Overreach? Think not!

Dave Inverson writes a decent Post with good links which set me to contemplating the state of the World. So many of the World’s problems are actually interrelated, and the common Engineering practice of ‘Division Down’ of Problems into soluble elements may be working against Us in the search for Solutions. We need a unifying thread to unite all disparate elements into a systemic resolution of all Problems. Iverson and Michael Briggs talk on the desirability of farming algae, rather than Food Crops, for biodiesel. Briggs’ work is indeed very important, and he has probably found the best source for raw material for biodiesel production. Here is where they would leave it.

Readers might ask why not leave it at this Point? The Answer states this venue provides no incentives to fund the Production facilities necessary for algae production and biodiesel refining. No amount of Research holds value, unless it can eventually draw in Governmental or Commercial capital construction; the later being the most viable and sustaining source. Unification of Scientific projects can bring a Solution to the Funding problem.

One of the best feed sources for algae production remain animal waste. Municipalities throughout the World possess an almost overwhelming problem in Waste disposal. Concentration of Waste and transport to an algae production facilities may be the cheapest long-run solution to City Waste Disposal. They can even be induced to foot the entire bill of Concentration and Transport themselves. Element One. The next element states Commercial investment in algae production is assured, if a Market is developed for the algae produced. Science: the heavy oils in algae not only make it a prime candidate for biodiesel production, but also as a prime agricultural fertilizer in concentrated form; further, land reclamation of desert can be accomplished by spreading algae on the desert, and pumping Seawater over the algae. Successive layering of algae and seawater over a period of maybe 20 years would likely produce arable farmland at a Cost range of $2000 per acre. Does this sound futuristic?

Let’s look at the entire situation. Government will fund the Waste Disposal, especially if it is the cheapest alternative. Commercial funding will build the Plant, if a Market can be developed. Agriculture, faced with the increased Cost of petroleum, will adopt algae fertilizers if Science can develop them into high-Crop production fertilizers at reasonable Cost. Government will fund a Land Reclamation project if it can be Cost-effective. Seawater can be pumped to desert areas at reasonable Cost, if the energy source for Pumping the seawater is Greenhouse gases. Now, there would be an never-ending demand for algae production, there would be an never-ending supply of Animal Wastes as material source for algae production, there would be a massive reduction in Greenhouse Gas emissions, and We could bring desert land back under cultivation while refilling underground Aquifers through the massive pumping of seawater to land surface. lgl