The brighter side of algae

While the fight for the preservation of trees and rainforests rages worldwide, a French inventor has been developing another method of absorbing carbon dioxide.

According to Pierre Calleja, a biochemist specialising in microbiology for 20 years, a new micro-algae street lamp could absorb CO2 from the air at a rate of 1 tonne per year - roughly the same as the entire lifetime of a tree.

The lamps, which are essentially lighted aquariums that house the micro-algae, have the potential to provide significantly cleaner air in urban areas, including highways, city streets and even in homes.
Since car exhaust fumes make up a quarter of carbon dioxide emissions annually, one of the first lamps produced was recently installed in a car park in Bordeaux.

Further development is still needed to make the product cost-effective, however Calleja states loud and proud in a press-release video that it is our earth and we want to show that micro algae can share a part in saving it. The video, which shows the lamp in action, is up on youtube.