NASA BOSS AGAINST BIOFUELS

NASA boss investigated over biofuel project
Robert Block and Mark K. Mathews, June 20, 2010 (Orlando Sentinel via St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

"While millions of barrels of spilled oil choke the Gulf of Mexico, NASA is working on an ocean-based biofuels venture that could revolutionize clean-energy production at sea and treat wastewater at the same time.

"The scientist running the $10 million experiment, called Project OMEGA, uses words such as groundbreaking and exciting [but]…NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden doesn’t believe in OMEGA — and has sought to slow it down…He was advised against it by Marathon Oil — the Texas-based company on whose board Bolden sat until he was named NASA administrator last year. The former astronaut and Marine Corps general also still holds as much as $1 million worth of Marathon stock."

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"…Bolden’s decision to vet OMEGA with a company in which he has a significant financial interest — and that also has invested in a competing biofuels proposal — has prompted an investigation…Bolden says he did nothing wrong, and his lawyers at NASA agree…But government ethics watchdogs say Bolden should have steered clear of involvement… Privately, White House and congressional officials have expressed growing doubts about Bolden’s judgment…[T]he NASA chief sought Marathon’s advice after he was pressed to sign an agreement to allow the U.S. Navy to work on the project…Bolden wrote that he did not think that NASA should be the lead federal agency looking at alternative fuels…Bolden received Marathon stock equivalents valued at the time between $500,000 and $1 million…[and] still holds the Marathon stock…

"OMEGA’s supporters say the concept is promising — and remarkably simple…[I]t starts with algae being placed in sewage-filled plastic bags, known in NASA-speak as “offshore membrane enclosures for growing algae” or OMEGA. The semipermeable plastic was originally developed to recycle astronauts’ urine during space missions…"

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"The algae — which pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere — would feast on nutrients in the sewage, turning it into clean water that would be released into the sea through the bags’ one-way membranes. Wave action would keep the algae mixed and healthy, producing fat-soluble molecules called lipids as the plants grow that would then be harvested for fuel…[S]eawater would kill the algae, and the lipids would break down naturally [if the bags leak]…[A]lgae farms covering 10 million acres of ocean…[could provide enough biofuel to satisfy U.S. aviation-fuel needs]… Ten days ago, the project passed a preliminary evaluation by experts from NASA, the Department of Energy and the Navy. It’s now being readied for a prototype field test…

"In 2008, while Bolden was still on the Marathon board, Marathon invested $10 million with New Hampshire-based ethanol manufacturer Mascoma Corp…But algae can produce far more oil per acre than other crops…The reason for Marathon’s criticism is unclear…[T]he company did not have enough information to draw any conclusions about OMEGA…"