 Colder regions are becoming colder, and warm places are becoming too warm to relax those muscles between your brows. The European Commission, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, NGOs and other research bodies of the United Nations recognize the need to reducing CO2 emissions. Renewable energy is best described as, 'One man's trash is another man's treasure.' Sweden, for example, imports trash to churn trash-to-energy. Japan has recently converted a massive plot of abandoned golf course to a 'solar-leecher' ground. Micro-organisms which are too tiny to be seen with the naked eyes can be genetically modified to release enzymes to breakdown plant-waste and convert biomass to butanol and biogas.
Biofuels to replace the use of fossil fuels, such as coal and petroleum, for all vehicles on the roads can make quite significant changes in the net CO2 emissions. The pricing of biofuels shifts the behaviours of consumers' choice. In Indonesia, drivers have little knowledge on the benefits of biofuels and no cost incentive for the use of biofuels. Hence, why would they? But, the best CO2 emissions reduction is to introduce biofuels to commercial airlines. GE aviation took the first initiative in 2009, and recently Japan's International trade industry pledge to stop increasing CO2 emissions by year 2020. Japan has commented that to achieve their goals they are left with no option, and to fill up the aircraft tanks with biofuels.
There are, of course, investment agencies funding research work in plant-waste and genetic modification work to yield more cost efficient production and better agricultural farming. Ethanol produced from sugarcane in Brazil may reduce up to 90% of CO2, and some handshakes were shook to providing ethanol to United States and the world.
Biofuels may be the game changer for CO2 emissions and climate change. However, biofuels production has to be well taken care of and to not reverse the boomerang efforts for the reduction of CO2 emissions.
In this edition, it is a privilege to introduce two new contributing authors:
Biogas beats Bioethanol by Professor Wolfgang Bauer
Molecular Marvel - A Novel Catalyst greases the wheels of Biofuel Production by Ms Gabrielle Bauer:
On another note, the Spotlight section is introduced to include information and articles concerning health and biomedical research. I hope you will enjoy reading the August edition.
Yuhui Lin
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