Algal Biofuels: Will San Diego become the "Green Houston"?

Many have argued that Algal Biofuels hold promise as an alternative fuel source and that San Diego is well situated to become the "Green Houston".

Can biotechnology revolutionize the oil industry by creating algal biomass with high lipid content that can feed directly into industrial petroleum refineries?

Will San Diego County play a central role in this beyond the pilot plant?

Will refineries dot the horizon in the future and be colocated with the algal ponds so as to sequester the CO2 from the production process?

Modern algae research indicates many reasons to be hopeful that algae can play a competitive role in our alternative energy future. 

With regards to cost, a recent study indicated that there are many benefits to co-location with wastewater treatment facilities equipped with decomposers that collect natural gas.

Like many chemical feedstocks in production today, there will be little waste as we will be able to utilize many aspects of the biomass created from Algae production and once we are able to realize some economies of scale, it seems that the price of Algal biofuels will come down as well.

With the hundreds of thousands of species of Algae in the world, and through modern genomic advances, we are nearing the brink of an Algae revolution.

One concern of note is with growing non-native Algae in our Oceans, Rivers, and Lakes. Given the risks of algal blooms and unknown consequences of some of these newly discovered and developed species, it seems that scale-up of non-native species should be performed in pilot plants and production facilities as this stage of research. 

Growth of Algae in plastic bags with osmotic membranes is being researched as a means of containment, but hopefully not with non-native Algae.  A genetically modified algae should be investigated and risks assessed before carelessly contaminating the Ocean's with significantly altered DNA.  That's one massive experiment that could not be undone easily.

REVISITING THE BP OIL SPILL: INTERVIEW WITH AARON SCHWABACH AND KRISTIAN GUSTAVSON

By David Huang and Shweta Mukesh

Scripps graduate student Kristian Gustavson, and Professor Aaron Schwabach of the Thomas Jefferson School of Law were invited to UCSD to present their analysis of the BP oil spill from scientific and legal perspectives, respectively. Kristian Gustavson, who has made multiple trips to the Gulf region to conduct studies, specializes in the study of the Mississippi Delta. Professor Aaron Schwabach focuses his work on international environmental law, and has taught the subject for over 20 years.

In his account of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Kristian Gustavson highlights the level of disorganization and the coordination failures from both local and national level agencies. He characterized the initial response to the oil spill as inefficient and "an overall mess". He attributed the inefficiencies to the recklessness and impatience of politicians. Instead of waiting and listening to the scientific community, government officials and agencies pushed solutions and ideas which had well-known repercussions.

"A lot of people there have asked me, 'How bad is the oil spill?'", Gustavson said, "People always want answers, but science won't always have answers right away. It is the job of science to take the time to do research to come up with rational and most importantly, the correct answers."

In his presentation, Gustavson cites numerous follies of actions taken by local and national agencies to mitigate the problem. One of the key mistakes, Gustavson contends, was dumping dispersants into the contaminated water, which diffuses the concentration of the oil, but at the cost of stratifying it in different levels of the water column and causing greater harm to the biota.

"I've never seen a dead sea turtle or a dead dolphin in my life, so to see the two right next to each other on the beach was nothing short of a rude awakening," said Gustavson.

Gustavson largely attributes the headstrong behavior of various agencies to leaders' desires to appease a disgruntled public. He sees much of the mitigation techniques such as oil burning, dispersants and sand barriers as counterproductive methods of temporarily pacifying a constituency whose livelihood was at risk.

Yet, looking forward, Gustavson maintains an optimistic view on the future of the recovery and restoration process following the disaster. In addressing the steps needed to go forth today, six months after the spill, Gustavson emphasized the importance of collective action of American society as a whole in reducing waste and cutting down on pollution, which compounds the current problems in the Gulf. He also stressed that preserving the Mississippi Delta is just as large, if not larger, of a priority as cleaning up the Gulf.

"The real problem in this region cannot be simplified to just land loss or oil pollution—it's that it's been underexplored and overexploited in the last century," Gustavson says.

