CleanTechnica

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There’s a lot of hype out there about new technologies that will “change everything”. Sometimes it’s nice to sit back and “smell the roses”. In that spirit, here are five plants with surprising super powers - they have provided a boost to technological innovation or invention, often with a green lining.

Algae and Biofuel

If you keep track of the news, algae should already be on your radar. Depending on your favorite species, algae can be eaten, burned for heat, or used to produce hydrogen, methane, biodiesel, or plain old fertilizer. Algae is so prolific, and comes in so many varieties, that it’s actually a chore to isolate your preferred species for cultivation out of a water sample from the wild. The best part is that algae soaks up the sun and lots of CO2 to work it’s magic. That’s two forms of renewable energy used to produce fuels or foods (sushi anyone?) in high demand.

An algaculture biodiesel plant is already in operation today, happily churning out 4.4 million gallons of algal oil per year. That may not sound like a lot, but as the first operational algae oil factory, you can bet they’ll make enough money to build bigger. Other companies are also in the game to make algae the biggest thing since oil. As a renewable source of fuel, algae is becoming one of many solutions to our energy problems. Not too shabby for pond scum. Read the rest of this entry »

Their science is impressive, but their timing is dead on. It doesn’t quite seem fair that California has been blessed with the perfect growing climate for some of the world’s best agriculture (and of course, wine) but saddled with a water shortage.

To help the Napa winemakers and wineries worldwide oversee their crop irrigation and management, Sebastian Payen and Thibaut Scholasch, of Fruition Sciences have turned the science of hydration monitoring into an art. The business partners’ techniques come from the marriage of research and technology that they have developed over more than seven years working at prestigious universities and with premier vineyards.

Using a proprietary technology, Fruition Sciences is able to monitor real time viticulture information and deliver the statistics via a web-based application to the winemakers instantly. The ability to monitor the vineyard status in real time allows vintners to make decisions about irrigation and canopy management that can have immediate repercussions as well as a long term effect on the crop.

The team is currently working with winemakers around the world in California, France and Spain to monitor vine conditions. Implementing this technology at some of the large producers worldwide could have an interesting impact on water usage and vine care and maintenance by leaving a little less up to chance and putting a little faith in technology.

Though many states and localities are waking up to their water shortages and taking steps to plan for “peak water”, people generally continue to waste water and to ignore the energy-water link. In 2004 the Natural Resources Defense Council did a study in conjunction with the Pacific Institute called “Energy Down the Drain” on how saving water saves energy. We need to do more to spread the word. Here are seven ways to save energy by saving water:

1. Use local water.

Transporting water uses energy, so rainwater harvesting is a serious water-and-energy saver. According to the NRDC/Pacific Institute study “California’s State Water Project (SWP), which transports water from Northern California to Southern California is the state’s largest single energy user, consuming 2 to 3 percent of all electricity. It takes tremendous amounts of energy to pump the water 2,000 feet over the Tehachapi Mountains — the highest water lift of any water system in the world

2. Use less heated water in homes and businesses.

Heating water uses a great deal of energy. Small things magnified a million times over — like washing clothes with cold water or taking shorter showers — saves large amounts of energy.

3. Use energy-saving appliances.

Energy Star appliances will decrease water and energy use.

4. Learn from Australia.

Why reinvent the wheel? Since 2006, when the BBC reported Australia’s biggest drought in 1,000 years, the situation has not improved. In an island nation, this has a tendency to focus the mind, and water-and energy-saving inventions have been pouring forth from that country, while the government introduces policies that save energy and water almost daily.

5. Rethink your bathroom.

Toto, an innovative company from Japan (another island nation concerned about water use) offers an EcoPower hands-free faucet that recharges itself each time it is used.

6. Rip out that lawn and replace it with a rain garden.

Watering grass, fertilizing it with petroleum-based fertilizers, and mowing it with a gas or electric mower…..need I say more?

7. Eat more vegetables and grains; cut down on the beef.

Animal farming takes more energy and water. “Beef production requires large volumes of water–as much as 100 times that required to produce equivalent amounts of protein energy from grains.” (Environmental Health Perspectives, 2002 And the cows are fed from corn that is farmed using energy-hogging fertilizers, insecticides, and fossil fuels.

