Omega produces improved ecosystem conditions, renewable biofuels, and clean water through the use of waste products and non-invasive algae

AT Navy CP

Perm---Do CP

Perm do the CP- The Navy is already involved with OMEGA

Department of the Navy, Spring 2011,NASA & the Navy Developing the Fuel of the Future, Joint Effort Investigating Algae Farms in the Ocean, http://greenfleet.dodlive.mil/files/2011/04/Spr11_NASA_Navy__Fuel_Of_Future.pdf. Accessed 7/15/14
The Navy is teaming up with NASA to investigate a radical new approach to large-scale algae cultivation using a system called Offshore Membrane Enclosures for Growing Algae (OMEGA). The OMEGA system consists of floating PBRs filled with wastewater from existing offshore sewage outfalls and deployed in protected marine environments. The individual OMEGA modules are constructed of flexible plastic, clear on top, to allow light penetration for photosynthesis, and reinforced white plastic on the bottom, for strength. The modules are filled with secondary-treated wastewater and inoculated with freshwater algae. If the system leaks, it minimally impacts the environment because:

Navy and NASA have already signed Agreement to work on OMEGA

Department of the Navy, Spring 2011,NASA & the Navy Developing the Fuel of the Future, Joint Effort Investigating Algae Farms in the Ocean, http://greenfleet.dodlive.mil/files/2011/04/Spr11_NASA_Navy__Fuel_Of_Future.pdf. Accessed 7/15/14
IN FEBRUARY 2011, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Navy to test a system for producing what many believe to be the fuel of the future, using algae grown in the ocean. “Changing the way energy is used and produced in our country is the right thing to do,” said Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, upon signing the agreement. “It’s the right thing to do for our security, it’s the right thing to do for our economy, and it’s the right thing to do for our environment.” The Basics About Oil The oil we use today comes from plants that lived in ancient times— mostly microscopic, single-celled, plants called microalgae, which lived in seas and lakes. When they died, they settled to the bottom and were buried in sediments. Under some conditions, with appropriate temperatures, pressures, and rock formations, they form oil that accumulates in reservoirs. Once discovered, these reservoirs can be tapped to meet our fossil fuel needs.

Perm Solvency

Navy And NASA Coop Solves best

Department of the Navy, Spring 2011,NASA & the Navy Developing the Fuel of the Future, Joint Effort Investigating Algae Farms in the Ocean, http://greenfleet.dodlive.mil/files/2011/04/Spr11_NASA_Navy__Fuel_Of_Future.pdf. Accessed 7/15/14

The military is the largest single user of fuels in the United States, and for the foreseeable future there will be a need to continue using liquid fuels; not only for aircraft and ships, but also for operations in remote locations. However, the danger and expense in transporting these fuels, and the dwindling reserves of fossil fuels, underscores the need for alternatives to fossil fuels. The aeronautics industry has also recognized the need for alternative fuels, but it is the technology developed for space travel that provided the foundation for the OMEGA project. The challenges and rigor of space travel led NASA to design and develop equipment and life-support systems that optimize the use of resources, minimize the use of energy, and recycle, refurbish, and reuse everything—materials that on earth are taken for granted or discarded as waste. It was with thisfocus on efficiency and parsimony that OMEGA began. The feasibility and scalability of the OMEGA system will be determined by combining NASA expertise with the knowledge and expertise of naval engineers, university professors and industry.

AT: Photobioreactors CP

Photobioreactors are too expensive

Oilgae. 2009. Oilgae Guide to Algae-based Wastewater Treatment A Sample Report . http://www.fao.org/uploads/media/0911_Oilgae_-_Wastewater_Treatment_Using_Algae_Report_Preview.pdf. Accessed 7/18/14
Wastewater treatment using algae are implemented either using simple oxidation ponds or with high rate algal ponds. In a few cases, especially where high productivity of algal biomass is desired, companies are exploring the possibility of using closed systems such as photobioreactors as well.

The following are our observations in the context of optimal systems and processes for wastewater phycoremediation: • Based on reviews and researches done so far regarding economics of algae-based wastewater treatment, it can be concluded that photobioreactors are not economic for such treatments in the short and medium term (even if it is intended to derive significant economic benefits from the sale of algal biomass). Such a closed and controlled environment for cultivation will become viable only after the costs of such systems come down dramatically.

Misc

Obama Gets Blamed for Plan

Obama has already used political capital through speeches and spending to support algae biofuels, to not do this in the US would be a failure for the democrats (Second, Obama has invested completely in algae, making it necessary to accomplish)

Wingfield, Brian, and Jim Snyder. "Obama Promotes Pond Scum to Relieve Dependence on Oil Imports." Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, 23 Feb. 2012. Web. 15 July 2014.

