Caricom energy security should focus on biogas
Antigua Sun, Friday January 11 2008

"The 12th Special Meeting of Caricom (Caribbean Community) Heads of
Government, discussed measures to address the mounting food prices which
were driven-up by factors which included rising oil prices, bad climatic
conditions along with natural disasters and a re-designation of land use
from agricultural purposes to the production of bio fuels.

Being a competitor in the world economy requires among other factors,
affordable, reliable and abundant sources of energy.

One particular source of energy which could become potentially relevant
in the quest to find renewable energy sources is biogas.

With the large number of agricultural animals across the Caribbean,
along with human bodily waste materials; this may be another way of
making them work for society.

Biogas is the production of energy from manure, by the use of
biodigestors and/or bioreactors. Biodigesters utilise anaerobic
digestion by bacteria to produce methane gas for power. Other useful
by-products include material for animal bedding and liquid waste for
fertilisers.

Environmental engineers must now focus on installing eco-friendly sewer
systems that do not empty into rivers, gutters or the sea that could
create a public health disaster, rather than solving one.

Instead, the waste must be utilised in a way which can be recycled so
that villages and agricultural communities can fertilise their fields.

Biogas could become a major boon for Caribbean countries mainly because
the outlay of capital is not insurmountable. The ultimate factor
deciding the success or failure of biomass is the will by governments to
make a direct investment in it!

Never before has the sound of a flushing toilet taken on such monetary
and environmental significance!"

http://www.antiguasun.com/paper/?as=view&sun=281935077507132005&an=381949088901102008&ac=Columnist

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Dr. Ann C. Wilkie                          Tel: (352)392-8699
Soil and Water Science Department          Fax: (352)392-7008
University of Florida-IFAS
P.O. Box 110960                         E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Gainesville, FL 32611-0960
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Campus location: Environmental Microbiology Laboratory (Bldg. 246).
http://campusmap.ufl.edu/
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BioEnergy and Sustainable Technology Society
http://grove.ufl.edu/~bests/

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