If you think about it, it’s impossible to separate our energy use from our water use. If we can start thinking holistically about the systems we use in our daily lives — and get our governments to create policies that promote wise use of energy and water, we’ll be more ready for the limits to resources that are only going to increase.

Posts Related to Saving Energy and Water:

All You Need to Know About Water Saving Technology Around the House
Could Wind help Save Water?
Low-Energy Water Desalination From Seawater Greenhouse
Water Crisis: Clean Tech to the Rescue?

The privately held, venture backed industrial biotechnology company, LS9, maintains that the answer to our gas crisis is renewable petroleum technology that they have custom engineered, a Designer Biofuel. Researchers at the San Francisco-based company have been able to alter existing bacteria to yield new, diesel-producing strains. They are also working on developing a bacteria strain that makes crude oil that canbe trucked and go through the refining process.

The hydrocarbon based biofuel mimics fuel properties of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, which allows it to run through existing pipeline infrastructure and run in any vehicle, setting it apart from other biofuel products. While LS9’s Designer Biofuel emits the same amount of greenhouse gas as regular crude oil and petroleum products in a combustible engine, the company purports that ultimately that they will have a much smaller impact since they don’t have to drill for the feedstock. Their product also produces twice the energy of regular petroleum products; so, it requires half of the amount of feedstock to yield the same amount of energy.

Aside from the environmental questions of emissions, the company is also competing with the challenge of moving this laboratory production to full scale industrial production.

I’ve long had a theory that many people enjoy golf because of the picturesque surroundings of the typical golf course. Wooded areas, rolling hills, green grass, lakes and ponds, rivers and creeks, sand…sadly, it is the closest that many people will get to “nature”, and the longest chunk of time many are willing to spend outdoors. And although it is beautiful to behold–the average golf course maintains it’s beauty with a high dose of toxic chemicals–not to mention the enormous consumption of water (approx 18 million gallons per course per year), the clearcutting of woodlands and fields, and the loss of animal sanctuaries.
More and more golfers, hackers, and non-golfers are becoming aware of the environmental damage one golf course can have on its surroundings. In the case of George Prior and his family the article “Poisoned Fairways” points out how they learned the hardest way:

In August 1982, after a few rounds of golf at the Army Navy Country Club outside Washington, D.C., Navy Lt. George Prior, an athletic, healthy, 30-year-old Navy flight officer, developed an odd rash on his back and began suffering flu-like symptoms. He checked himself into Bethesda Naval Hospital, where his body soon began to burn from the inside out. His internal organs started failing, blisters bubbled on his skin. After slipping into a coma, he died within days. A Navy forensic pathologist concluded that Prior had died as a result of a severe allergic reaction to Daconil 2787, a fungicide that had been sprayed on the course.

Of course, this is an extreme case, but one that can be tracked to its source (mainly because Mr. Prior was in the armed forces and received a detailed autopsy) unlike many other similar, though less violent, cases. However, most chemicals don’t have such an immediate effect on the golfer or the environment, but the end result of prolonged exposure may be the same. Golf course pesticides and herbicides have been linked to repiratory problems, serious skin irritations, nausea, and cancer.

Change is on the horizon.

Neighborhood associations have applied pressure to keep golf courses (and the surrounding neighborhoods) chemical free. Models have joined to help keep pesticides off the shelves. And, organic golf courses are beginning to pop up.

In my home town of St. Louis, Missouri one company–Keeper of the Green–is helping golf courses create the same beauty and durability while using environmentally friendly products.
Read the rest of this entry »

You know that times are changing when farmers look to manure as a valuable commodity. Pretty soon, manure from a herd may be more profitable than the beef itself. Manufactured fertilizers has tripled in price in the last year, driving farmers to look for alternatives. This is certainly an indicator of a shifting economy.

1. Energy Prices

Fertilizers are a very energy intensive product. Nitrogen fertilizers are commonly made from petroleum or natural gas. The potash and phosphates in the fertilizers are derived from mining, which also requires a lot of energy. Finally, the finished product needs to be transported and we know all about high gas prices.

2. Fertilizer Demand in China and India

China and India have increasingly been depending on fertilizer, causing a spike in demand. The price of fertilizer has climbed to $750 a ton. Read the rest of this entry »