Faced with the highest oil prices in nine months, President Barack Obama is backing pond scum as a path to energy independence, pitting the nascent algae-based biofuels industry against critics of his energy plan.¶ The administration yesterday announced as much as $14.3 million to support the development of biofuels from algae, as crude oil for April delivery rose to $107.83 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, its highest settlement price since May.¶ “We could replace up to 17 percent of the oil we import for transportation with this fuel that we can grow right here in the United States,” Obama said in Miami during a speech on energy policy.¶ The Energy Department is seeking proposals from small businesses, national laboratories and universities to create research “test beds” for algal biofuels research at existing facilities, according to a statement from the agency. The award money will be part of a $30 million investment in similar research this year, it said.¶ Algae, a plant-like organism, can be harvested from ponds near industrial sites, where it can grow from power-plant carbon emissions or wastewater substances, the White House said in a fact sheet. The Energy Department is backing more than 30 projects representing about $85 million in public and private investment to develop biofuels from algae, it said.¶ ¶ The Energy Department is investing in biofuel technology made from algae as a... Read More¶ Soybean Fuel¶ An acre of soybeans can produce 60 to 70 gallons of biofuel, while an acre of algae can provide 2,000 to 5,000 gallons, said John Williams, a spokesman for the Algal Biomass Organization, a Preston, Minnesota-based industry group whose members include Boeing Co. (BA) of Chicago and Sapphire Energy Inc. of San Diego.¶ “It’s a huge shot in the arm to have the president talking about algae” as a fuel source, Williams said in a phone interview.¶ Unlike corn-based ethanol, fuel from algae can immediately be used as a substitute for oil-based products, according to Sapphire Vice President Tim Zenk. “We’re making drop-in replacement fuels,” he said in a phone interview.¶ Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) of Irving, Texas, and closely held Synthetic Genomics Inc. of La Jolla, California, in 2009 began a partnership to develop algae-based biofuels. Exxon Mobil may spend as much as $600 million on the program within the next decade if milestones are met, the company said in a July 2010 statement.¶ Significant Role¶ “It’s great to see increasing focus on advanced biofuels like algae,” said Jonathan Wolfson, chief executive officer of Solazyme Inc (SZYM)., in an e-mail. The San Francisco-based company delivered about 108,000 gallons (407,000 liters) of renewable diesel and jet fuel to the Defense Department, and its algal- derived oil helped fuel a United Continental Holdings Inc. flight from Houston to Chicago in November, he said.¶ “This is a budding industry that will play a significant role in helping the U.S.,” Wolfson said.¶ Critics said the subsidy is unwarranted.¶ “If algae is an economically viable product, then the market will determine that,” said Nick Loris, a policy analyst for the Washington-based Heritage Foundation, which says it promotes conservative political policies. “I don’t think it needs $14 million from taxpayers.”¶ While algae-based biofuels show promise, Obama has taken other revenue-generating energy proposals “off the table,” Thomas J. Pyle, president of the Washington-based Institute for Energy Research, said in a phone interview. TransCanada Corp.’s proposed Keystone XLpipeline to transport oil from Alberta to the U.S. Gulf Coast is a “no-brainer,” he said.¶ “Despite President Obama’s rhetoric, this administration has done little to address our nation’s growing energy crisis,” Representative Fred Upton, a Michigan Republican and chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said in a statement. “What we need is less regulation and more access to secure supplies.”¶

Biofuels Inherency

Algae is more efficient than ethanol but not being used for biofuels in squo

Conca 4/20/2014 [James Conca-Ph.D. in Geochemistry, “It’s Final—Corn Ethanol is of No Use”, April 20, 2014, http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2014/04/20/its-final-corn-ethanol-is-of-no-use/]

OK, can we please stop pretending biofuel made from corn is helping the planet and the environment? The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released two of its Working Group reports at the end of last month (WGI and WGIII), and their short discussion of biofuels has ignited a fierce debate as to whether they’re of any environmental benefit at all. The IPCC was quite diplomatic in its discussion, saying “Biofuels have direct, fuel‐cycle GHG emissions that are typically 30–90% lower than those for gasoline or diesel fuels. However, since for some biofuels indirect emissions—including from land use change—can lead to greater total emissions than when using petroleum products, policy support needs to be considered on a case by case basis” (IPCC 2014 Chapter 8). The summary in the new report also states, “Increasing bioenergy crop cultivation poses risks to ecosystems and biodiversity” (WGIII). The report lists many potential negative risks of development, such as direct conflicts between land for fuels and land for food, other land-use changes, water scarcity, loss of biodiversity and nitrogen pollution through the excessive use of fertilizers (Scientific American). The International Institute for Sustainable Development was not so diplomatic, and estimates that the CO2 and climate benefits from replacing petroleum fuels with biofuels like ethanol are basically zero (IISD). They claim that it would be almost 100 times more effective, and much less costly, to significantly reduce vehicle emissions through more stringent standards, and to increase CAFE standards on all cars and light trucks to over 40 miles per gallon as was done in Japan just a few years ago. In 2007, the global price of corn doubled as a result of an explosion in ethanol production in the U.S. Because corn is the most common animal feed and has many other uses in the food industry, the price of milk, cheese, eggs, meat, corn-based sweeteners and cereals increased as well.  World grain reserves dwindled to less than two months, the lowest level in over 30 years. Rudolf Diesel originally developed the diesel engine to run on diesel from food oils such as peanut and soybean, but animal fats and any other natural oil can be used.  However, almost a hundred years ago, the need for fuel outstripped the supply of natural oils and petroleum become the only abundant source available. The most common natural oils used are rapeseed and canola oil, but a particularly promising candidate is oil from algae. Algae production uses non-productive land and brine water and produces over 20 times the oil production of any food crop. An acre of algae can produce almost 5,000 gallons of biodiesel. It does not compete with food crops for arable land or potable water and could produce over 60 billion gallons/yr that would replace all petroleum-based diesel in the U.S. However, all algae production facilities presently sell their crops to the food and cosmetic industry at a much greater profit than they would get from the fuel industry. I guess for biofuels, as for any other source, there’s just no such thing as a free lunch.

