The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reportedly considering repealing the 2009 endangerment finding—a landmark declaration that identified greenhouse gas emissions as harmful to human health and the environment. The decision could have sweeping consequences for climate regulation in the United States. But scientists and climate experts from the University of Michigan say rolling it back now would be a dangerous step backward.

Related: the EPA tries to stop Make Sunsets and home-grown geo-engineering

“The EPA’s potential decision to rescind the endangerment finding on climate change would, in effect, be saying that climate change is not a threat,” said Andy Hoffman, Professor of Sustainable Enterprise. “We can deny that threat, but the insurance industry most certainly is not, with increasing storm frequency and severity leading to rising property insurance rates, reduced coverage, increased deductibles, more exclusions and, at the extreme, complete withdrawal from certain markets.”

The endangerment finding has been the scientific and legal backbone of US climate policy for more than a decade. Without it, the EPA loses its authority to regulate carbon emissions under the Clean Air Act.

“The role of science in regulation and policymaking has been understated in the current deconstruction of our science enterprise,” said Richard Rood, professor emeritus of climate and space sciences. “The persistent and consistent efforts over many years to dismantle the infrastructure and institutions for climate regulation show that this is more than the actions of a single administration.”

For Ann Jeffers, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering specializing in fire safety, the threat is literal and blazing. “Removing restrictions on carbon emissions will only exacerbate climate-related disasters. If you think America has a wildfire problem now, just wait,” she warned. “Carbon emissions are known to be the leading cause of climate change, which has produced a hotter, drier climate in North America. This, in turn, has resulted in more frequent and more intense wildfires… like the Los Angeles fires earlier this year, which resulted in thousands of structures burned and billions of dollars in losses.”

In Michigan, local leadership is already charting a more resilient path. Liesl Eichler Clark, the university’s first director of climate action engagement, emphasized the momentum at the state level: “Americans are suffering on a daily basis from our changing climate—from devastating floods to hurricanes to the now-commonplace challenge of wildfires. Climate change is causing loss of human life and property and harming human health.

Michigan is making progress on limiting our CO2 emissions in a cost-effective way… led by the MI Healthy Climate Plan roadmap, relying on clean energy solutions that are often cheaper and easier to use. Clean energy jobs in Michigan continue to grow, and our clean economy expands. We will continue to lead.”

The EPA is expected to make a decision in the coming weeks. If the endangerment finding is reversed, it could severely limit the government’s ability to confront climate change—just as the evidence of its toll becomes undeniable.

The post EPA May Repeal Key Climate Health Ruling — But Scientists Warn of Dire Consequences appeared first on Green Prophet.

Cows that make milk make methane gas and that gas is leading to more greenhouse gas emissions. One of the market solutions to reducing methane gas from cow farts and manure is a new biotech product marketed as Bovaer. The product, developed by DSM Firmenich from Maastricht, Holland says that when fed to a cow in their feed, when Bovaer gets to the cow’s rumen, it creates more microbes to help break down food. Like eating a probiotic.

Just ¼ teaspoon in a cow’s daily feed takes effect in as little as 30 minutes. As it acts, Bovaer is safely broken down into compounds already naturally present in the rumen, advertises the company. Less methane gas is produced in the process.

Bovaer, they say, is the most extensively studied and scientifically proven solution to the challenge of burped methane to date — “with more than 130 on-farms trials in 20 countries and more than 80 peer-reviewed scientific studies. In every case, it has proven safe for consumer, farmer and animal, having no impact on milk production or reproduction.”

Indeed, you can find clinical trials online from the United States (Penn State) and Canada (University of Alberta) where researchers report in the US and Canada significantly less methane production in dairy cows that are given the supplement, with the scientific name 3-nitrooxypropanol (3-NOP).

In the UPenn study, “Administration of 3-NOP via the TMR at a concentration of 60 mg/kg of feed DM decreased daily enteric CH₄ emission by 26% in early-lactation dairy cows. The enteric CH₄ yield decreased by 21%, and CH₄ emission intensity was decreased by 25%. Dry matter intake was lower in 3-NOP cows (by 5%), but ECM production was not affected, which resulted in increased ECM feed efficiency compared with CON cows.

Shoppers in the UK upon learning that their milk contains Bovaer are pouring their milk into the toilet. It’s caused a stir on social media such as in Facebook groups where people are voicing their concerns about an untested product – is it safe for humans to eat byproducts of Bovaer?

