Boeing Helping to Develop Algae-Powered Jet

jon_cooper writes "Air New Zealand, Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation and Boeing are working together to develop and test a bio-fuel derived from algae. Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation began operating in May last year after it met a request from the local council to deal with excess algae on sewage ponds. Boeing's Dave Daggett was reported this year as saying algae ponds totaling 34,000 square kilometers could produce enough fuel to reduce the net CO2 footprint for all of aviation to zero."

Comments

Re:Save the Fish

[Red Flayer]

One of the clearest signs of global warming (human-caused or otherwise) is an increase in algae using up waterborne oxygen and causing fish deaths.

Huh? Algae produces O2, it doesn't use it up. Algae growth becomes a concern due to global warming and related issues because it thrives in a high-carbon high-temperature environment.

The fish deaths are not due to oxygen deprivation from the algae; rather, some algae blooms produce toxins that kill off fish. In smaller waters (like ponds and slow-moving rivers) algae exerts downward pressure on fish populations by outcompeting other organisms in the fish's food web.

While low oxygen concentrations are sometimes observed in waters with a high algae content, this is typically due to low aeration and warm water.