Biofuels Solvency

OMEGA succeeds in recycling CO2 and wastewater into biofuels and more efficient than other methods

Jonathan Trent DECEMBER 2012. Offshore MEMBRANE ENCLOSURES FOR GROWING ALGAE (OMEGA). Energy Research and Development Division FINAL PROJECT REPORT. http://www.energy.ca.gov/2013publications/CEC-500-2013-143/CEC-500-2013-143.pdf. Accessed 7/14/14 After receiving his Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Dr. Trent spent six years in Europe at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Germany, the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, and the University of Paris at Orsay in France. He returned to the USA to work at the Boyer Center for Molecular Medicine at Yale Medical School for two years before establishing a biotechnology group at Argonne National Laboratory. In 1998 he moved to NASA Ames Research Center
OMEGA has the potential of co-locating microalgae cultivation with two major waste-streams from coastal cities: wastewater and CO2. By situating OMEGA systems in the vicinity of offshore wastewater outfalls and CO2 sources, such as near-shore power plants, OMEGA can transform these waste streams into resources that produce biofuels and treat wastewater without competing with agriculture for water, fertilizer, or land [12]. The experiments presented here explored the technical feasibility of OMEGA, using a 110-liter prototype system that was built and tested over a 23-day period. Microalgae in secondary-treated wastewater circulated through PBRs floating in seawater tanks and through a gas exchange and harvesting column, while a custom I&C system monitored and controlled critical culture parameters. Analyses indicated that the system was supersaturated with dissolved oxygen during the day due to photosynthesis, but at the highest light levels there was only slight photoinhibition. The system rapidly used the NH3-N in wastewater and had a CO2 conversion efficiency of >50 percent; better than the 10-20 percent conversions in other systems [21, 38]. The areal productivity of the system averaged 14.1 g m-2 day-1 overall with peaks above 20 g m-2 day-1 values consistent with reported U.S. average microalgae productivity of 13.2 g m-2 day-1 [58]. The microalgae consistently removed >90 percent of the NH3-N from the secondary-treated municipal wastewater tested. This result, combined with observations that the OMEGA system can remove other wastewater contaminants [59], suggests that a scaled-up system could provide effective wastewater treatment services.

Brine Solvency

Algae Can be Used to recycle Brine From Desalination Plants

IEE, May 4, 2012, Institute for energy and the Enviroment, New Mexico State University, http://www.ieenmsu.com/2012/05/04/microalgae-strain-could-reduce-algae-and-desalination-costs/, Accessed 7/15/14
Researchers from New Mexico State University’s Institute for Energy & the Environment (IEE) are investigating how well microalgae can grow using brine concentrate and supernatant from anaerobic digested sludge (ADS). Dr. Maung Thein Myint and research assistant Waddah Hussein are growing a unique strain of algae which can grow in desalination concentrate. The team also uses wastewater to provide nutrients to the algae. In doing so, this process simultaneously reuses two waste streams, increasing sustainability and possibly decreasing the cost of producing algae for products like biofuel. Algae need four things to thrive: sunlight, water, carbon dioxide, and nutrients. A promising site for algal biofuel production, New Mexico has an ample supply of sunlight, however water supplies are limited. Likewise, the nutrients for “feeding” the algae can be costly. The environment is another challenge. Algae are sensitive to higher concentrations of divalent ions. However, the microalgae that Myint and Hussein use originated from an evaporation pond at the Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility (BGNDRF), located near Alamagordo, NM. The algae are native to New Mexico. By seeding and culturing this microalgae species, they can improve how algae are produced in an open pond. The objective is to develop a species which can grow in desalination concentrate and is tolerant to divalent salts such as magnesium, calcium, and sulphate. To do this, Myint and Hussein are reusing brine concentrate from the facility as the water media for the algae. Supernatant from ADS (the liquid layer above the ADS) provides nutrients. “We conserve water required for microalgae by reusing the concentrate to gain sustainability,” said Myint. This effort may also reduce the costs of desalination and microalgae production. It provides a treatment for the waste from desalination and reduces the need to buy nutrients for algae.

