The algae uses up CO2 in
The algae uses up CO2 in combination with the light and produces valuable biomass in the process Photo: Euobserver The algae plant experiments are also about purifying waste water Photo: Euobserver “We are at a cross-roads with this research”, says PHD student Patrick Uldall Noerregaard from DTU Aqua Photo: Euobserver Calculations show that a production price of 400 Danish kroner per kilo can make it a profitable business. If the process extends into the distillation of carotenoid astaxanthin, then it is not unreasonable to assume prices in the range of €20,000 per kilo. Astaxanthin is the pigment that naturally colours salmon, prawns and pelicans pink and is used widely in the cosmetic industry for skin care. 30 ––––– EUobserver Magazine 2015
“ Only physics will decide if we were ambitious enough ” Climate activist Bill McKibben says in an interview that until now, the climate proposals “that human beings have come up with are inadequate”. By Peter Teffer Bill McKibben has a house “covered with solar panels”. He drives a hybrid-electric car. However, the one lifestyle change that the American environmentalist would recommend has nothing to do with consuming less energy, or getting it from a renewable source. “It’s not that we shouldn’t do things at home. We should. But I don’t try to fool myself that I’m stopping climate change that way”, he told EUobserver in an interview in September. “Given the emergency that we’re in, given the short time that we have to act, it’s a lot more important at the moment to change the policies of the people running things, then try to get everyone on the planet to instantly shift their ways of life”, noted McKibben. The most important policy change he advocates, is to stop using fossil fuels. Photo:University of Michigan EUobserver Magazine 2015 ––––– 31
