Tonight I was watching PBS and watching a spot by Exxon Mobile talking about algae as a fuel solution. Using the lipids in algae is a great idea. Especially great if the algae could feed off of waste products, like sewage or runoff from crops or anything else that is causing problems for the environment. But like most biofuels there is a huge expenditure in energy or resources to make them. But the most egregious of the claims,  they were making was, that they were part of the solution since algae absorbs CO2. It does just that while it is growing, but just like any other biofuel it releases it when it burns. So again it's the truth with a twist.

So the truth is, it may be part of the solution if it doesn't use too much energy to produce it, And as a biofuel it doesn't release any new CO2 into the atmosphere. But it doesn't absorb CO2 unless we store it up and don't use it