This past Saturday, a few of us DtaSers went to a series of talks at Cal Day. One of the talks was on sustainable biofuels, featuring energy expert Professor Alex Farrell.
Sadly, the next day Professor Farrell died at his home in San Francisco. He was 46.
I am personally deeply saddened by this. He was one of my best friends’ thesis advisor. The attendees of that talk were probably some of the last few people to see him alive.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions in Farrell’s memory be …

For those lucky enough to attend Cal Day this past weekend, there was an interesting discussion on Biofuels led by Alex Farrell. Alex had just published an Op-Ed in the SF Chronicle last month. In the article, Alex indicates biofuel production is dependent on the land used. If we use arable land or clearcut rainforest to grow corn and soy….surprise surprise, we generate more GHGs than if we just stuck with petroleum oil.
At the Cal Day event, Alex argued the need for second generation biofuels…ones that use non-arable land …

I’m a Biodiesel newbie, and I have to say that so far my favorite thing is the smell. I love being stopped at a light at having the scent of french fries waft through the air. Maybe it’s cause I don’t eat at fast-food restaurants anymore that the smell is so appealing–or maybe it just reminds me of the happy days of my youth when I could put away a Super Size fries in no time.

You’d probably guess that saving the environment and reducing greenhouse gases is also …