Letters to the Editor

Offer to share algae expertiseDear Sir,This is in reference to the report, “Commercial algae plant may need 100 hectares of land” (Gulf Times, February 15).Our Algal Biofuels Consortium possesses great expertise and experience in growing marine microalgae for fuels, animal feeds and other co-products. No group in the world has a better track record than our international consortium. Based on what we had already accomplished, I made two trips to Qatar several years ago offering to share what we had learned from our life-cycle and techno-economic analyses with QSTP, Qatar University, Shell in Qatar and the Qatar Foundation. We even built a demonstration algal production facility with the Sahara Forest Project in Mesaieed Industrial City for the COP18 Doha climate change conference. Nothing ever came from our offers to share what we had learned with these institutions; however, in the hopes of saving them some time and money, here are some key papers from our research:Huntley, M.E., et al. 2015. Demonstrated large-scale production of marine microalgae for fuels and feed. Algal Research 10: 249-265.Beal, C.M., et al. 2015. Algal biofuel production for fuels and feed in a 100-ha facility: a comprehensive techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment. Algal Research 10: 266-279.Charles H GreeneDirectorOcean Resources and Ecosystems ProgramDepartment of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences4120 Snee HallCornell UniversityIthaca, NY 14853Problem with school admissionsDear Sir, I have been trying to get my two kids admitted to a school in Doha for almost one year now.Every school we go to tells us that no places are available for my children. Doesn’t every child has the right to an education? There are many others like us who face the same problem in Doha. I would like to request  the Supreme Education Council (SEC) to look into this problem and take steps so that all expatriate children will not miss out on their education.Zeba, (Full name and e-mail address supplied)Please send us your  letters By e-mail: editor@gulf-times.com