Laundry List I/L

Algae Is key to biofuels, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, nutrition and food additives, aquaculture, and pollution prevention

Teresa M. Mata 2010, Microalgae for biodiesel production and other applications: A review, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, pdf. Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto.
Removal of CO2 from industrial flue gases by algae bio-fixation [29], reducing the GHG emissions of a company or process while producing biodiesel [30]. _ Wastewater treatment by removal of NH4 +, NO3 _, PO4 3_, making algae to grow using these water contaminants as nutrients [29]. _ After oil extraction the resulting algae biomass can be processed into ethanol, methane, livestock feed, used as organic fertilizer due to its high N:P ratio, or simply burned for energy cogeneration (electricity and heat) [29]; _ Combined with their ability to grow under harsher conditions, and their reduced needs for nutrients, they can be grown in areas unsuitable for agricultural purposes independently of the seasonal weather changes, thus not competing for arable land use, and can use wastewaters as the culture medium, not requiring the use of freshwater. _ Depending on the microalgae species other compounds may also be extracted, with valuable applications in different industrial sectors, including a large range of fine chemicals and bulk products, such as fats, polyunsaturated fatty acids, oil, natural dyes, sugars, pigments, antioxidants, high-value bioactive compounds, and other fine chemicals and biomass [14,15,31]. _ Because of this variety of high-value biological derivatives, with many possible commercial applications, microalgae can potentially revolutionize a large number of biotechnology areas including biofuels, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, nutrition and food additives, aquaculture, and pollution prevention [25,31]..

Algae Solvency-Disease

Algae Kills diseases In wastewater

Oilgae. 2009. Oilgae Guide to Algae-based Wastewater Treatment A Sample Report . http://www.fao.org/uploads/media/0911_Oilgae_-_Wastewater_Treatment_Using_Algae_Report_Preview.pdf. Accessed 7/18/14

Many different mechanisms play a role in disinfection in high rate ponds. These include

predation, sunlight, temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, sedimentation and starvation

(Fallowfield et al., 1996). Algal photosynthesis causes an increase in the pH due to the

simultaneous removal of CO2 and H+ ions (Fallowfield et al., 1996) and the uptake of

bicarbonate when the algae are carbon limited (Craggs et al., 1997). According to Rose et al.

(2002a) a pH of 9.2 for 24 hours will provide a 100% kill of E. coli and most pathogenic

bacteria and viruses. Pahad and Rao (1962) also found that E. coli could not grow in

wastewater with a pH higher than 9.2.

Fertilizer I/L

OMEGA Creates Fertilizer, animal food, cosmetics, biochar- cleans waste water- and IS viable platform for wind, solar, wave, and aquaculture facilities.

Jonathan Trent DECEMBER 2012. Offshore MEMBRANE ENCLOSURES FOR GROWING ALGAE (OMEGA). Energy Research and Development Division FINAL PROJECT REPORT. http://www.energy.ca.gov/2013publications/CEC-500-2013-143/CEC-500-2013-143.pdf. Accessed 7/14/14 After receiving his Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Dr. Trent spent six years in Europe at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Germany, the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, and the University of Paris at Orsay in France. He returned to the USA to work at the Boyer Center for Molecular Medicine at Yale Medical School for two years before establishing a biotechnology group at Argonne National Laboratory. In 1998 he moved to NASA Ames Research Center

While OMEGA is in part meant for biofuels, the algae biomass can also be used for other products (such as fertilizer, animal food, cosmetics, or biochar), and the system provides services (such as wastewater treatment, carbon sequestration, alternative energy and aquaculture support). The point of OMEGA is that it is a system of systems, an "ecology of technology," in which the "waste" from one part of the system becomes a resource for another part. For example, domestic wastewater becomes a source of nutrients for algae and algae treat the wastewater. Algae produce oxygen as a waste product and the oxygen is made into ozone for the wastewater plant. The plant produces CO2 by burning CH4 and the CO2 feeds the algae. The plant dumps phosphate and the algae capture phosphate to be used for fertilizer on land. The fertilizer is used to produce food that is eaten by people that produce waste that goes back to the wastewater treatment plant. Beyond this convoluted cycle, the OMEGA system itself requires a large floating infrastructure to support the algae cultivation system and the infrastructure itself can become a platform for offshore alternative energy (solar, wind, wave) and aquaculture. The aquaculture produces wastewater and requires oxygen.

