www.dotcomhunter.com University Research into Alternative Energy Decades of tree and biomass research jointly conducted by Florida St atue University and Shell Energy have resulted in the planting of th e largest single “Energy Crop Plantation” in the entire United State s. This Plantation spans approximately 130 acres and is home to over 250,000 planted trees including cottonwoods (native to the area) an d eucalyptus (which are non-invasive) along with various row crops s uch as soybeans. This organization of “super trees” was brought into being as a result of the University's joint research with other age ncies including Shell, the US Department of Energy, the Common Purpo se Institute, and groups of various individuals who are working to d evelop alternative energy sources (those not dependent on fossil fue ls) for the future. This research is focused on the planting and pro cessing of biomass energy supplies from fast-growing crops known as “closed loop biomass” or simply “energy crops”. The project seeks to develop “power plants” such as wood-pulp or wood-fiber providing p lants; clean biogas to be used by industries; plants such as surgarc ane which can be used for ethanol development; and crops such as soy beans for biodiesel fuel production. University involvement in alternative energy research is also going on at Penn State University. At Penn State, special research is fo cused on the development of hydrogen power as a practical alternati ve energy source. The researchers involved are convinced that manki nd is moving toward a hydrogen-fueled economy due to the needs for us to reduce air pollution and find other sources of energy besides petroleum to power up the United States. Hydrogen energy burns cle an and can be endlessly renewed, as it can be drawn from water and crop plants. Hydrogen power would thus be a sustainable energy reso urce to be found within the US' own infrastructure while the world' s supply of (affordable) oil peaks and begins to decline. The Unive rsity seeks to help with the commercial development of hydrogen pow ered fuel cells, which would be usable in place of or in tandem wit h combustion engines for all of our motor vehicles. When President Bush recently announced his alternative energy initia tive, he determined that the government would develop five “Sun Gran t” centers for concentrated research. Oregon State University has th e honor of having been selected as one of these centers, and has bee n allocated government grants of $20 million for each of the next fo ur years in order to carry out its mission. OSU will lead the way in researching alternative energy as it represents the interests of th e Pacific Islands, the US' Pacific Territories, and nine western sta tes. OSU President Edward Ray says, the research being conducted thr A gift from www.dotcomhunter.comwww.dotcomhunter.com ough OSU’s Sun Grant center will contribute directly to our meeting President Bush’s challenge for energy independence. Specific researc h into alternative energy being conducted at OSU by varios teams of scientists right now include a project to figure out how to efficien tly convert such products as straw into a source of renewable biomas s fuel, and another one aimed at studying how to efficiently convert wood fibers into liquid fuel. A gift from www.dotcomhunter.com