Algae as fuel

I own a Nissan Leaf, and since the power for my home is sourced from as much solar energy as I could manage to get from PG&E (no, they don’t get a link), it’s definitely a net benefit. I don’t drive far – a 10 or so mile commute daily, and trips to local stores comprise the bulk of my driving. It feels pretty good to make that contribution, given that ~97% of scientists agree that climate change has been fueled by human activity. I’m not saying that everyone should go out and trade their ICE car for an electric one; the circumstances just happened to be right for me, so I went for it.

However, electric cars have their downsides. Unless you can afford a Tesla, there is a very limited range which decreases with A/C or heater use, certain driving styles (i.e., the usual kind), and terrain. It also requires a special outlet if charging is to happen efficiently. I currently use a  regular 120v outlet to charge mine, and it takes hours to go from 1/4 battery to full. As in, about 8. I don’t mind these drawbacks, but they’re insurmountable for most people. So what are the alternatives?

Algae is one, and it has huge potential. Research and development has shown that it is a viable alternative fuel source that can actually be used to power the vehicles we already have (the diesel ones, anyway). The downside is that it takes a lot of algae to produce a little fuel, but we are masters at perfecting production, so this shouldn’t be the case for long. It will almost certainly see increased attention as our oil supplies dwindle.

NASA 360: Life on Mars

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Life on Mars, courtesy NASA 360. It’s a short, simple video that explains why we want to look for (ancient, microscopic) life on Mars, and how we’ll do it.

The Red Planet has been found to have enough similarities to Earth that we are planning to colonize it. It likely had an atmosphere, before some event or events obliterated it. It may have liquid water under the surface, and once did have liquid water over as much as a fifth of the planet.

To me, this is exciting and fascinating, not just because of the science, nor the possible answer to whether we are and always have been the only life in the universe. It’s also thrilling to ponder what will happen if we can indeed colonize the planet. How will we evolve as a species on another planet? How will our societies change? The Mars One mission is one of research and exploration; we won’t find out until many years after that mission whether colonization is truly feasible. If it is, it will be one of the greatest sagas of all time. I hope it happens in my lifetime…