Why Algae Biodiesel Should Be Used on a Widescale and Federally Funded

In an age where humans are the driving force behind global warming, peak oil, and food shortages, more and more people are looking to alternative energies to solve the world's problems. Although there are many types of energy, all living things need at least one form of energy to survive. Today, when people are much more conscious about world affairs and problems, many people see alternative energy as the only option. Alternative energy is also known as renewable, green, or clean energy. Renewable energies are energies powered and replenished by the earth and are replaced at near the same rate it is used. Renewable energies have shown to be cheaper for everyone, which is a good thing when one fourth of the world's population has no access to electricity in their homes. Experts agree that renewable energy has many benefits, such as a cleaner environment. Even smog would be greatly reduced if we were to use alternative energy on large scale. Alternative energy has been used for centuries, with the sun being the oldest source of energy. There are many types, with solar, wind, nuclear, and geothermal being the most popular. There has been such a solar craze that even the White House has solar panels on it! Today, there are many modern types of alternative energy, such as: tidal, ethanol, and algae biodiesel. With the current state of the economy, there is currently no federal funding for algae biodiesel, although there should be. Algae biodiesel is the best type of alternative energy because it can solve the problems of global warming, peak oil and food shortages.

Scientists have spent countless hours gathering evidence that global warming is real and anthropogenic (human caused). In fact, there is proof all around us that global warming is systemic (happening now). Islands in many parts of the world are flooding because of global warming. In many places, the growing season now lasts almost year long. Even ice cover and glaciers cannot escape unscathed, in Alaska, when sea ice goes form it is too thin to even stand on. In fact, the current rate of global warming is equivalent to your garden moving south 20 meters every day. Even the atmosphere is being depleted. CO2 levels in the atmosphere are the highest in 20 million years. When too many emissions gather in the atmosphere, the ozone layer, and atmosphere in general begin to deplete.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a panel of scientists from many countries. Even the IPCC is 90% certain that warming is caused by fossil fuel use. Fossil fuels have been used since the 19^th century industrial revolution. In fact, they were most likely responsible for the energy crisis of the 1970's. There are three main types of fossil fuels: coal, oil and natural gas. Together, this three fuels release 433,000 tons of nitrous oxide into the atmosphere every year. Obviously, fossil fuels are doing no good for the environmen. In fact, they are harming it.. Fossil fuels are used so widely in the United States that they account for 82% of power use.. In fact, the US military is the largest fossil fuel consumer in the world, with the US a close second. The Untied State's lack of alternative energy use causes greater fossil fuel consumption.

Gases that form in the atmosphere surround and suffocate the planet. To solve for global warming, global greenhouse gas emissions need to be cut by 80% of current levels. If the US were to adopt an alternative energy plan, studies show that other countries would follow.

35% of all these emissions come from the United States. While the US has only 5% of the world's total population, we consume ¼ of the world's energy. If the rest of the world were to consume fossil fuels at the same rate, we would need 2 more planets to support us.

" For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." In the case of global warming, we are destroying the planet, and if we don't stop, the planet will destroy us. In a worst-case scenario, global warming will cause the planet to explode, and soon. Best estimates from the IPCC say that warming will lead to extinction by 2050 if nothing is done to stop it.

The US is dependent on oil, that much is evident. Most people know that oil dependence is not the best thing, but many may not realize how bad it actually is. Oil dependence actually leads to war and terrorism, many experts have concluded. (Massive amounts of water are needed for oil production; this takes water away from other places where water is much needed.) This leads to water wars.

People have been predicting peak since at least 1970, and experts all agree that we have, at last, reached peak in 2007. Even though some people argue that peak won't be reached until 2010, they do not contest that it will happen. Specialists in the field say that even the largest oil fields have peaked, which is explained in the fact that the 14 largest oil fields are, on average, over 40 years old. Peak oil occurs when all the oil has been pumped out of the earth, so it is no wonder that at the rate we consume oil and other fossil fuels, peak oil has already occurred. Already, 900 billion barrels of oil have been consumed. In fact, according to the US department of energy, Americans used 19, 593, 000 barrels of oil per day in 2001. According to the world's most prestigious geologists, the world is running out of oil, and fast. The earth took 500 million years to produce oil, and it is being depleted at a rate 50 million times faster. Searching for more oil is both illogical and wasteful, we should simply start using alternative energies.

Demand for oil is still increasing says, even though supply is way down. Predictions say that oil use will be up from 84 million barrels per day now to at least 120 million per day in 2025. The gap between supply and demand is so great that reserve figures have been inflated for investor confidence. The increasing demand for a product that is not there puts pressure on markets and leads to market collapse. Collapsed markets lead to resource wars, which leads to nuclear war and results in extinction of the planet.

Food shortages are inevitable in a world of corn ethanol. Corn ethanol uses a massive amount of land every year. This is land that could be used for growing food, livestock, or housing. The land used for corn ethanol is essentially being wasted, even though corn ethanol has its perks, overall it is a flop. When people do not have enough food, people starve. This harm of food shortages will eventually lead to extinction of the human race.

Algae biodiesel is not a fossil fuel, but rather an alternative energy. If algae biodiesel were to be used, no fossil fuels would be needed. This solves back for global warming because there would be no fossil fuels used to contribute to global warming. Algae also eats CO2, a large contributor to warming. In this way, algae solves back the harm of global warming.

If algae biodiesel were to be used instead of oil, we could also solve for the peak oil harm. If algae were to replace oil, the demand for algae biodiesel as a fuel would skyrocket. The demand for oil, would, in turn drop. Algae biodiesel, believe it or no, can solve the peak oil crisis.

Algae is so spectacular that it can also solve the problem of food shortages. Algae is (obviously) not corn, so there would be no corn-based harms. Also, algae biodiesel needs far less land than needed for corn ethanol. Using algae biodiesel will free up land for other things, like food and livestock. The use of algae biodiesel can stop the earth from exploding, prevent nuclear war and solve for multiple scenarios of extinction. Algae biodiesel can solve many of the world's problems and should be federally funded and utilized.