Aug 19 2009
Fight fire with fire
By Alex Serpo
Alex likes to listen to shells because they sing the song of the sea. He is interested in the bit of science between chemistry and biology.
As I write this, it seems the world is in a bit of a pickle. Greenhouse gas concentrations are rapidly rising and it’s thought if they cross some hidden threshold we will no long be able to stop ‘runaway’ climate change.
Runaway climate change. Image: Holyrood 350 (http://holyrood350.org)
This means we need a simple solution to a complex problem – and fast. Experts say if we are going to solve the problem, we are going to need a mixture of different renewable energy sources. Options include: wind, solar, biofuels, geothermal, wave and tide.
Of all the renewables listed above, one stands as different. Did you say biofuels? Well you’d be right.
Why? Because biofuel is the only renewable energy source listed that isn’t a direct source of electricity. Now, before you jump up and down about rising food prices and destruction of rainforest to grow palm oil, let’s take a closer look at the black sheep of renewable energy.
