Posts by Tag: algae
22,000 US Lakes in Poor or Fair Condition According to EPA
Posted on Dec 21, 2009 by Jennifer Lance.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a draft study finding 44% of US lakes over ten acres are in fair or poor condition amounting to 22,000 lakes. This study follows earlier news this year that 20,000 US beaches have been closed due to pollution. Just like beaches, “degraded lakeshore habitat” is one of the “most significant of the problems assessed”.
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New Zealand Turns Waste Into Energy
Posted on Dec 03, 2009 by Scott James.
It may not smell like roses, but it could become a great sustainability love story. Solray Energy of New Zealand has found a way to turn sewage into biofuel. At what they call the world’s largest algae refinery and their business is quite possibly the holy grail of green alchemy: they convert toilet wastewater to biofuel. Launching their “Algae to Oil Conversion Technology” this week, the joint venture company combines the chemical engineering of Solvent Rescue with the Mechanical Engineering of Rayners, two New Zealand based companies.
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Mitigating Chesapeake Bay Pollution by Making Algae Biodiesel
Posted on Oct 08, 2009 by Jennifer Lance.
The Chesapeake Bay has long been plagued by pollution, and in fact a large portion has been declared a “marine dead zone“. This largest estuary in the United States is fed by 11 large rivers that contain run-off, which deplete the water of oxygen and are responsible for large algal blooms. The York River, which flows into the western side of the Chesapeake Bay through Virginia, is about to be cleaned up using a unique approach: trap nitrogen and phosphorus in the river, use it to feed algal blooms, then convert the algae to biodiesel.Â
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Tests Confirm Oregon Dogs Died from Toxic Algae
Posted on Sep 28, 2009 by Jennifer Lance.
Four Oregon dogs have died from toxic algae found in Elk Creek near its confluence with the Umpqua River. Low flows resulting from drought have caused algae blooms that are toxic to pets, humans, and livestock. One dog’s cause of death has been confirmed as caused by blue-green algae, leading officials to presume similar causes of death for the other three dogs.
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Researchers Use Algae to Detect Water Supply Contaminants
Posted on Sep 04, 2009 by Derek Markham.
A new study from researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) demonstrates that microalgae can be used as effective sentinels to detect contaminants in water supplies. The research, funded in part by the Department of Energy’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research, uses a flourometer that measures the flourescence signal of algae that grow naturally in the source water.
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