pointing out the potential benefits of algaculture. Here in Britain, cell lines and training courses are available … Continue reading →

Posted in knowledge transfer, miniculture | Tagged algaculture, algae, cell line, farm, knowledge, research, salt, sea | 1 Comment