Ethanol Causes Deadzones

Continued production of ethanol causes dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico

Lochhead 7/6/2010 [Carolyn Lochhead, “Dead zone in gulf linked to ethanol production”, July 6, 2010, http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Dead-zone-in-gulf-linked-to-ethanol-production-3183032.php#page-1]

While the BP oil spill has been labeled the worst environmental catastrophe in recent U.S. history, a biofuel is contributing to a Gulf of Mexico "dead zone" the size of New Jersey that scientists say could be every bit as harmful to the gulf. Each year, nitrogen used to fertilize corn, about a third of which is made into ethanol, leaches from Midwest croplands into the Mississippi River and out into the gulf, where the fertilizer feeds giant algae blooms. As the algae dies, it settles to the ocean floor and decays, consuming oxygen and suffocating marine life. Known as hypoxia, the oxygen depletion kills shrimp, crabs, worms and anything else that cannot escape. The dead zone has doubled since the 1980s and is expected this year to grow as large as 8,500 square miles and hug the Gulf Coast from Alabama to Texas. As to which is worse, the oil spill or the hypoxia, "it's a really tough call," said Nathaniel Ostrom, a zoologist at Michigan State University. "There's no real answer to that question." The gulf dead zone is the second-largest in the world, after one in the Baltic Sea. Scientists say the biggest culprit is industrial-scale corn production. Corn growers are heavy users of both nitrogen and pesticides. Vast monocultures of corn and soybeans, both subsidized by the federal government, have displaced diversified farms and grasslands throughout the Mississippi Basin. "The subsidies are driving farmers toward more corn," said Gene Turner, a zoologist atLouisiana State University. "More nitrate comes off corn fields than it does off of any other crop by far. And nitrogen is driving the formation of the dead zone." The dead zone, he said, is "a symptom of the homogenization of the landscape. We just have a few crops on what used to have all kinds of different vegetation." In 2007, Congress passed a renewable fuels standard that requires ethanol production to triple in the next 12 years. The Department of Agriculture has just rolled out a plan to meet that goal, including building ethanol refineries in every state. The Environmental Protection Agency will decide soon whether to increase the amount of ethanol in gasoline blends from 10 percent to 15 percent. A 2008 National Research Council report warned of a "considerable" increase in damage to the gulf if ethanol production is increased. Pet cause of Congress One of the authors of that report, agricultural economist Otto Doering at Purdue University, said that a 50 percent boost in the ethanol blend in gasoline will significantly raise corn prices, driving farmers to pull land out of conservation and pastureland and into corn production. They are also likely to add more nitrogen fertilizers to boost yields.

Using land for biofuels increases food prices-puts millions of people in poverty

UNEP 2/16/2009 [United Nations Environment Programme, “THE ENVIRONMENTAL

FOOD CRISIS-THE ENVIRONMENT’S ROLE IN AVERTING FUTURE FOOD CRISES”, February 16, 2009, http://www.grida.no/publications/rr/food-crisis/page/3558.aspx]

The current world food crisis is the result of the combined effects of competition for cropland from the growth in biofuels, low cereal stocks, high oil prices, speculation in food markets and extreme weather events. The crisis has resulted in a several-fold increase in several central commodity prices, driven 110 million people into poverty and added 44 million more to the already undernourished. Information on the role and constraints of the environment in increasing future food production is urgently needed. While food prices are again declining, they still widely remain above 2004 levels. The objective of this report is to provide an estimate of the potential constraints of environmental degradation on future world food production and subsequent effects on food prices and food security. It also identifies policy options to increase food security and sustainability in long-term food production. While food prices generally declined in the past decades, for some commodities, they have increased several fold since 2004, with the major surges in 2006–2008 (Brahmbhatt and Christiaensen, 2008; FAO, 2008; World Bank, 2008). The FAO index of food prices rose by 9% in 2006, 23% in 2007 and surged by 54% in 2008 (FAO 2008). Crude oil prices, affecting the use of fertilizer, transportation and price of commodities (Figures 1 and 2), peaked at US$147/barrel in July 2008, declining thereafter to US$43 in December 2008 (World Bank, 2008). In May 2008, prices of key cereals, such as Thai medium grade rice, peaked at US$1,100 /tonne, nearly threefold those of the previous decade. Although they then declined to US$730/tonne in September (FAO, 2008), they remained near double the level of 2007 (FAO, 2008). Projections are that prices will remain high at least through 2015. The current and continuing food crisis may lead to increased inflation by 5–10% (26–32% in some countries including Vietnam and the Kyrgyz Republic) and reduced GDP by 0.5–1.0% in some developing countries. Among the diverse primary causes of the rise in food prices are four major ones (Braun, 2007; Brahmbhatt and Christiaensen, 2008; World Bank, 2008): 1) The combination of extreme weather and subsequent decline in yields and cereal stocks; 2) A rapidly increasing share of non-food crops, primarily biofuels; 3) High oil prices, affecting fertilizer use, food production, distribution and transport, and subsequently food prices (Figure 3); and 4) Speculation in the food markets.  Although production has generally increased, the rising prices coincided with extreme weather events in several major cereal producing countries, which resulted in a depletion of cereal stocks. The 2008 world cereal stocks are forecast to fall to their lowest levels in 30 years time, to 18.7% of utilization or only 66 days of food (FAO, 2008). Public and private investment in agriculture (especially in staple food production) in developing countries has been declining relatively (e.g., external assistance to agriculture dropped from 20% of Official Development Assistance in the early 1980s to 3% by 2007) (IAASTD, 2008; World Bank, 2008). As a result, crop yield growth became stagnant or declined in most developing countries. The rapid increase in prices and declining stocks led several food-exporting countries to impose export restrictions, while some key importers bought cereal to ensure adequate domestic food supply (Brahmbhatt and Christiaensen, 2008). This resulted in a nervous situation on the stock markets, speculation and further price increases. food prices and thus lower access to food by many people have been dramatic. It is estimated that in 2008 at least 110 million people have been driven into poverty and 44 million more became undernourished (World Bank, 2008). Over 120 million more people became impoverished in the past 2–3 years. The major impact, however, has been on already impoverished people – they became even poorer (Wodon et al., 2008; World Bank, 2008). Rising prices directly threaten the health or even the lives of households spending 50–90% of their income on food. This has dire consequences for survival of young children, health, nutrition and subsequently productivity and ability to attend school. In fact, the current food crisis could lead to an elevation of the mortality rate of infant and children under five years old by as much as 5–25% in several countries (World Bank, 2008). The food situation is critical for people already starving, for children under two years old and pregnant or nursing women (Wodon et al., 2008), and is even worse in many African countries. Although prices have fallen between mid-2008 and early 2009, these impacts will grow if the crisis continues.

