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Politics : Rat's Nest - Chronicles of Collapse -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (10626)	5/22/2010 11:51:16 AM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24225

UCLA engineer gets $4 million from Department of Energy to convert CO2 to liquid fuel using electricity (I'll bet this runs afoul of the Law of Thermodynamics) James C. Liao, Chancellor's Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, has been awarded $4 million over three years to develop a method for converting carbon dioxide into liquid fuel isobutanol using electricity. The grant was awarded by the Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E), a new agency that promotes and funds projects to develop transformational technologies to reduce the country's dependence on foreign energy, curb energy-related emissions and improve energy efficiency across all sectors of the U.S. economy. As global climate change has heightened the need to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas produced by burning fossil fuels, and to fundamentally change the way in which we produce and use energy, Liao has been at the forefront of efforts to develop new methods for producing environmentally friendly biofuels. In the last couple of years, he has received widespread attention for his work producing more efficient biofuels by genetically modifying E. coli bacteria, and recently, for modifying cyanobacterium to consume carbon dioxide or CO2 to produce isobutanol — a reaction powered by energy from sunlight, though photosynthesis. Now, Liao and his team would like to use electricity as the energy source instead. The process would store electricity in liquid fuels that can be used as high octane gasoline substitutes. According to Liao, direct synthesis of biofuels using photosynthetic microorganisms such as algae and cyanobacteria is promising but requires a large surface area for light capture. And though solar photovoltaic cells are more efficient for energy conversion, the electricity produced faces a storage problem. "Our proposed process will provide one of the most feasible and economical methods to convert electricity to liquid fuel in a scalable manner," Liao said. "The immediate impact is that it solves the electricity storage problem by converting the electrical energy to liquid fuels that are fully compatible with the current infrastructure for distribution, storage and utilization." In the long run, the process can be extended to utilize solar energy via electricity or electron mediators to directly produce liquid fuel usable in internal combustion engines. Liao's grant was part of $106 million awarded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to 37 research projects that focus on three critical areas: electrofuels (making biofuels from electricity), better batteries for electrical energy storage in transportation, and zero-carbon coal (innovative materials and processes for advanced carbon capture technologies). ### ARPA-E seeks to bring America's brightest scientists and innovators together from diverse fields to pioneer a secure and prosperous energy future for the nation. More than 540 initial concepts were submitted in the three focus areas. The final awardees were selected through a rigorous review process with input from multiple review panels composed of leading U.S. science and technology experts and ARPA-E's program directors. Evaluations were based on scientific and technical merit and the potential for high impact on national energy and economic goals. The UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, established in 1945, offers 28 academic and professional degree programs, including an interdepartmental graduate degree program in biomedical engineering. Ranked among the top 10 engineering schools at public universities nationwide, the school is home to eight multimillion-dollar interdisciplinary research centers in wireless sensor systems, nanotechnology, nanomanufacturing and nanoelectronics, all funded by federal and private agencies. For more news, visit the UCLA Newsroom and follow us on Twitter. eurekalert.org

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (10626)	5/22/2010 12:44:41 PM
From: T L Comiskey	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 24225

Oil Rules truthout.org By Joe Conason t r u t h o u t \| Op-Ed Thursday 20 May 2010 The more we learn about the BP oil well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, the more we ought to question the basic assumptions that led us here. Like the explosion of the housing bubble that ruptured the world economy, this human and environmental tragedy resulted from a system that encourages reckless profiteering without effective regulation. It is impossible to understand why an accident like the Deepwater Horizon disaster was inevitable without looking back on an era when the energy industry dominated government. The oil bidness, as it is known affectionately in Texas, could do no wrong under the Bush-Cheney administration, which was run by former oil executives and their lobbyists. Remember that among the top priorities of the secretive energy task force run by Vice President Dick Cheney was relief for Big Oil from "burdensome" environmental regulations. As The New York Times reported recently, the Washington zeal for deregulation let offshore oil drilling proceed virtually without interference from government, even though scientists and engineers repeatedly raised safety and environmental concerns over the past decade. Warned specifically that the blowout-prevention technology drillers were relying on to avoid an explosive spill was faulty as long ago as 2000, the oil industry did nothing except to drill deeper. As for the Minerals Management Service, the Interior Department agency responsible for overseeing the drilling operations, it did nothing, either -- except to reduce its inspections of safety equipment. Presumably, the MMS failed to act because it was infested with crooked officials who actually took drugs and engaged in sexual relationships with oil industry personnel -- and accepted bribes from them, too. The oil industry was allowed to drill, baby, drill wherever it wanted, often without even paying royalties to the federal government. But the culture of American government, from the executive branch to Congress and even the judiciary, has been infected with a disease deeper than corruption: an ideological deference to corporate power, in the name of "free markets" and efficiency, that enriches a wealthy few at the expense of the nation. While this pattern can be detected across many sectors of the economy, its effects are now felt most acutely in the financial and energy sectors, whose power over government is legendary. Such an imbalanced system encourages financial firms to take enormous risks, pocket the profits and let the taxpayers, workers and communities suffer the consequences. And the same system encourages oil companies to take enormous risks of a different kind, resist strict environmental requirements, book huge profits -- and then let the rest of us cope with the consequences of their devastating pollution (although we can hope that BP will pay for at least part of the Gulf cleanup). Free-market ideologues and other corporate shills insist that this is the most efficient way to do business, which is true enough for a corporate manager or a stockholder. But it isn't very efficient for the nation whose public wealth, natural resources and future prosperity are depleted by these ruinous practices. In America, we have been told for more than three decades that there is indeed no other way to run an economy -- and certainly not if we wish to preserve our traditional freedoms. But looking around the world, it's easy to see through those old platitudes. Countries that impose stronger regulation on their financial sectors did not endure the same kind of disruption we did -- and emerged more swiftly from the recession. Countries that impose strict oversight on their energy sectors, including offshore drilling, are exemplary in protecting worker and environmental safety. The world's best record on offshore oil is enjoyed by Norway, a free and democratic country where North Sea oil provides not only a major source of employment, but the funding for universal health care, education and a panoply of other important benefits. In Norway, oil drillers are expected to implement the most advanced systems of environmental protection. That's because the Norwegian people own the oil -- and the oilmen answer to them. *Joe Conason writes for the New York Observer (www.observer.com).