Dependence on Foreign Oil

That is the question that many people are asking and seeking for an answer since last year when oil and energy prices took a skyrocket jump around the globe. Our government has been calling for an end to the purchase of foreign oil due to unstable pricing and new national security risks; however, Americans consumption hasn’t diminished much from oil based products.

We are “Consumaholics”! We like our big cars, fast cars, big houses, etc… We use more energy per/capita than any other nation, we use more oil based products than any other nation, we create more waste, and we pump more CO2 into the atmosphere than any other nation. As the nation consumes – there are those, few and far between, who send out the call for people to become active in conservation. The problem is not enough people are willing to listen.

Over consuming is easy to do in the richest nation in the world. What is needed is diet-like measures of control with a conscious effort toward our responsibility as nation to reduce our use of oil based products.

Personally, I do not believe that we will ever (certainly not within the next 100 years) “replace” oil with some miracle product as-in biofuel. There are too many factors to take into consideration. The fact that there are too many politicians with their fingers in the till – some of them have their whole arm in up to their necks. The automobile companies have made their contracts with big oil companies to produce automobiles that run on oil based fuel – and to get certain gas mileage. And oil company’s are continually trying to buy new technologies in order to keep them from the market. All three of them have very deep pockets.

What can we do?

1. We can “reduce” our dependence on foreign oil consumption.
   As I have said, lets stop fooling ourselves or stop trying to fool the average citizen by telling them we want to replace all our oil consumption with some miracle biofuel or energy. But lets be realistic – if we as a whole decrease our personal household consumption by 20%, and then we are able to reduce our dependence on foreign oil by 30%, and increase our own production by just 16% we CAN reduce our dependence on foreign oil in our lifetime.

   The Government can’t do it alone – and it shouldn’t be up to the government. It is up to us as a people united that we can effect change for future generations. We must be responsible as individuals first – then as a nation – and we must all act in order to make a difference.

2. We can increase alternative energy sources
3. We can reduce our oil based product consumption from buying things in plastic bottles, to the miles we drive on our car, to how much television we watch.You might be saying: “How can we reduce our oil based product consumption by watching less television?”Most of the major electric companies are coal-fired or natural gas. The more electricity you as a consumer use – the harder they have to work to supply that electricity.

Think of five things that you can do to reduce your dependence on any oil based product by 4% each month.

• For instance, make sure you are turning lights off behind you when you leave a room – it may not sound like much but it does add up.
• Drive a 4% less each month – it really is not that difficult to drive a little less. Instead of getting in your car to go one block down the street to the 7-Eleven or grocery store – walk. Instead of making 20 tiny trips to the store each week to buy groceries – make a list and buy everything in one day. Find a co-worker and take turns sharing a ride to work each morning. And be more fuel efficient – use gas with no ethanol!
• Recycle - It seems more of a novelty in the United States to recycle plastic but we are entering a stage of consumer use that has become a rapid acceleration of waste. Just take the example of buying water in small bottles by the case load. Wouldn’t it be easier to buy a water filter for your home save hundreds of dollars every year and reduce your use of plastic bottles (oil based products) by the ton. And then, the bottles we do use can be recycled and reused instead of creating millions more.Just about every major city that I know of has some type of recycle program. I live in “The Village” in Oklahoma City. When my wife and I first moved here they had one day per/month that the trash would only pick up recyclable products. Unfortunately, so few people actively take part in the program – this year they are discontinuing the program.

We all need to do our part and together, it will be the first major step toward energy independence!

CIDA Energy is working on discovering new strains of high oil species to add to the ever growing list of strains with high oil content.

Below is a list of just some of the algae strains that are being worked with and/or tested in the biofuel industry.

Scenedesmus dimorphus: is a unicellular algae that is so heavy it forms thick sediments if not kept in constant agitation.

Euglena gracilis: one of the more invasive types of algae, must be grown in a soil medium, also a classic model system.

Neochloris oleoabundans: is a microalga belonging in the Chlorophyceae class.

Pleurochrysis carterae: is a unicellular coccolithophorid alga that has the ability to calcify subcellularly. It is a member of the class Haptophyta (Prymnesiophyceae)

Tetraselmis chui: a marine unicellular alga that claims 45.7% lipids by weight.

Isochrysis galbana: Isochrysis galbana is a microalga.