Professor Aaron Schwabach further highlighted the detrimental impact that the Deepwater Horizon spill has had on the environment. "The [BP incident] is not an oil spill like other oil spills. The order of magnitude in this situation is much larger, and hence, much more serious", said Schwabach.

Professor Schwabach drew comparisons between the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster and the Trail Smelter case in the 1930s wherein the apple crops of Stevens County, WA suffered due to sulfur dioxide emissions from a smelting plant in Trail, British Colombia. The Trail Smelter case resulted in compensation by the Canadian government to the U.S. government for damages claimed by residents of Stevens County.

"Every state has responsibility to prevent acts within its territory that will cause harm to another state," said Schwabach, "Has Britain committed an international environmental violation against the United States? Of course it has. Something happened in London—plans were made—and harm fell upon the United States."

Professor Schwabach explained the compensation procedure, which BP has been undertaking in the previous months as part of BP's liability as creators of externality. Citing the "Polluter Pays" principle, Schwabach explains that external costs, such as pollution, created by an organization should be internalized by the polluter. In the BP case, since environmental costs have been born by residents of the Gulf Coast, the BP Company, and by association, the United Kingdom, are obligated to pay reparations to those harmed by the oil spill.

PROSPECT had the chance to interview the two speakers after the talk.

PROSPECT: If countries followed the standards set by international treaties, would the number of oil spills be reduced and clean-up efforts become more efficient?

AS: UN treaties and most international treaties are not enforceable. Yet to a large extent, nations abide by them because they want other countries to follow international law. Treaties are like contracts. From a legal standpoint, I do not believe that rectifying international law will aid clean-up efforts in the Gulf. In this case, BP cheated. The U.S. was being treated like a resource colony. What BP did was illegal in both the U.S. and in Britain. No amount of regulation or international law can limit events like this.

PROSPECT: How has the Gulf oil spill changed the way we treat and respond to environmental law?

AS: I do not believe that the magnitude of the Gulf has sunk into people yet. The BP oil spill is the largest spill in the U.S. and it occurred in a touristic area. Given the above, environmental law has become increasing popular and valued.

PROSPECT: Currently, the U.S. is not pressing charges against the British government nor is the U.S. government taking BP to the International Court Justice (ICJ). If the U.S. chose to make the oil spill an international legal issue, what would be the procedure and ramifications?

AS: U.S. cannot take Britain to the ICJ. Both America and Britain have had different policies towards others in matters of international justice. As a result, the only option available would be arbitration. In a case of arbitration, there would be three mediators–in this case, there would be one representative from the U.S., one representative from Britain, and one neutral representative chosen by both nations. The neutral representative would decide which nation is guilty and a certain amount of money would be given to the victimized nation. The current policy involves corporate liability. BP is paying a total of 20 billion dollars in different installments. This money will be kept for later damages, claims, and clean-up efforts.

PROSPECT: In late July, Time Magazine published an article downplaying the ecological damage caused by the oil spill. The central source of their article, Ivor van Heerden, a former LSU professor, likened the damage of the spill on the environment to "a sunburn on a cancer patient," suggesting that the impact of the oil spill is more or less inconsequential in the face of preexisting ecological problems of the gulf. What is your evaluation of this view?

KG: During my visits to the Gulf area, I have had the chance to work with [Ivor van Heerden]. And in certain respects, I believe there is merit to his statement. It is true that in relation to preexisting problems in the Mississippi delta, such as land loss, the BP oil spill is only a temporary problem. However, I would not discount the gravity of the spill simply because larger problems loom in the background. The Mississippi Delta is an area that has been underexplored and overexploited. If anything, due to the fragility of the ecosystem, the impact of the oil spill is augmented.

PROSPECT: What is your evaluation of BP's handling of the oil spill?

KG: BP has technological and financial capability. However, that advantage was lost in the initial stages of the spill. BP chose to compromise transparency- they consistently chose to under-report the volume of oil spilled. It's true that there was lots of pressure to keep things out of the spotlight, but practices like underreporting kept us from responding appropriately. Certainly in this case, downplaying and quelling our fears did not make things better.