Land use for biofuels creates a multitude of threats-increases CO₂ emissions, decreases food supply, and hurts biodiversity

UNEP 2/16/2009 [United Nations Environment Programme, “THE ENVIRONMENTAL

FOOD CRISIS-THE ENVIRONMENT’S ROLE IN AVERTING FUTURE FOOD CRISES”, February 16, 2009, http://www.grida.no/publications/rr/food-crisis/page/3558.aspx]

The natural environment, with all its ecosystem services, comprises the entire basis for life on the planet. Its value is therefore impossible to quantify or even model. The state of environment has – at any given stage – effects on food production through its role in water, nutrients, soils, climate and weather as well as on insects that are important for pollination and regulating infestations. The state of ecosystems also influences the abundance of pathogens, weeds and pests, all factors with a direct bearing on the quality of available cropland, yields and harvests. Environmental degradation due to unsustainable human practices and activities now seriously endangers the entire production platform of the planet. Land degradation and conversion of cropland for non-food production including biofuels, cotton and others are major threats that could reduce the available cropland by 8–20% by 2050. Species infestations of pathogens, weeds and insects, combined with water scarcity from overuse and the melting of the Himalayas glaciers, soil erosion and depletion as well as climate change may reduce current yields by at least an additional 5– 25% by 2050, in the absence of policy intervention. These factors entail only a portion of the environment covering direct effects. The indirect effects, including socio-economic responses, may be considerably larger. Biofuels have grown quickly in demand and production (Figure 14), fuelled by high oil prices and the initial perception of their role in reducing CO2 emissions (FAO, 2008). Biofuels, including biodiesel from palm oil and ethanol from sugarcane, corn and soybean, accounted for about 1% of the total road transport in 2005, and may reach 25% by 2050, with the EU having set targets as high as 10% by 2020 (World Bank, 2007; FAO, 2008). For many countries, such as Indonesia and Malaysia, biofuels are also seen as an opportunity to improve rural livelihoods and boost the economy through exports (Fitzherbert et al., 2008; UNEP, 2008). The US is the largest producer and consumer of bioethanol, followed by Brazil (Figure 15) (World BIOFUELS AND COTTON – SUSTAINABLE OPTIONS TO INCREASE INCOMES OR THREAT TO BIODIVERSITY AND FOOD PRODUCTION? Bank, 2007; FAO, 2008). Brazil has now used 2.7 million ha of land area for this production (4.5% of the cropland area), mainly sugar cane. While biofuels are a potential low-carbon energy source, the conversion of rainforests, peatlands, savannas, or grasslands to produce biofuels in the US, Brazil and Southeast Asia may create a “biofuel carbon debt” by releasing 17 to 420 times more CO2 than the annual greenhouse gas reductions that these biofuels would provide by displacing fossil fuels (Fargione et al., 2008; Searchinger et al., 2008). Corn-based ethanol, instead of producing a 20% savings, will nearly double greenhouse emissions over 30 years (Searchinger et al., 2008). Biofuels from switchgrass, if grown on US corn lands, will increase emissions by 50% (Fargione et al., 2008). It is evident that the main potential of biofuels lies in using waste biomass or biomass grown on degraded and abandoned agricultural lands planted with perennials (World Bank, 2007; FAO, 2008). Production of crops for biofuels also competes with food production (Banse et al., 2008). Indeed, the corn equivalent of the energy used on a few minutes drive could feed a person for a day, while a full tank of ethanol in a large 4-wheel drive suburban utility vehicle could almost feed one person for a year. A recent OECD-FAO (2007) report expected food prices to rise by between 20% and 50% by 2016 partly as a result of biofuels. Already, drastically raised food prices have resulted in violent demonstrations and protests around the world in early 2008. Current OECD scenarios by the IMAGE model project a mean increase in the proportion of land allocated to crops for biofuel production equivalent to 0.5% of the cropland area in 2008, 2% by 2030 (range 1–3%) and 5% by 2050 (range 2–8%). Production of other non-food crops is also projected to increase. For example, cotton is projected to increase to an additional 2% of cropland area by 2030 and 3% by 2050 (Ethridge et al., 2006; FAPRI 2008). Hence, the combined increase in cropland area designated for the production of biofuels and cotton alone could be in the range of 5–13% by 2050 and have the potential to negatively impact food production and biodiversity.