Arla Foods, owner of the UK’s biggest dairy co-operative said on 26 November it will going to start using the supplement in its milk. Arla said it will work with grocery giants Aldi, Morrisons and Tesco to trial the use of the feed additive known as Bovaer across 30 British farms.

British shoppers threaten to boycott all three supermarkets and Arla brands, along with Lurpak butter.

“Bovaer is a relatively simple chemical that is broken down in part of cows’ stomachs, where it also inhibits a specific enzyme that produces methane,” says Prof Oliver Jones, Professor of Chemistry, The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. “Because it is broken down quickly, it is not absorbed whole and is not present in milk; it indirectly increases the fat content because substances that would have been converted to methanol are instead converted to fats.

“Worries over new technologies are nothing new. However, the use of food additives is quite strictly controlled in the UK and Europe,” he notes. You can’t just add anything to the food chain without safety testing (although it appears you can claim what you like on social media).

“Despite extensive testing in multiple countries; there is no evidence that Bovaer causes cancer (as it does not damage DNA) or that it is dangerous to consume milk or other products from cows treated with it. Neither does Bovaer prevent other methods of reducing methane emissions from cattle, such as selective breeding.

“One can’t directly compare the everyday use of Bovaer and the potential risks from its use in concentrated form. For example, Bovaer is claimed to be an irritant to the eyes and skin and potentially harmful by inhalation, but common salt is also an irritant to the eyes and skin, and water is clearly potentially harmful by inhalation.

“Context is extremely important when assessing risk, but entirely missing from the social media videos on this topic.”

One solution to industrial food is finding raw milk, though it is illegal to buy and sell raw milk in Canada and the United States, it is possible for communities to self organize and “share” milk this way.

I’d assume, just in general here, that if the community of milk drinkers want to be upset about something, they should look to cow hormones, and antibiotics fed to cows. This may be a bigger reason to be concerned.

States Where Raw Milk is Legal on Producing Farms

It’s against the law to buy and sell raw milk in Canada, and has been since 1991, when the federal government banned its sale due to concerns of food-borne illnesses. Pasteurization is a process that involves heating raw milk to at least 63 C to kill harmful bacteria, such as salmonella and E. coli.

Twelve of those states—California, Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Washington, Arizona, and Connecticut—allow farm sales of raw milk with no license. The rest require a license to sell on the farm.

Some people when the can drink goat, sheep and camel milk.

The post What is Bovaer and why are people afraid it’s in cow milk they drink? appeared first on Green Prophet.

Being born of nomadic ancestors, it’s little wonder so many of us have been struck by wanderlust. Travelling has the ability to make us feel connected and displaced. Experiencing life in another culture or place expands your understanding of yourself just as much as it does your understanding of others. But, can we really travel eco-friendly? How can we reduce our carbon footprint while still exploring the great unknown? Are there easy ways to be a green globetrotter? This guide to sustainable travel has some ideas we can put to use without much effort. Let’s look at some ways we can exercise respect for the environment as well as the local people while abroad.

The Journey

By now we’re all aware that air travel is not the most eco-friendly way to go, however in some cases it’s the only way to get from A to B. Luckily for us, there are many ways in which we can ease the burden we place on the planet and make our travels as sustainable as possible. The first rule of sustainable travel is finding ways to move about the local area that are as low-impact as possible. The best method of travel for the environment is two feet and a heartbeat. Walking does not require any carbon emissions, gasoline, or manufacturing.

Modern Solutions for a Modern Problem

Not everyone is able to walk long distances and some people may have a disability that does not allow them to walk safely or even at all. While walking is certainly the cleanest method of travel from an environmental standpoint, there are other methods that still minimize greenhouse gasses and other damage to the planet. Renting a bicycle, scooter, or segway is one option for those who may not be able to walk. Many big cities now have access to pay-per-use transportation, meaning you can hop on a bike, pay for your time spent riding and then leave the bike for the next person who needs it. Find a bike that has a place to store your stuff while you travel. In the city I just use an old plastic milk crate, but you might want a sleek front bike rack which is a more secure option if you are travelling in an unknown city. This option is great if you’re in an area that has this infrastructure built and is small enough in a geographical location that you can move about the places you wish to see using your own power.