PROSPECT: Did we know the negative effects of dispersion, burning oil, and other clean-up efforts? If so, why did the government choose these strategies?

KG: Yes- we knew the negative effects. However, people wanted to see the government making efforts to clean the gulf. Oftentimes, the best environmental solution is to leave the oil there. If you remove oil, more oil will come back to the shore. The public did not want to see oil on the shore and government inaction. As a result, the government chose to pursue clean up efforts which were not effective and caused further environmental damage.

PROSPECT: What should have been done to better the clean-up efforts?

KG: We needed to bring more consultants. There were multiple research groups that wanted to study and aid the cleanup efforts. However, they did not get needed funds to conduct experiments and create an optimal solution. In an ideal world, we should not have let BP decide what needs to be done. We needed their equipment. However, there should have been more transparency and the U.S. government and scientists should have been dictating and directing the efforts. There was a lot of pressure to keep the oil spill out of the limelight. Officials were openly bribing scientists and preventing researchers from entering the region.

PROSPECT: Looking towards the future, what should be the next steps to clean up this area?

KG: The only large-scale solution is to use the Mississippi River. We need to clean the river and lower the levies. We should allow the Mississippi River to flow into the Gulf. This would dilute the concentration of oil and other pollutants. However, we are not doing this. We are washing away the only probable solution we have and downplaying the situation at hand.

Bill Toone (founder of ECOLife) Interactive Discussion Transcript online now

Very interesting discussion with Bill Toone, the co-founder of ECOLife regarding water management.  The discussion covers a broad variety of topics and provides some very useful links to internet resources to help Xeriscape your lawn and use rainwater harvesting and long-term strategies to save you money on your utility bills by using High Compact Flourescent bulbs, which are more expensive up front but save you money in the long run. 

 

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/nov/04/join-conversations-tedx-san-diegos-speakers/

 

The TEDx San Diego event is this Monday and will be broadcast via Ustream and you can join the discussion online at www.TEDx-SanDiego.com , you can join the discussion on water issues with ECOLife founder Bill Toone and other great speakers like Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s Director, Tony Haymet.

 

 

Pioneering Researches Launch World’s 1st South Atlantic Ocean Plastic-Pollution Study

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Zan Dubin Scott
(310) 383-0956
zan@zdscommunications.com

Pioneering Researches Launch World's 1st South Atlantic Ocean Plastic-Pollution Study 

Pro Surfers James Pribram and Mary Osborne Join Voyage to Advance Research on Impact of Floating Pollution on Human Health & Marine Life

SANTA MONICA, CA; OCT. 27--Researchers will embark on the world's first voyage of its kind on Nov. 8 to show that every ocean on the globe is polluted with plastic garbage harming marine wildlife and potentially threatening human health. The 5 Gyres Institute, collaborating with Algalita Marine Research Foundation (AMRF) and Pangaea Explorations, is leading this expedition.

The 5 Gyres team, lead by co-founders Marcus Eriksen, PhD and Anna Cummins, will sail from Rio de Janeiro to Cape Town, South Africa on the first transatlantic Southern Hemisphere plastic-pollution research trip. The husband-and-wife team, overseeing a 13-member crew of researchers, journalists and others for the first global study of the problem, want the world to know that the scourge is not confined to a single mythical "Texas-size garbage patch."

"You can't cross an ocean today without finding plastic pollution," says Cummins, co-founder of 5 Gyres Institute, a Santa Monica, CA-based nonprofit organization.

A gyre is a rotating system of ocean currents where floating debris accumulates. Eriksen and Cummins plan to produce the first comprehensive snapshot analysis of plastic pollution in each of the globe's five gyres. Building on AMRF's discovery of plastic pollution in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, the 5 Gyres crew has discovered garbage patches in the North Atlantic Gyre and the Indian Ocean Gyre. No other researchers have been to as many gyres.