Navy Advantage

The US Navy Is interested in algae Biofuels to transition to green ship fuels

Sarah Mason May 28, 2014 US Navy says, “algae biofuel represents great potential”, Algae Industry Magazine. A.I.M. is a meeting place for observations, ideas, news and information about the community of algae production specialists. Our focus is for A.I.M. not only to serve the trade, but to function as a door into this industry for those becoming involved in a sustainable energy future. http://www.algaeindustrymagazine.com/us-navy-says-algae-biofuel-represents-great-potential/. Accessed 7/15/14
The similarities between the U.S. Navy and civilian cities and industry may not be readily apparent, said Dennis McGinn, U.S. Navy Assistant Secretary for Energy, Installations and Environment, but in the realm of energy use and reliability, there are often parallel problems to be solved. Where there are overlapping issues, such as cost, sustainability, efficiency and energy security, McGinn said the Navy is interested in working with research institutions and industry to improve the energy outlook for all. “We are thinking about energy in three different ways: first in technology terms; biofuels, wind and solar energy storage, power grid systems and more,” McGinn said during a visit to Arizona State University. “But it takes two other critical elements to achieve our energy goals: partnerships and culture. This is why we’re interested in forging and strengthening relationships with outstanding organizations like ASU.” McGinn said that the Navy has already invested millions in projects with the DOE and USDA in order to bring down the cost of producing biofuel. “The Navy wants to buy anywhere between 10 and 50 percent biofuel blends for our ships,” he said. “We want it to be a cost-competitive program. We are working specifically with the USDA to bring down biofuel costs to $3.50 a gallon or less at the commercial scale of 170 million gallons a year by 2016.” The Navy has interest in the work done by the Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation (AzCATI) and the Algae Testbed Public-Private Partnership (ATP3), especially if the cost of creating algae biofuels can shrink to compete with traditional fuel markets, McGinn said. “Algae biofuel represents great potential in that it is sustainable and scalable. That’s why we’re interested in working with ASU and the industry to advance this technology.”

Biofuels in the Navy key to two senarios- Oil Dependency and Fiscal Responsibility

Mike Hower. Monday January 13th, 2014 Mike Hower is a writer, thinker and strategic communicator that revels in driving the conversation at the intersection of sustainability, tech, politics and law. He studied Political Science and History at the University of California, Davis and has spent time working for the United States Congress in Washington, D.C.,. Can the US Navy Turn the Tide with Biofuels?. TriplePundit. http://www.triplepundit.com/2014/01/can-us-navy-turn-tide-biofuels/ Accessed 7/15/14
Mabus explained that going green was not only an environmental sustainability move, but also an economic and military imperative. As anyone who has ever owned a car knows, the cost of fuel fluctuates every time there is so much as a hint of unrest in the oil-producing regions, such as the Middle East. With a petroleum-dependent fleet, the Navy is often forced to pay millions more than it budgeted when the cost of fuel shoot ups. This means it has less money to spend on operations, training troops and building new ships. With the federal sequester and other austerity measures strangling military budgets, finding cheaper, more efficient energy sources is more important than ever. “Now is exactly the time that we have to do this,” Mabus said. “A tightening budget situation makes it even more urgent, even more critical that we do this. According to Mabus, the Navy has always been on the forefront of new energy technologies, switching from sail to coal, coal to oil, and pioneering nuclear. “Every single time, there were naysayers,” he said. “It’s one of our core competencies: changing energy.” Investing in green technologies has also helped to save American lives, Mabus said. In Afghanistan, for example, for every 50 convoys sent to the front lines, one marine dies. Since oil is one of the main things these convoys haul, reducing the need for it will decrease the number of convoys needed, which will save lives. Mabus said climate change and rising sea levels will make it increasingly difficult for the Navy to do its job. With a significant percentage of the world’s population living near oceans, sea level rise can trigger instability. “Our responsibilities, our jobs, become bigger because of sea level rise,” Mabus said. There is serious concern for island-nations like the Maldives, which could disappear from the face of the Earth if sea levels rise much further. The Navy often looks to its enlisted men for sustainability ideas, such as how to increase energy efficiency on its ships and land-based facilities. “People who join the Navy or Marine Corps have this willingness to change, and it’s part of the spirit of innovation,” Mabus said. The Department of Defense is the biggest user of fossil fuels in the world, and the Navy uses about a third of it. With the U.S. having spent around $716 billion on defense in 2013, this isn’t chump change. “What we do is we bring a market,” Mabus said

