Sunday, May 10, 2009
What Would it Take to Make Enough Algae-Based Biofuel to Supply All U.S. Vehicle Needs?
Answer: About 12.5% of the Sonora Desert, or 15,000 square mile/9.5 million acres. Compare this to the 450 million acres currently used as crop land (the majority of which is irresponsibly and inefficiently used for animal feed--more on the gross inefficiency of meat production compared to vegetable/grain production for human comsumption in a later post) and 500 million acres used as grazing land!! I already posted this statistic, but found a link that explains the calculations . . .
Link to the calculations and statistics:
http://www.energybulletin.net/node/2364
In response to any concerns about the potential environmental impact of these algae farms, consider that the apparatuses necessary to produce the algae could be built where little to no foliage is currently existing, and would actually provide shade to create habitat for many desert dwelling species. And also consider that the toxicity of biodiesel (b100) is negligible, whereas diesel and gasoline are both highly toxic and pose long term hazards to plant, animal and human life.
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