There are over 26 million cars on the roads of the UK and the vast majority of these are fuelled by fossil fuel derived oil. As well as the price of fuel steadily increasing, climate change and geopolitical issues have also hastened the search for more sustainable sources of oil. Biodiesel has the potential to be an alternative as it is derived from pure vegetable oil and can generally be run in conventional diesel engines without modification or as a blend with standard diesel. However there are several environmental and ecological issues such as competing land use especially concerning food crops.
Algae are similar to plants in that they produce lipids through photosynthesis which can be recovered to produce oil. They have the potential for higher yields as they require less surface area to grow and more of the oil is recoverable. They could potentially be grown, harvested and converted into biodiesel on marginal land without displacing food crops. The biofuels lecture given at the A4 module showed that transport energy requirements represent a large proportion of total energy use in the UK which is growing yearly. Alternatives such as algae have the potential of reducing dependence on fossil fuels which may be extremely beneficial both politically and environmentally.
I am going to begin this essay with an introduction to biodiesel and some associated environmental issues. I will then discuss algae, looking at the history over the course of the 20th century. I will also look at current and future technologies before seeing
whether this micro-organism could be the fuel to keep our transport system running.
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“The lectures during the A3 module showed how water is becoming scarcer even in maritime climates such as the UK. Examples were given on how to adapt both buildings and our own habits to reduce the 148 litres per day (OFWAT 2007) that each person uses. However as important as conservation of domestic supplies is, in actual fact the vast majority of our personal “water footprint” comes from the water used to grow the food we eat. (Waterwise 2007)
Globally one billion people lack a basic supply of clean drinking water and by 2025 two-thirds of the planet will be living in water scarce areas (Waterwise 2007). In developing countries, as people migrate to urban environments, diets are becoming more meat based which places even more stress on domestic and agricultural water demands. Given that a growing population is using the same finite water supplies, it is possible that we will be unable to produce enough food to feed everyone.
As virtual water is a way of quantifying the water used to produce a given product, I am going to look the origins of this method, how trading in this commodity might work and examine how changing diets can affect the consumption of water”
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I’ve just spent another week in the fabulous place that is CAT in Wales. The weather was perfect - a little bit different to the flooding that took place last month. We went to a great party at the Corris Youth Hostel followed by some beach antics in Aberdyfi. I’m going to post my latest two essays here for all to read. Comments are more than welcome 
Yesterday I got a magazine sent to me from the USA and I couldn’t quite work out why they had been sent to me. Then I was flicking through the magazine last night and saw an article about compost toilets. I took a look at the photo, looked again and realised it was a photo of the compost toilet on the croft I volunteering on in the summer. Quite chuffed by it. Nice to see a photograph in print and also nice of them to actually send the magazine. I’ve been published in a few things but nobody else has ever sent me any “evidence”. Thanks YES Magazine!
This plastic bag thing seems to be quite popular at the moment. I had a couple of positive comments about the previously posted essay. Chorlton seems to be going full steam ahead with it’s plastic bag free campaign although I still think this is more an aesthetic issue rather than a climate change issue maybe it will help people think about the “bigger picture”.
What else has been going on? I’ve been shuttling between Manchester and the Wirral to look after my parents cat who seems a bit confused about their prolonged absence.
Also been enjoying the Christmas market in Manchester. I would say it is just as good as going to Germany (and you are saving time and of course emissions!). The mulled wine is ace and there are lots of things to eat (although mainly for the carnivores amongst you).
We also went to our friend’s night called Civil Action in town which was really good fun.
We also had a Christmas dinner which was amazing and turned into a drunken fancy dress affair. We had amazing food (nice one Leanne), party games and lost of dancing on chairs, tables etc. Looking forward to the New Year’s eve party on the 4th January!
Finally for this pre-Christmas installment, I’d ask everyone who hasn’t to watch the Story of Stuff. It’s ace. Nuff said. (oh yeah and of course after watching that you’ll realise I don’t want any Christmas presents! ;-)… buy me something second-hand)
So there will be a bit of a review of the trip to Germany soon, for now I’m getting on with writing an essay for the first module of my course (ok - apart from writing this I’m working, and apart from the fact I’ve had a couple of Friday lunchtime pints too. Oops)
Manchester central library seems to be a good place to work and get things done. Previously I’d not only been on the ground floor and not ventured upstairs. I was slightly surprising by the grandness of the main reading room. It’s not in my opinion as good as the central library in Liverpool but it’s still pretty impressive. I also like the colour of the lighting - reminds me of going to the library as a kid. The majority of the people on the free computers seem to be either surfing facebook or youtube. Scholarly types that they are.
Despite sometimes feeling that studying is a drag - I’m really enjoying the intensive research about one topic. I’m particularly enjoying some of the lobbying by the Carrier Bag Consortium and Plastics industry about Plastic bag taxes. Although they do have some good positive points - most of the spin is hilarious. I mean they say a good way to reuse your plastic bag is sitting on a wet bench. Granted you can’t do that with a paper bag but is this something that really needs to be written down!?
It’s been a while since I’ve put a sketch on here:
Have a good weekend!