Nannochloropsis salina: This is also called Nannochloris oculata. In the same group are Nannochloris atomus Butcher all salt water varieties.

Botryococcus braunii: can produce long chain hydrocarbons representing 86% of its dry weight. The green alga Botryococcus is unique in the quality and quantity of the liquid hydrocarbons it produces. Some scientists consider the ancestors of Botryococcus to be responsible for many of the world’s fossil fuel deposits.

Dunaliella tertiolecta: This strain is reported to have oil yield of about 37%.  It is a fast growing strain and has a high CO2 sequestration rate.

Nannochloris: These are the true microalgae measuring 1-2 microns, they are commonly grown as an aquaculture feedstock.  Up to 43% lipids by dry weight.

Chlorophyceae: This was one of the strains of algae most favored by the NREL researchers. Called the “green algae” chlorophyceae tend to produce starch, rather than lipids and have very high growth rates at 30oC with high light in a nutrient rich water solution.

Bacilliarophy: This diatom algae needs silicon in the water to grow.  Tests on nutrient deficiency produced more oils per weight of algae, however the doubling rate was significantly less.

The same is true with CO2. Our bodies take in oxygen to survive and we expel CO2 as a bi-product. Plants take in CO2 and expel O2. It’s a balanced equation.

What is the CO2 Nemesis?

Over the years, man has produced & manufactured products, that in the process of making great and wonderful things for mankind, have expelled BILLIONS of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere.

As a result – an excess of CO2 is causing hazardous, atmospheric conditions which if left unchecked could result in severe and irreversible global climate changes.

We have created an imbalance in the levels of oxygen vs. carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. We breath in too much CO2 while our bodies fight to get the required O2 levels we need for healthy lives and for our immune systems to function properly. On top of that, we have continually harvested oxygen producing plants around the world at phenomenal rates causing an imbalance in our atmosphere that many believe is devastating to our planet.

In Oklahoma, coal-fired power plants emit over 55 million tons of CO2 into our atmosphere every year and there are plans on the board for another twenty-two power plants. That doesn’t take into account automobile emissions and all the other manufacturing plants that pour tons of CO2 into the air we breath.

The numbers are staggering and the scientific evidence is mounting at an alarming rate. CO2 gases are creating a deadly environment, and unless something is done the speed with which we produce carbon emissions will grow exponentially at a rate that we will not be able to control – kind of like the national deficit.

What can be done about it?

Oklahoma citizens, Americans across the nation and people around the world have concluded one thing: we must do something to slow down and reverse our carbon footprint and rely less on the burning of fossil fuels for our energy. But how?

The answers will not come from the Government!

The answer will come from the people of this nation joining together in an effort to reduce CO2 emissions. We, as a people, created the problem and only the combined effort of everyone will achieve lasting success.

In the meantime, CIDA Energy is striving to help reduce our nations carbon footprint. Since the United States is the biggest producer of pollutants in the atmosphere – it must be  the United States who stand up and take responsibility for her actions.

We must:

• reduce factory emissions by 40%
• reduce automobile emissions by 50%
• reduce home and office emissions by 25%
• reduce the amount of trees and agricultural land we destroy
• increase replanting of trees – and other plants that will absorb CO2 by 25%

This is just a start – but it IS a beginning.

Over the next few weeks I will be discussing in greater detail some of the harmful effects of CO2 buildup and how we can take steps to personally reduce our CO2 footprint.

###

*** Don’t miss a single article – Subscribe Now – and get each article delivered directly to your RSS News program or directly to your Email.  What is so great about our subscription service? No news – no mail! You get only the news you want to read – we guarantee it! ***

Biofuel Alternatives, Advancements & the Future in Oklahoma

November 12th, 2008; marked the beginning of the third annual “GrowOK – Biofuel Conference” and I was privileged to be a part of it. And what a conference it was. From the opening statements to the closing comments you could tell that this group of people has been, is, and will be, making a difference in the world to come. Scientists, politicians, legislators, educators, ranchers & farmers, researchers & engineers all working together for a common goal, came together with one common interest – energy & biofuel. Some came to listen and learn and some to share valuable information of what is going on in the biofuel industry. They didn’t all agree on the methods to achieve that goal; however, they all agreed on the goal and the need to be doing something while they work out the logistics on how to reach that goal together.