Classic Options with a Green Update

When it comes to longer trips that are too far to cycle or are over terrain that is unsafe for foot travel, public transit options like coach busses or trains are surprisingly eco-friendly nowadays. Busses and trains are capable of moving large groups of passengers and minimizing the number of individual vehicles on the road. They’re also designed to be more fuel efficient and release fewer emissions as a result. Not only is it often more cost effective to travel by bus or train, but there is also the added benefit of being able to enjoy the scenery and company without having to focus on driving.

Old Faithful

When public transportation is not a viable option, carpooling or rideshares are the next best thing. Planning group trips or joining tours will again minimize the number of vehicles on the road. It is also important to try to select a vehicle that is low emissions if possible. When using rideshare, opt for eco-friendlier options than SUVs and try to plan your trips to avoid unnecessary mileage. All of these small decisions add up to a much greener trip.

Beyond getting around for your sight-seeing, choosing a place to stay can also have major impacts on the environment.

Accommodations

Although tempting, luxury hotels can be some of the worst offenders when it comes to environmental impact. Opting for greener lodging such as a hostel or guest-home will not only provide you with the unique experience of how the locals live, it is also a great way to meet new people and lower your carbon footprint. There are booking companies that focus on finding safe and green options for lodging so travellers can relax and enjoy their trip knowing they’ve made a better choice. If you do decide to stay in a luxury hotel, opt to reuse your towels instead of daily towel service and use your own shampoos and soaps instead of the single-use plastic bottles. Also, don’t be afraid to leave comments or feedback for the hotel management on how they can be more eco-friendly. The more we advocate for change the more likely we are to get it!

Home Away From Home

Regardless of where you stay, treat it the same way you treat your own home. Don’t forget to turn off the lights and be mindful of your water usage as well. Adjust the thermostat so it’s not overworking and take advantage of the climate you’re visiting. If you’ll be on an all-day adventure, pack your own snacks and beverages in eco-friendly containers to avoid littering and purchasing items with excessive packaging. The same eco-friendly principles you use at home should be used abroad as much as possible.

Eco-Tourism and Tourist Traps

Before spending your money on a tourist activity consider these important questions: Does it involve local wildlife? Does it rely on single-use items that pollute the area? Am I exploiting a local community population or endangering a local guide? Who does the money benefit? Try sourcing out local museums and attractions that directly benefit the culture’s history and community. Environmental journalist Aaron ‘Bertie’ Gekoski has worked tirelessly on bringing the dark underbelly of wildlife tourism to light. It’s up to us as tourists to stop funding activities that harm local wildlife and people. Additionally, avoid damaging environmental areas or sacred grounds for a selfie moment. Most importantly, when exploring natural areas, be respectful of the signs and rules posted. As a general rule, always leave the area better than you found it. 

Pack Your Bags

Finally, being green in your daily life can have great effects on your travel as well. How to Pack Like a Sustainable Traveller suggests packing items that you can use abroad to minimize your individual waste like refillable shampoo and body wash containers. For those who menstruate, try reusable napkins or menstrual cups to avoid any issues with plumbing and to eliminate landfill waste. Avoid products that contain harmful chemicals or things like microplastics that can easily disrupt the local environment and cause damage. Not only will packing green save the environment, but it will also save you money! Lighter luggage will allow you to avoid any additional costs at the airport and prevent you from overspending on items once you arrive.

The Verdict

It’s nearly impossible to travel at net-zero, however, there are tonnes of small and thoughtful steps we can take to minimize our impact and travel in a sustainable way. A small amount of research ahead of time can make all the difference in the world when it comes to eco-friendly travel. We might not be able to travel completely green, but we can travel in a safer and more sustainable way that will ensure future generations can travel the world and see its wonders for years to come.

The post Does Eco-Friendly Travel Truly Exist? appeared first on Green Prophet.

As a result, carriers will increase their overall profits for truckers and their companies or contractors and shippers will reduce their shipment costs.

At any given moment millions of trucks are traveling around the world, more than 50% of them are running empty or with unused space. Frequently these trucks are returning hundreds of kilometers completely empty. It is a huge waste of fuel, manpower, air pollution and road congestion.

Quicargo, like what Greenroads did to fuel efficiency for truckers, brings the digital age to the freight industry by connecting shippers and local carriers through an advanced technological platform. The application, accessed via a smartphone or on the Web, connects businesses seeking immediate transportation of their goods with nearby truck drivers who have extra loading space.