Scenario 1: Fiscal responsibility

Money Redirected from military spending to other areas of the budget are 50 to 140 percent more efficient at job creation

Robert Pollin and Heidi Garrett-Peltier May 9, 2012 Don't Buy the Spin: How Cutting the Pentagon's Budget Could Boost the Economy. The Nation. http://www.thenation.com/article/167811/dont-buy-spin-how-cutting-pentagons-budget-could-boost-economy. Accessed 7/15/14. Robert Pollin, professor of economics and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), is the author of Back to Full Employment (MIT Press). Heidi Garrett-Peltier is assistant research professor at the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI).
The primary economic argument made by members of the military-industrial complex against cutting the Pentagon budget is that it would produce major job losses. One widely cited report by Stephen Fuller of George Mason University found that 1 million jobs would be lost through the annual cuts set by the sequestration agreement. The Pentagon claims that military cuts in the range of $1 trillion over the next decade would raise unemployment by one percentage point per year—from, say, 8 to 9 percent. It is hard to assess the accuracy of either of these claims, since neither Professor Fuller nor the Pentagon has provided details about how these estimates were reached. In any event, it is indisputable that the Pentagon is a major employer in the US economy. How could it be otherwise, given that the Pentagon’s $700 billion budget is equal to nearly 5 percent of the GDP? In fact, Pentagon spending as of 2011 was responsible for creating nearly 6 million jobs, within the military itself and in all civilian industries connected to it. In addition, because of the high demand for technologically advanced equipment by the military, a good share of the jobs created are well paid and professionally challenging. However, the crucial question is not how many jobs are created by spending, for example, $1 billion on the military. Rather, it is whether spending that $1 billion creates more or fewer jobs when compared with spending $1 billion on alternative public purposes, such as education, healthcare and the green economy—or having consumers spend that same amount of money in any way they choose. In fact, compared with these alternative uses, spending on the military is a poor source of job creation. As we see in the graph below, $1 billion in spending on the military will generate about 11,200 jobs within the US economy. That same $1 billion would create 16,800 jobs through clean energy investments, 17,200 jobs within the healthcare sector or 26,700 jobs through support of education. That is, investments in clean energy, healthcare and education will produce between 50 and 140 percent more jobs than if the same money were spent by the Pentagon. Just giving the money to households to consume as they choose would generate 15,100 jobs, 35 percent more than military spending.

Scenario 2- Oil Dependency

US Oil Dependence Kills National Security-

Growth Energy November 08, 2011 Military Leaders say Biofuels Key to Strengthening National Security – Growth Growth Energy leads the national effort to increase awareness of ethanol, and improve the product’s popularity through the establishment and leadership of the American Ethanol sponsorship of NASCAR. In 2012, Growth Energy kicked off its first multimillion dollar national advertising effort focused on the NASCAR sponsorship platform to introduce E15 to consumers in the motor fuel marketplace.
In the last year alone, we have seen the economic and environmental consequences of our over-reliance on foreign oil as a transportation fuel. Gas prices continue to empty the pockets of hard working Americans, and the long term ecological effects of the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico are still largely unknown. But our dependence impacts more than just our pocketbooks and our habitats. A new report from the Military Advisory Board (MAB), “Ensuring America’s Freedom of Movement: A National Security Imperative to Reduce U.S. Oil Dependence,” demonstrates how our addiction to foreign oil poses a significant threat to our national security and geopolitical standing. According to the MAB, a council composed of 13 retired three- and four-star generals and admirals, America’s dependence on oil is a significant national vulnerability and “Immediate and aggressive action to move our transportation sector away from oil and toward alternative, domestically produced sources of energy are needed to improve our national security posture.” Energy security is national security. If we cannot fuel our own military ships, tanks and jets, we cannot protect our nation. In fact, in its 2010 Fuel Scorecard, the Truman National Security Project concludes that the policy of keeping oil as our primary transportation fuel “clearly stands out as the most harmful for U.S. national security overall.” There is only one solution: we must use less oil. And we can, through conservation and efficiencies over time, and significantly right now by substituting the use of oil through domestically-produced alternatives – specifically, ethanol