Bionavitas Inc. in Redmond, Washington, has a tricked out proposition for growing algae for biofuels.
Step one. Find a pond polluted with agricultural fertilizer, and toss in some algae.
Problem: Our algae love all the nitrogen in that lake, and they are growing like crazy. But, once the algae covers the surface of the pool, the sunlight is blocked, so no microflora can grow below the top layer.
Solution: Take some glass rods and partially stick them into the soupy mess, leaving their top ends exposed. When sunlight lands on the ends of the rods, at the surface of the water, the light travels down the glass and disperses into the water as it goes, thus providing our deeper algae-brethren with an internal, solar light source.
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