Related: put your truck on a road train

In most cases, truck drivers with anticipated route and unused loading space can offer shippers attractive prices and cut their shipment costs, while exploiting their unused loading space and turning it into a profitable return.

With the help of apps like Quicargo, GreenRoad, and professional freight funding companies (for example, TBS Freight Factoring), truckers are able to increase cashflow while also decreasing their environmental impact.

Avishai Trabelsi, the CEO and Co-Founder of Quicargo, found himself exposed to this problem about ten years ago as a dispatcher in his family’s transportation company, RT-Fresh. As the former CEO of his family business, Avishai realized empty runs is a worldwide problem with no immediate solution; seeing an opportunity in the transport market, Avishai resigned as CEO of RT-Fresh to form Quicargo Technologies Ltd, targeting the gap in a highly renowned and lucrative market.

According to the World Economic Forum, the total cost burden of unutilized loading space in Europe alone is approximately €160 billion: “By increasing the productivity in the trucking industry and reducing empty runs we can contribute to the global economy. Moreover, we can be part of the ‘green’ evolution, by filling up empty trucks, reducing air pollution and carbon emissions” claims Trabelsi.

Quicargo’s application provides an online marketplace for shippers and carriers to benefit from unutilized loading spaces. Shippers are able to post a shipping request, and carriers can bid on shipments in real time. Consequently, shippers will choose the most relevant bid according to the carrier’s price, location and rating.

The bidding system ensures high quality and a true market value. Throughout the process the shipper can track the cargo on their smartphone and upon arrival both sides will receive automatic invoices. To uphold high quality services participating carriers have to be experienced, insured and qualified by Quicargo’s quality standards (QCV).

After concluding a successful pilot in Israel, Quicargo aims to expand into the European market. The company’s team will seek strategic partners and plan to promote Quicargo in the upcoming October 2015 “Wolves Summit” in Warsaw and at the November 2015 “Web Summit” in Dublin.

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Saudi Arabia has a lofty goal of storing CO2, known as carbon capture, by increasing oil recovery and reducing waste. 

Carbon capture utilization has become one of the most innovative means of recycling and reducing greenhouse gas emissions across the globe, but has largely remained an untouched endeavour in the Middle East. Until now. Saudi Arabia’s Aramco research and development center believes that it has the ability to establish new technology that will facilitate carbon capture (also known as carbon sequestering) to dispose of the greenhouse gas emissions in a meaningful manner in its depleted oil reservoirs.

According to a local report published by The Peninsula in early December, the country and its national oil company hopes to implement an innovative system that will capture CO2 from industrial facilities across the Gulf Kingdom.

Chief Technologist at Aramco’s Carbon Management and Hydrogen Production Team Mohammed Al-Juaied said the country hopes to launch the Saudi Arabia Carbon Capture System (SACCS).

The move aims to enhance oil production in underground reservoirs. Basically, what happens is that through carbon capture, large quantities of the gas is taken and injected into oil depleted areas, which can then increase oil recovery and reduce waste from such facilities.

“The main objective of such a method is to safely and permanently store CO2. This is the only commercially viable technology for CCS and it has the potential to be greatly expanded, enhancing efforts to reduce CO2 emissions while enabling additional hydrocarbon recovery from mature fields,” wrote The Peninsula.

According to Al-Juaied, “it will give long term benefits.”

The engineer believes that removal efficiency can reach as high as 90 percent and will reduce oil-related pollutants that enter the air and are harmful to people’s health.

While this new technology is largely new, in Germany it has been used successfully to reduce harmful greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere and furthering climate change destruction across the planet. The German government is hopeful that this will help reduce waste.

The thinking is that by capturing CO2 from major emitters, such as factories or refineries, and transporting to storage sites it can then be deposited into areas underground, such as Saudi’s idea of using it to jumpstart largely depleted reservoirs. In doing so, the CO2 remains outside the atmosphere and prevents the release of large amounts of CO2 into the air, a major cause of climate change today.

Saudi, like Germany and other countries, believe that this technology will help mitigate their contribution to fossil fuel abuse and emissions, enhance its oil recovery and create the means to limit their global footprint of GHG.

Update, in 2022 Saudi Aramco signed

Saudi Aramco signed a joint development agreement with SLB and Linde to establish a carbon capture and storage hub which will potentially be able to safely store up to 9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year by 2027, the company’s CEO, Amin Nasser, said. Aramco is set to contribute around 6 million tonnes, with the rest to come from other industrial sources.

