Imagine that smog-filled cities are free of pollution and produce clean biofuel and oxygen. Highly polluted areas, such as the Los Angeles area, pose a threat to the elderly, children, and people with COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) (“People at Risk,” 2013). Algae can be used to exploit carbon dioxide, nitrogen, produce oxygen and be refined to produce biofuels. Cyanobacteria are the most common type of microalgae used for biofuels (“Massachusetts Company Making,” 2011). Biofuel made from algae can be cost-effective, costing as little as ten to twenty dollars a barrel to produce. However, there are still financial difficulties in the algae-based biofuel market (Pienkos, P., Laurens, L., & Aden, A., 2011). A French scientist even invented a lamp made of algae, which emits carbon dioxide and produces oxygen (“Large scale Algae Street Lamps to clean the air off its CO2 content”, 2012). A few companies are exploring the production of microalgae-based biofuels: Joule Unlimited and Natural Resource Energy Lab. Methods for finding other streams of microalgae-based biofuel include natural trial-and-error testing and genetic engineering (Pienkos, P., et al., 2011). “Algae lamps” and microalgae-based biofuel are some tools Los Angeles can use to clean its air. Over one hundred and thirty people live in areas where the air quality is unhealthy (“Key Findings,” 2013). Smog is characterized into two types: Inversion and photochemical. Inversion smog occurs when the air becomes still, which turns the smog into a poisonous, deadly cloud. Photochemical smog is a chemical reaction between car exhaust, ozone, and sunlight, which turns car exhaust into “formaldehyde” (“Air Pollution and Pollutants: Anthropogenic,” 2010, p. 24 ). The American...middle of paper......association. Retrieved from http://www.stateoftheair.org/2013/key-findings/ Large-scale street lights to clean the air of its CO2 content. (2012, April 12). Ecofriend. Retrieved from http://www.ecofriend.com/large-scale-algae-street-lamps-clean-air-its-co2-content.html Massachusetts company that produces diesel with sun, water and CO2. (2011, February 27). The Gainesville sun. ndPienkos, P., Laurens, L., Aden, A. (2011, November 11). Production of biofuel from microalgae. American scientist. 474 (6).Randakovits, R., Jinkerson, R., Fuerstenberg, S., Tae, H., Settlage, R., Boore, J., Posewitz, M. (2012, February 21). Genome sequence project and genetic transformation of the oleaginous alga nannochloropis gaditana. National communication. 686 (3), doi: 10.1038/ncomms1688Rodgers, B. (2010, August 12). Algae pose a danger to animals. The Jamestown Sun.