Easily digestible tech news... http://www.techdirt.com/ en-us http://www.techdirt.com/images/td-88x31.gifhttp://www.techdirt.com/ Mon, 28 Feb 2011 17:00:00 PST Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101229/01123812443/dailydirt-biofuels-tiny-organisms.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101229/01123812443/dailydirt-biofuels-tiny-organisms.shtml

The widespread use of algae to produce biofuels seems like a possibility to directly grow fuel from solar power. We just need about 10 million acres of algae vats that can soak up some sun and spit out fuel (in a cost-effective process). [url]

Yet another strain of yeast can convert xylose to ethanol. But growing the sugar in the first place seems like an extra step... and ethanol doesn't sound like the best biofuel available. [url]

Algaes aren't the only microorganisms that can grow biofuels -- cyanobacteria can do it, too. But this super-secret process claimed by a small biotech firm sounds a bit too good to be true. [url]

To discover more stuff on alternative energy, check out what's currently floating around the StumbleUpon universe. [url]  

As always, StumbleUpon can also recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

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]]> urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20101229/01123812443 Wed, 8 Aug 2007 13:26:57 PDT Joseph Weisenthal http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20070808/080227.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20070808/080227.shtml "agflation", the soaring price of agricultural commodities, as a result of ethanol subsidies. It's hard to see what good it is to switch away from expensive oil and gas if the result is simply another expensive fuel that makes other goods more expensive. As the New York Times notes today, interest in ethanol has helped push the price of Midwestern farmland to new heights. This is good news if you happen to be sitting on large tracts of land that you're looking to unload. But if you're a farmer in any other business than corn, it's trouble. Small farmers are particularly hard hit. Defenders of agriculture subsidies often argue that they help preserve the farm industry and the way of life that comes with it. But as anecdotes like this show, they mainly help large agricultural conglomerates, while independent farms continue to suffer.

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]]> alternative-to-what http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20070808/080227