by Raymond Bilodeau

Created on: October 30, 2008

Investing in green biotechnology is not only a good investment, it is essential to have such investments. Any non-renewable energy sources will run out at some time in the future, and that time will approach more rapidly as the rest of the world increases its industrial production and population. The major disincentive to such investments has been inconsistent support for them from the federal and state governments. Control of legislation and regulation by the international corporations dependent on existing technology for profits continues the wrong-headed policy of supporting old technology.

Biotechnology that is not likely to be a major source of patent- or government-protected monopolies will never get off the ground unless we change Congress and the political atmosphere. We must also avoid supporting biotechnology that takes assets away from food production, as we have done with "biofuel" from corn. The rapidity with which production in the US turned to corn production far in excess of previous production shows how few producers of farm products there really are. Agribusiness is huge and active in lobbying for corporate charity in the form of farm supports.

Biodiesel from waste cooking oil is an excellent place to invest, since all that is needed are local collection and cleaning facilities along with distribution outlets. The US has never been a big consumer of diesel automobiles, but trucks and trains could easily be converted to biodiesel and support this technology. As these facilities spread, so will the demand for diesel cars and SUVs.

Finding ways to make photosynthesis work in a way that does not take up a lot of land area and that produces useful energy directly, even in ways that would replace solar cells or make solar cells more efficient, is another escellent area for investment. While not likely to be economical in the short-term. this will make "high-rise farms" possible for desert areas, provide sustenance and energy for human interplanetary exploration, and may prove to be essential as global warming makes current farmlands unusable.

Making product packages that are biodegradable, most likely from vegetable or animal sources, is already sorely needed, and only the willingness of consumers to continue to use plastics and coated cardboard stands in the way of making this technology profitable. We need new ways to package and store almost everything we buy, especially food products.

We are going to have to move huge populations away from their current locations on islands, beach-fronts and low-lying lands as sea levels increase. We are going to have to transfer agriculture to more northern latitudes or to places in the lower latitudes that can be artificially climate-controlled. Global warming is happening, whether caused or enhanced by human activity or not. That will require new biotechnology.

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