News: Posted on April 4, 2008

By Chris Lambrakis. Arizona State University News, August 21, 2007

"Algae are non-food/feed sources, so there is no inherent conflict of using food crop plants for fuel rather than for food," say Hu and Sommerfeld. "Also, algae can be grown on land that is unsuitable for agriculture and can use saline or brackish water, making the algae feedstock production system complementary, rather than competitive, to existing agriculture."

News Post India, April 2, 2008.

Soaring fuel prices have prompted scientists to look at unconventional energy sources that are cheap, abundant and renewable. And a new study suggests that the common algae could be just such a source.

By Brenda Goodman. The New York Times, March 11, 2008.

"They’re environmental Jimmy Swaggarts, in my opinion," said Representative Brian P. Bilbray, Republican of California, who spoke out against the $18 billion energy package recently passed by Congress that provides tax credits for biofuels. "What is being sold as green fuel just doesn’t pencil out."

By Eilsabeth Rosenthal. The New York Times, February 8, 2008.

The benefits of biofuels have come under increasing attack in recent months, as scientists took a closer look at the global environmental cost of their production. These latest studies, published in the prestigious journal Science, are likely to add to the controversy.

Tom Phillips. The Guardian, January 25 2008.

Generous US subsidies for biofuel crops are a big factor behind the sudden deforestation. Thousands of US farmers have switched from soya to maize to produce ethanol, which has increased the world soya price and encouraged Brazilian farmers to clear forests for soya farms and buy up large expanses of cattle pasture.

By David Biello, Scientific American, March 14, 2008.

The bulk of this nitrate comes from fertilizer running off agricultural fields. Scientists warn that a boom in crops such as corn for biofuel will only make matters worse.