The facility will be located in Jubail on the east coast of Saudi Arabia with a goal of making a significant contribution to the 44 million tonnes the kingdom plans to capture by 2035.

Read more on carbon capture:
Saudi Arabia holds out for carbon capture
Masdar’s carbon capture plan could cause comas
Masdar to and US DoE to Collaborate on Carbon Capture and Storage
Masdar and the Dicey Science of Carbon Credits

The post Carbon Capture the Saudi Way appeared first on Green Prophet.

The quest for construction materials with low environmental impact is leading product developers to new pastures. Literally, in the case of Noble Environmental Technologies Corporation, whose ECORE line of bio-based panels are made from cow poop. American farms produce an estimated 2 trillion pounds of manure each year (comparable stats for Middle East ranchers not readily available).

The smartest way to turn a buck is to convert a problem into a solution that gets you paid both coming and going: get paid to collect a waste (or buy it at deep discount over alternative raw material), and then convert that waste into a resale product.

Methane and nitrous oxide, major greenhouse gases (GHG), are offshoots from livestock manure.  Linking manure to a reuse that economically satisfies a developing market need is the best pairing of disparate elements since the invention of the peanut butter cup.

This company’s line of wall boards and panels are made from a blend of cellulose sources including plant fiber, recycled cardboard, old newsprint, and a not-so-secret ingredient: bovine processed fibers (BPFs).  BPFs are fibers leftover from anaerobic digestion tanks used to harvest methane from cow manure.  This secondary waste product (from the primary manure waste) contains lignin and proteins that make it prime feedstock for a variety of bio-based applications.

BPFs and other cellulose fibers can be blended with water into a sludge that’s formable in molds bespoke to each end product, using low energy processing techniques. ECOR® panels can be painted, veneered, and laminated or used as a sandwich core for added structure to construct furniture and cabinetry.  It can be molded into almost limitless shapes and used as interior surface finishes, signs, displays and decorations.

Watch their snappy video to better understand the manufacturing potential of the stuff:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/zp__59Abrhs[/youtube]

These highly versatile, three-dimensional engineered molded fiber (3dEMF) panel products are ideally manufactured near the source of low-cost and underutilized raw materials.

Manure is a  waste product readily available throughout the developing world: the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has a strong animal population. The livestock sector, specifically sheep, goats and camels, plays an important role in national economies, and the poultry sector is growing exponentially.

Animal waste is also a valuable source of nutrients and renewable energy (biogas) on a community level, however, most of the waste is collected in lagoons or left to decompose in open air, presenting sizable environmental hazard.

If a larger market for BPFs is created, sale of manure could someday represent a supplemental revenue stream for farmers.  Potentially a triple-bottom-line darling: establishing processing plants close to manure sources would create jobs, expand availability of the green building material, and be part of a larger strategy to reduce GHG emissions.  Calling all  investors: contact Noble Environmental Technologies Corporation for consultation or partnership in opening MENA’s first poop panel factory.

Image of a cow pie by Shutterstock

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Recent discoveries have confirmed scientists’ longstanding fears that global warming would catalyze the release of millions of tons of potential greenhouse gas emissions locked up in ice and permafrost in the great white north.

Layer after layer of plant debris that has not yet decomposed lies trapped in arctic and subarctic permafrost. As global temperatures rise and this perennial ice begins to melt, previously frozen organic matter will thaw out and decompose, releasing huge quantities of greenhouse gases into our already saturated atmosphere.

This may not seem like such an earth-shattering phenomenon, but scientists are deeply troubled since there’s a strong chance that methane (CH4) will be released – as it does in anaerobic wetland conditions – which does not bode well for planetary warming since it is 21 times more effective at trapping heat than carbon dioxide (CO2).

Nearly 1/4 of the northern hemisphere is underlain by permafrost that contains twice as much carbon as the entire atmosphere, wrote The New York Times. This amounts to nearly 2 trillion tons of carbon in soils of the northern regions, 88 percent of which is “locked in permafrost,” according to Canadian scientist Charles Tarnocai and colleagues.

The New York Times reports:

For now, scientists have many more questions than answers. Preliminary computer analyses, made only recently, suggest that the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions could eventually become an annual source of carbon equal to 15 percent or so of today’s yearly emissions from human activities.