Two renowned professional surfers, James Pribram and Mary Osborne, will join the voyage to help raise awareness. "My goal is to share my experience with the world in becoming a spokesperson against plastic waste," says Pribram, a.k.a. the ECO-Warrior and O'Neill ambassador.

"We want to show people wherever we sail that the problem contaminates their international waters," Eriksen says. "They cannot say, 'Well, that's across the ocean, what does that have to do with my country?' "

5 Gyres' Rio-to-Cape Town voyage will be aboard Pangaea Explorations's racing sloop, Sea Dragon.  In addition to sailing through gyres, the team aims to advance its research into whether humans are being harmed by eating fish that have ingested plastic debris contaminated with persistent organic pollutants such as DDT and PCBs. PhD candidate Chelsea Rochman of UC Davis will lead this research. Cummins has already found trace elements of such toxins in her body. The crew will also analyze seawater for the same pollutants.

The Sea Dragon crew will be communicating via blogs with more than 1,850 Los Angeles school children through AMRF's Ship-2-Shore Education program. Charles Moore, AMRF's founder, first put the Great Pacific Garbage Patch on the map. 

Eriksen and Cummins plan to sail across the South Pacific Gyre—the fifth subtropical gyre—in March 2011.

5 Gyres is partnering with the United Nations Environmental Program's Safe Planet campaign and Eriksen and Cummins will be speaking at AMRF's 2011 Plastics Are Forever International Youth Summit and Training Program.

The Sea Dragon's crew: Clive Cosby, skipper; Dale John Selvam, first mate; Marcus Eriksen and Anna Cummins, 5 Gyres Institute co-founders; Stiv Wilson, 5 Gyres communications director; Chelsea Rochman, PhD candidate; Bonnie Monteleone, marine scientist; James Pribram, pro surfer; Mary Osborne, pro surfer and Patagonia Ambassador; Michael Lutman, filmmaker; Jody Lemmon, filmmaker; Rich Sundance Owen, Environmental Cleanup Coalition; Mary Maxwell, interested citizen.

5 Gyres's Rio-to-Cape Town sponsors include Chaco, Quiksilver and Ecousable.

About 5 Gyres Institute: 5 Gyres Institute is a nonprofit organization committed to meaningful change through research and education. 5 Gyres disseminates its message and findings through national lecture tours and raises awareness of ocean plastic pollution through voyages including that aboard JUNKraft, the boat built in 2008 of 15,000 plastic bottles. The organization's collaboration with Algalita Marine Research Foundation and Pangaea Explorations provide it with a marine laboratory and research vessel, respectively.  After studying the five subtropical gyres, 5 Gyres will monitor these vortexes through Traveling Trawl Program voyages which loan research equipment to volunteer "citizen scientists."

PHOTOS FOR MEDIA: Please use these photographs of Eriksen and Cummins on previous voyages, of plastic particles taken from a fish's stomach, and of James Pribram and Mary Osborne. Media Contact: Zan Dubin Scott, (310) 383-0956; zan@zdscommunications.com.

Follow our journey:  twitter.com/5gyres

http://www.facebook.com/5gyres

Free iphone app.-   5 Gyres.  

Zan Dubin Scott

ZDS Communications for 5 Gyres

O:  (310) 392-1130  C:  (310) 383-0956

F:  (310 392-1318

http://www.zdscommunications.com

Stiv J. Wilson

Communications Director

The 5 Gyres Institute

5gyres.org

mobile: 503.913.7381

twitter: @5gyres

Off to the Adirondacks!

Dates: October 26 - 29
Closest city: Ottowa Canada
Mission: Speak at Laurentians in Residence.

Below the Surface Co-founder Jared Criscuolo is heading off to the northern-most reaches of New York State on October 26th to speak at his Alma Mater, St Lawrence University. He'll be joining in the Laurentians in Residence panel to discuss the work he, Below the Surface Co-Founder Kristian Gustavson and their team have been doing to change peoples thinking on water pollution.

Hopefully this honor is ample evidence that his judgement at 29 is a bit more sound than it was at 21.