I think every town needs to become a biotown.  To speed this process, we need major R & D in Jatropha Curcas and Algae now.  Jatropha is a biodiesel feedstock that has no use in our nation's food supply.  We can genetically modify the hell out of it without fear of affecting the corn, wheat, etc. that we eat.  Automation in the harvesting of Jatropha and biodiesel production will make it a much more attractive fuel (more $ for the bang for farmers!).

This is a wonderful start for small rural towns that are surrounded by farmland.  Anyone know how this idea would translate into a large city like New York or Los Angeles?

I think some of the problems that need to be addressed (and may not be realized by folks who have always lived in small towns) are:

Our big cities are huge energy users, and don't have the amount of farmland per person needed to grow the crops for their needed Biofuels.  But, large cities generate a huge amount of sewage.  Is it possible to process it on that large of a scale to produce enough energy to offset the lack of Biofuel production?  Would there be enough sewage for this?

Conservation is a key too, but can only be taken so far without government help.  I used to live in Los Angeles, where we are constantly accused of "being in love with our cars".  I can assure you no one loves to drive in Los Angeles traffic every day.  People drive their cars because the meager public transportation that is available is slow, dangerous (many people have been robbed, injured, and killed while riding public transportation in big cities), and just not practical for most residents.  Car pooling really doesn't work for most people either as there are many thousands of workers going to thousands of companies spread out over hundreds of square miles.  Chances of finding someone in your neighborhood, that works the same hours you do, relatively near the same place you work, is rather rare.  If you do find a workable carpool, then what happens when there is a traffic accident?  Even a minor one?  The driver gets sued by the riders.  (Yes, I know this happens!  This is the big city mentality these days.  Right or wrong, it is reality!)  The combined settlements will almost always amount to far more then the average persons personal auto insurance will cover, and better insurance in a city like L.A. costs more then it costs to just pay for the gasoline to drive alone!  After the lawsuit, you may have to sell your home and live in the streets to pay off the lawsuit.  Am I being negative?  Yes.  Am I being unrealistic?  No.  This has happened in Los Angeles more then once!  Who wants expose themselves to this kind of risk? In many large cities, you either drive your own car or quit your job.  Nothing else is practical.  And. no, not many average people are going to be convinced to ride their bicycles to work when most of the affordable housing is located 50 to 100 miles away from most of the living wage jobs, and the route to work goes through some pretty mean neighborhoods, and you have to do this every day, even in bad weather.  This is only for really dedicated athletes!  I rode a bicycle to work for a while when I only lived 12 miles from work and was much younger then I am now.  Even then, it got old real fast after the novelty wore off.

Only the government can help.  They need to put a stop to the stupid lawsuits, stop supporting policies that cause more energy use, and improve things that save energy, like workable, efficient public transportation!  What would be happening now if, for example, the money spent in Iraq was being used to develop ways to efficiently produce oil from algae?  But, I am afraid the American politicians that want to do this are either far outnumbered, or are hypocrites that are in it just for themselves!  Instead of supporting alternative energy, the American government is more concerned about putting people in jail and fining or taxing them right out of business for producing their own Biofuel!  

There needs to be outrage toward the stupid decisions of governments.  In Vancouver B.C. the government built the "Sky Train", a beautifully efficient elevated passenger railway.  It has many stations in the suburbs and many stations in the city so people could ride it to work easily.  Unfortunately, the government has now restricted parking around most all of the stations so that it is impossible to park you car within walking distance of the station.  Unless you are lucky enough to live real close to a station you now drive your car into the city instead of driving it just a few miles to a station and using the Sky Train. This is the kind of government stupidity that needs to be changed if we are to have any hope of becoming energy efficient through conservation and production of Biofuels!