But those calculations were deliberately cautious. A recent survey drew on the expertise of 41 permafrost scientists to offer more informal projections. They estimated that if human fossil-fuel burning remained high and the planet warmed sharply, the gases from permafrost could eventually equal 35 percent of today’s annual human emissions.

Meanwhile, Yahoo news reports that Russian scientists have discovered “hundreds of plumes of methane gas, some 1,000 meters in diameter, bubbling to the surface of the Arctic Ocean.” Igor Semiletov of the Russian Academy of Sciences told the UK Independent that thousands more of these giant gurgling methane pots could be lurking in the ice between the Russian mainland and the East Siberian Arctic Shelf.

Having more heat-trapping greenhouse gases in our atmosphere will exacerbate many of the climate change problems we are already beginning to face, include rising temperatures, biodiversity loss, drought and famine, water scarcity, and an upsurge in the expense and intensity of certain natural disasters.

But here’s the good news: if we can scale back human-caused carbon emissions and therefore reduce the rate at which the planet is heating up, most researchers believe we can slow down the rate at which this methane will be released into the atmosphere.

:: New York Times, Yahoo News

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Residents of Sharjah – the Emirate just north of Dubai – enjoy drying off in giant human dryers like these pictured above, which reportedly slash carbon emissions by half in some situations.

With average temperatures of 104 degrees Fahrenheit during summer months, you’d think residents of Sharjah – an Emirate just north of Dubai – would be content to stay wet after dancing in Al Qasba’s musical fountain. Not so. It turns out that the latest attraction at this upscale waterfront theme park is a giant human dryer that uses infrared technology to dry off revelers, according to Gulf News.

The paper described the Haystack Dryer – a prominent feature in fitness clubs and theme parks around the world – as an “egg-shaped Fast Drying Machine [that] looks like an alien space capsule or teleporter from sci-fi movies.” Children and adults alike are said to enjoy the experience of standing in the 113 degree Fahrenheit capsule while their clothes and bodies dry. Mohammad Rashidi told the paper, “My friends talked me into getting wet in the fountain and started laughing at me because they didn’t follow… But it’s OK, I used the machine and was dry again in minutes.”

Haystack Dryer literature suggests that these machines are more than just a gimmick and that they have the potential to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

According to their website, a 2500 member fitness club that uses this machine in lieu of towels can spare the atmosphere up to 71, 224 kg of carbon each year. This is based on America’s National Energy Foundation’s claim that it requires approximately 1.15 kg of carbon to dry four towels.

Today climate scientists, journalists, activists, and government representatives from around the world have gathered in Durban to attend COP 17, where they are working on an unhopeful plan to drastically cut global emissions in order to curb the worst effects of escalating climate change.

We don’t think they’ll be convinced by these infrared human dryers, but we do hope they’ll come up with something worth writing home about.

:: Gulf News

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Fears of global warming and its impact on our environment have left scientists scrambling to decrease levels of atmospheric carbon we humans produce. But Tel Aviv University researchers are doing their part to reduce humanity’s carbon footprint by successfully growing forests in the most unlikely place — deep in Israel’s Arava Desert.

With environmental “extras” such as a local plant species, recycled sewage water unsuitable for agriculture, and arid lands unusable for crops, a group of researchers including Profs. Amram Eshel and Aviah Zilberstein have discovered a winning combination.

In many parts of the world, including areas of India, central Asia and the Sahara desert, their new crop of plants would be not only viable in difficult terrain, but valuable in terms of carbon reduction. These standing crops, grown on land once considered barren, can soak up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and convert it into oxygen.

Their research is soon to be published in the European Journal of Plant Science and Biotechnology.

Though maintaining our current forests is a necessary initiative, Prof. Eshel says, it is not enough to off-set human carbon output. In their quest to create forests that diminish carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, many countries have been converting fertile agricultural lands into forests.

But TAU researchers believed that encouraging growth on a piece of land that was traditionally barren, such as desert land, was a step in a better direction.

“When you take the overall carbon balance of converting agricultural land and freshwater into energy products, you may not gain that much,” says Prof. Eshel. “You’re investing a lot of energy in the process itself, thus releasing a lot of carbon into the atmosphere.”

To conserve fresh water, the researchers used water considered of low quality, such as recycled sewage water and salt water that was the by-product of inland desalination plants. The final piece of the puzzle was to find a plant hearty enough to successfully grow in the desert.

