TII Innovation Journal

Redesigning Life to Make Ethanol

Another notch in the belt for innovation in "farming".

Redesigning Life to Make Ethanol: "Genetically engineered organisms can more efficiently produce ethanol from cheap and abundant sources of biomass, such as agricultural waste. It could make ethanol cost competitive."

(Via Technology Review Feed - BizTech Top Stories.)

Farmers as Innovation Drivers? 5 BIG IDEAS

Ernst Max writes:
In Europe this sentence sounds crazy. Farmers here are simple administrators of a stupid "Common Agricultural Policy". I have watched New Zealand's development since the Kiwis liberated their economy back in the 1980s, among which the farmers. Before those times, NZ farmers produced whatever was subsidized and with grave environmental consequences. What a change since then.

The best indicator of this development is New Zealand's Crown Research Institutes and, in particular, AGresearch (web site here).

Five big Ideas (Download brochure: fantastic reading)
In their Science 2020 strategy, they have contributed 5 big ideas to guide the development of the farm sector:
Future dairy production – Double the value of dairy production while halving the costs and impacts on the environment.
Future meat and fibre production – Double the value of meat and fibre production while halving the costs and impacts on the environment
Pestilence-free New Zealand – Reducing the risk of pests and diseases gaining a foot-hold in New Zealand and helping to manage those already here
Agriculture and its communities – Working with rural communities and agribusinesses to ensure they both remain sustainable for future generations in a global environment
Opportunities beyond food and fibre – Working with other researchers in New Zealand and around the world to use our knowledge of agricultural plants and animals for valuable new opportunities.

Could you see this coming out of Brussels? Of course not!

New process makes diesel fuel and industrial chemicals from simple sugar

THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVOURITE TOPICS AT THE MOMENT. IN EUROPE AND THE US WE HAVE ABSOLUTELY CRAZY AGRICULTURAL INTERVENTIONIST POLICIES. This could change the future of the countryside.

New process makes diesel fuel and industrial chemicals from simple sugar: "The soaring prices of oil and natural gas have sparked a race to make transportation fuels from plant matter instead of petroleum. Both biodiesel and gasoline containing ethanol are starting to make an impact on the market."

(Via Brightsurf Science News :: Science News and Current Events.)