Israeli ingenuity

While the Arabs seethe and wallow in their culture of victimhood, and fight centuries old tribal wars between Sunnis and Shiites, as well as focus on destroying Israel, the Israelis themselves on the other hand are producing and achieving technological and scientific advancements to create a better quality of life for all of mankind. Perhaps the Arabs can learn from this little oasis in the desert, born of the most victimized and persecuted people in history, yet rather then wasting their lives immersed in anger, hatred and resentment, they contribute remarkable accomplishments. Perhaps the Arabs may also learn from the Japanese for example, who shortly after the country's defeat and devastation during WW2, went on to become a top economic, industrial and technological power. Rather than gaining "honor" through the bloodshed of the other tribe, sect, religion, etc, as well as the murder of its own daughters, wives and sisters, the Arab-muslim world would do well to gain honor through technological, scientific and other such achievements.

Anyway, getting to the point of this post, an Israeli company, Seambiotic, has developed a way to produce biofuel through algae.

There may be a revolution blowing our way: The Israeli company Seambiotic has found a way to produce biofuel by channeling smokestack carbon dioxide emissions through pools of algae that clean it. The growing algae thrives on the added nutrients, and become a useful biofuel.

For the last two years, the company has done something that other alternative fuel companies have dreamt about and are only starting to do now: they've tested their idea with an electric utility company - a coal-burning power plant in the southern city of Ashkelon operated by the Israel Electric Company (IEC).

Looking high into the sky, it is far too obvious how badly power plants and factories are polluting our environment. One of the most worrying gases produced by power plants today is carbon dioxide, which is believed responsible for global warming.

In Israel, as in the US and the rest of the world, it is estimated that power plants produce about 40% of all greenhouse gases. By employing tactics designed by nature, however, Seambiotic believes it can lock up carbon dioxide emissions through a process called biofixation. And they have employed a slimy plant from the algae family to do the job.

Algae are marine-derived plants that thrive on carbon dioxide and sunlight.

"Algae grow fast and continuously," says Seambiotic CEO Amnon Bechar. "An algal pond can produce oil 365 days a year and much more oil per hectare of land than traditional plant crops."

Studies have shown that algae may be one of the world's most promising biofuels. It is capable of producing 30 times more oil per acre than the current crops used for the production of biofuels; algae biofuel is non-toxic, contains no sulfur, and is highly biodegradable.

The company's prototype algae farm in Ashkelon uses the tiny plants to suck up carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. Seambiotic's eight shallow algae pools, covering about a quarter-acre, are filled with the same seawater used to cool the power plant. A small percentage of gases are siphoned off from the power plant flue and are channeled directly into the algae ponds.

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