The researchers turned to Tamarix, a botanical genus that includes salt cedar trees and is indigenous to the old-world deserts. Some 150 different varieties of the botanical genus were used, grown in both a common garden setting and in densities that mimicked commercial crops.

With the first harvest of trees just last summer, researchers have much to process, including analyzing the amount of carbon dioxide the crops have successfully captured from the atmosphere. The answers will determine how much carbon such a crop can offset.

A source for biofuel?

The cut trees themselves might also be used as a source of renewable energy. These “biomass” or “biofuel” crops, derived from natural crops, could help to reduce dependence on traditional fossil fuels such as coal. But the question of where to grow crops dedicated to fuel production had to be addressed, since converting agricultural land could have the side effect of creating food shortages.

Arid and previously unused desert lands provide an ideal solution, Prof. Eshel says. To make his approach economically feasible, much more land would be needed than Israel can provide. But similar tracts of land, such as the Sahara Desert, are big enough to grow these types of crops on a larger scale. He adds that what has been done in the Israeli desert can be replicated elsewhere to great effect.

The post Salt Cedars are Carbon Sinks in the Desert appeared first on Green Prophet.

While bureaucratic red tape has stymied Seambiotic’s commercial success in Israel, the pilot plant there has led to some positive developments for the company and the environment. Now, the company has five business deals in the works in the United States, Italy and in China, where it’s launching its first commercial algae farm this month. Seambiotic is also working with the National Aviation and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States to develop a commercially feasible biofuel variety from algae that has a higher freezing point that other plant-based biofuels from corn or sugarcane.

Seambiotic, headed by Noam Wenczel and based in Tel Aviv, takes a novel approach to using algae for fuel. The 15-person company has a patented approach that connects a power plant flue to a series of algae-munching ponds.

Algae out to lunch

Marine-based algae, which are actually tiny plants, live on a diet of carbon dioxide and sunlight — both found in abundance at power plants in sunny Mediterranean countries and the southern United States.

Theoretically, an algae pond could produce 30 times more feedstock for biofuel than the land-based crop alternatives. However, so far nobody has been successful in figuring out how to do this in a cost-effective manner. GreenFuel, a US company headed by Israeli Isaac Berzin, crashed and burned in its attempt, losing $70 million of investment money along the way.

Approaching the challenge from a different direction, Seambiotic offers a way for its partner power plant owners to see a return on investment for reducing carbon emissions immediately.

By sucking out power plant effluent and feeding it to algae — filtering out heavy metals first, of course — Seambiotic and its partners generate a healthy income by producing a valuable nutraceutical based on algae, which is especially popular in Eastern countries such as China.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Wa8ZgKXFbI[/youtube]

Seambiotic biofuel

Biofuel from smokestack emissions: an Israeli innovation.

“Carbon capture and food additives — these high-ticket items are our bread and butter. Fuel is our long-term objective,” Wenczel tells ISRAEL21c.

The company also helps produce carbon credits as it reduces the overall greenhouse gas emissions coming from power plants.

Reducing carbon dioxide, promoting biofuels

Seambiotic’s venture with Yantai Hairong Electricity Technology and Penglai Weiyuan Science & Trading (both associated with China Guodian Corporation) involves a 500-megawatt power plant in eastern China, the fifth-largest such facility in the country. It will produce algae-based nutraceuticals as an end product, and Seambiotic will get 25 percent of the profits. Wenczel says an additional 150 power plants are run by this conglomerate.

For every 25-acre algae pond, Seambiotic can reduce 1% of the carbon dioxide being emitted from the power plant. The company could add as many as 10 pools per power plant, resulting in a 10% reduction of this greenhouse gas believed to be contributing to climate change.

At the same time, Seambiotic is conducting R&D with NASA at its research headquarters in Ohio regarding algae-based biofuels. “We want to be in the front row when it happens. There has been so much effort and money put into this business,” Wenczel says.

He has high regard for the rather stiff competition already involved in similar endeavors in the United States: Sapphire Energy, funded by Bill Gates and the Rockefellers, and Synthetic Genomics. Menczel sees both as potential partners or possible purchasers of Seambiotic’s IP.

This story was first printed in ISRAEL21c – www.israel21c.org

Read more on algae for biofuel:
Iran Creates Algae for Biofuel
Isaac Berzin enlist Israelis into the Business of Algae foe Bio Fuel
Expanding the Role of Algae: Algaenesis
Squeezing Energy From a Plant’s Metabolism at Tel Aviv University

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