The future of our climate is green, stinky, and slimy.

 The future of our climate is green, stinky, and slimy. 

By Alexis Pope 

A big warm blanket is being laid on the Earth and if it doesn’t get removed, we might be going to sleep permanently. NASA says that greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane are filling the atmosphere and warming the planet, comparing it to a blanket surrounding the Earth. The space administration states that “in the last century, human activities, primarily from burning fossil fuels that have led to the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, have disrupted Earth's energy balance”(NASA, 3). This extra heating of the Earth is causing changes in the climate that have led to increased natural disasters, warming and rising of the oceans, and endangerment of animals’ and peoples’ natural living spaces. 

As bleak as this is to hear, not all hope is lost and there are still ways we can slow climate change through our actions. Each person's decision to reduce their carbon footprint, through doing things like using reusable water bottles and riding their bike to work is beneficial but the biggest step that can be taken to reduce climate change is to look at the biggest cause - fossil fuels. The UN sites fossil fuels as the biggest contributor to climate change saying “Fossil fuels – coal, oil, and gas – are by far the largest contributor to global climate change, accounting for over 75 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions” (United Nations, 2). Our current means of using gas to fuel our cars and homes is not sustainable in the long run because not only is gas not renewable but it’s also destroying our planet. 

There are alternatives to gas that have the potential to be better for the environment, such as using algae to create biofuel.  Wanting to learn more about this option, I spoke with a friend of mine who is a chemical engineer who interned at an algae farm this past summer. I was looking to know more about algae as a fuel alternative and see if there is any hope for the future of the fuel industry. The chemical engineering student, Kurt T., admitted that he is not a climate expert but spent his whole summer growing algae and making biofuel so he was happy to answer my questions. 

Curious about the whole process, I asked Kurt how algae can be made into biofuel. “The microalgae is grown with nutrients and then gets lipidized so the natural oils can be extracted,” he said, “Alcohol is added to the algae and we use a harvester machine to convert the fats and oils from the algae to biodiesel.” 

Algae can make the oils used in gas naturally and algae farmers can grow the algae to extract the oil. The Biotechnological Innovation Organization states that “Algae-derived renewable diesels and jet fuels are drop-in fuels that directly replace petroleum fuels without modification of engines. They meet all the specifications for the petroleum fuel they replace.” (BIO, 1). Algae’s ability to produce natural oils makes it a strong candidate as an alternative for fuel. 

I asked Kurt about the benefits of using algae and why it might be considered a more environmentally friendly substitute for fossil fuels. “It reduces CO2 emissions and it’s a renewable resource so you will never run out of it because you can just keep growing it,” he said. 

Because algae can be grown again and again it can be used as a fuel source that won’t run out. It’s also considered to be greener than fossil fuels - environmentally and literally. Algae will produce fewer CO2 emissions than fossil fuels and since algae does photosynthesis, it can recycle atmospheric carbon dioxide in the few weeks it takes to grow, Kurt told me. The Biotechnological Innovation Organization predicts that algae “can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 60 percent compared to petroleum diesel” (BIO, 1). 

Algae is a very promising fuel alternative that will reduce carbon emissions and help slow the cumulating greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, but what are the drawbacks to using algae? 

Kurt revealed that because algae needs to be in the perfect environment to grow, there are limitations where the algae farms can be geographically; “It needs to be in warm weather climate areas to keep the conditions stable for the algae. If it is done in a cold environment it needs to be done inside to control the climate and there needs to be artificial light.” He also mentioned that working with algae can be really gross because it’s stinky and slimy. We agreed that the trade-off for greener fuel overrides the stinky, slimy, and climate constraints that come with using algae. 

As he is someone who worked closely with algae to produce biofuel, I wanted to know his opinion regarding if algae can be the future of fuel. He answered, “Yes, but there needs to be big strides for it to be as big as gas fuel. It’s time-consuming so there needs to be more research done to improve the process. It also needs to be developed to grow in other parts of the world rather than just the stable climates areas.” 

While algae as a form of fuel is on the rise, there is still a lot that needs to be developed to get it to a place where it can take over gas fuel. Because it is more expensive than gas, fossil fuel companies are less likely to invest in biofuel but with time and research, biofuel could eventually be more efficient and replace fossil fuels. With the development of greener methods to live our lives the hope of reversing what damage we’ve already done is becoming a possibility. 

Sources:

1. “Biofuels: The Promise of Algae.” BIO, https://www.bio.org/articles/biofuels-promise-algae.

2. “Causes and Effects of Climate Change.” United Nations, https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/causes-effects-climate-change. 

3. “What Is the Greenhouse Effect?” Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet, https://climate.nasa.gov/faq/19/what-is-the-greenhouse-effect.