Alternative Fuel – Biofuel

What is that common goal that brought over 200 people together from all over the country? Energy! Biofuel! And the Future!

David Fleishaker - Secretary of Energy, State of Oklahoma

Secretary of Energy for the State of Oklahoma – David Fleischaker, opened the conference by sharing the early beginnings of this conference and how it has changed over just three years. The first year was a group of people with a vision – and this year some of those things that were talked about were now research projects moving forward, they were now organizations committing to renewable fuels and doing something about it, they were now showing progress and the people who see the future, and realize what is happening in the world with a global vision has grown.

The key focus of the conference was biofuels and energy.

How can we create more biofuels, what is the impact of creating biofuels as opposed to continuing to use current fuel sources. Experts shared on the current impact to our economy, health, atmosphere & future if we continue to move in the direction we are moving in regards to energy, fuel & fuel sources. We heard from such notable experts as:

Steven Rhines – The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation
Nancy Checklick – International Fuel Quality Center, Houston, TX
James Covey – State Representative, Custer City, OK
Ray Hobbs – Arizona Public Services, Phoenix, AZ
Joe Outlaw – Agricultural and Food Policy Center, Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
Craig Eppling – General Motors, Dallas, TX
John Ferrell - Office of Biomass Programs, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, D.C.

And many, many more.

Overall Consensus

Energy is the linchpin of our Economy

There is an urgent need in the world today for the United States (and other nations) , to implement an alternative-fuel solution to our growing dependence on foreign oil, and the over consumption of our limited resources. It is imperative to develop energy alternatives that are renewable and to manage our valuable resources before it is too late.

Energy is the linchpin of our economy. It is fundamental to our prosperity and it directly contributes to our quality of life. It effects every person in our nation and we must all take responsibility in becoming part of the energy solution.
This Nation is searching for a new energy future! Why?

• It effects our economic security
• It is effecting our National Security
• Our resources are running out
• It adversely effects our health

What is the Solution?

One of the things that I carried with me out of this conference is that “There is no single answer!” There are multiple answers to generate one overall solution. We have areas of our nation where we can increase crop production, we have areas where we can grow products like switchgrass & sorghum – all beneficial products. We have resources to improve productivity of many products and encourage and help fund equipment for harvesting, increase marketability and thus increase our market strength. We need to educate in areas of decreasing use of petroleum products when possible, conserving energy where applicable and not only help people become aware – but go beyond awareness to action.

We as a people, and as a nation have overcome great diversity, great hardships and great needs and as a people we have been able to come up with answers and solutions and implement those solutions in order to make our nation and the world a better place – by the grace of God. We are at a crossroads where we must once again decide and act as a people united to make clean and renewable energy the priority if we are to have a future. If we can’t do it – we can’t expect other nations to care as they enter into their industrial age.

Let us set the stage and set the standard by our actions and our resolve to do what is necessary to make a difference for our future & the future of our world.

Our research and development teams are working on alternative fuel sources, alternative energy & alternative food sources.

• BioFuel – The world has become reliant on petroleum, but is it the viable fuel of the future? We at CIDA Energy believe that there are far better alternative fuel resources in the world – the technology is out there to utilize them and now is the time to put that technology to action. Currently in research is Algae, Oil Palm, & Water as fuel alternatives.
• Energy – Energy can be used for many things, from running your washer & dryer, to powering production plants. It gives us light, heat, power. It simplifies our lives – and if you don’t think so try not turning on a light all day. Solar & Wind are two of the greatest resources that we have and they don’t cost us anything to make – all we need to do is to harness these great resources and we will be able to bring that sustainable energy to your door.

Algae Plantation – Algae is one of the fastest growing plants that is available in the world and can be grown almost anywhere. Through technology it can even be grown without direct sunlight using solar energy indirectly. One of our major development projects is a 1000 Hectare Algae Plantation – which is equivalent to 2470 Acres. When in full production this plantation will conceivably produce up-to 225 Million gallons of fuel per year.

Solar Farm – Our second major development project is a solar farm. When it is complete it will have the capability to supply enough energy for up-to 250,000 homes in the U.S. But our goal is not to stop there. We want to be able to make it reproducible on any scale and install them in underdeveloped nations. The same sized solar farm in the United States would supply enough energy for a city of over one million people in underdeveloped nations because they use far less energy.