Remember a few years ago when all you heard about were “dot com millionaires”- You know, those broke college students and computer hackers who sold stock on companies that existed only in cyber space? Well most of those companies went belly up about two weeks later but some enjoyed lasting success. Perhaps you’ve heard of a little search engine called Google for example?

It turns out the boys and girls at google.org have more than just search results on their corporate brains as indicated by their recent investment in start-up company ActaCell. Yes the big G dumped an impressive $2.75 million into the Austin, Texas electric car/ battery manufacturer for continued development of a long-lasting lithium ion battery for hybrid automotive use.

Don’t mistake this for a publicity stunt, however, as Google has been proudly offering its RechargeIT initiative that aims to reduce CO2 emissions, cut oil use and stabilize the electrical grid by encouraging the adoption of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles for its employees.

I came across this San Francisco/Tokyo-based organization, RAN (Rainforest Action Network) and I thought their work was well worth publicizing. Their website has a very informative section on biofuels.

According to RAN, there is a huge which difference between biofuels made from recycled waste products and the ones that are actually arriving at the market, which it has named “agrifuels”, or “agribusinesses’ industrial alternative”. Says the oganization: “To meet increasing demand for these fuels, U.S. agribusinesses are destroying pristine ecosystems to make way for palm and soy plantations. Clearing the rainforest furthers global warming by releasing massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere and threatens to increase world hunger by diverting crops from food. Don’t support biofuels that come from newly cleared rainforests.”

In fact, the European Union recently announced plans to cut back on the use of biofuels, a major policy change on previous plans that would actually stimulate their use. The EU is worried about the environmental impact of biofuels on rain forests (because of deforestation) and food prices. The International Herald Tribune has the full story.

On this page here you can get the lowdown on the destruction that agribusiness is promoting on the world’s most valuable ecosystems: the rainforests. It’s well worth getting to know these facts in order to make informed decisions as a consumer and citizen.

I have been reading a brand new book by Brian Dumaine from Fortune and Time and other august establishments. It’s called The Plot to Save the Planet

My first response to reading this was “Wow!”

There are a lot of different organizations working from many different angles trying to come up with products ands methods to generate or conserve energy .

Most of them are discussed in here. And it seems from Mr. Dumaine’s prose that all of them could be successful. Perhaps he has already winnowed out the ones that don’t have a chance. And he has used his Fortune connections to reach out to the venture capital firms to find out who they are investing in. And I think that is a great method to find out any economic trend. As a whole, venture capital goes to that field where gains can be made. I bet there are few VCs out there investing in whaling ships.

I only have two problems with the book and neither are about the content. First, I wish it were more tightly edited. There are some parts that are repeats what was said earlier such as discussions of building methods to improve efficiencies and arguments for and against plug-in cars. But these are the nitpickings of a technical editor and struggling writer. These are not the criticisms of a alternative energy champion who wants to know what is going on in the industry.

I will be using this book as a source for future blogs as I dive further into each of the start-ups that he highlights.

The topics include solar, wind, transportation, algae, building, ethanol and corporate strategies.

I recommend it for the alternative energy reader, the corporate strategist and the investor. There are a few Google’s, IBM’s, AT&T’s, and Ford’s of the future hidden in these pages. Some may not make it which is always the case, but the future is so bright, many of these companies will be successful.

One doesn’t need to be a scientist to remember the very simple fact that water by itself doesn’t burn. And yet the Internet is alive with ads claiming it’s possible to run your gasoline-powered car (with a simple conversion) on good old-fashioned H2O. Even more amazing is that many of these companies claim double the fuel economy of burning gasoline alone.

While I’m not advocating any such claims, I did feel it necessary to look into the alleged process of turning tap water into an energy source. It turns out that there is in fact a legitimate scientific process at work in a water-fueled hybrid conversion kit in that electricity from the car’s battery can be used to separate water (stored in a separate tank from the gasoline) into a gas known as HHO (2 parts hydrogen, 1 part oxygen). HHO (commonly called Hydroxy) is in fact quite combustible. It is this gas that is ignited in typical internal combustion fashion with the byproduct being water rather hydrocarbons; not unlike the exhaust in the fuel cell process.

There is little concern of hauling a massive tank of water around either as the conversion works to something along the lines of one quart of water produces over 1800 gallons worth of HHO- which when used daily could literally last for months. It’s important to note that gasoline is still required only the car burns less of it thanks to the hydrogen injection.

I was skeptical at first, but the science behind the process is sound anyway. I have yet to conduct a test of an H20 burning hybrid conversion but will be keeping close tabs on the technology in posts to come.

John McCain is putting his money where is mouth is when it comes to solving the country’s energy crisis. Well maybe not his money per se but the point remains. The Republican proposed a $300 million government prize today to whoever can develop an automobile battery that far surpasses existing technology. If you need a little reality check, that prize equates to $1 for every man, woman and child in the country.

McCain has some pretty lofty ambitions for potential developers and states such a device should deliver power at 30 percent of current costs and have “the size, capacity, cost and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars.”
The Arizona senator also proposed stiffer fines for automakers that duck existing fuel-efficiency standards, as well as incentives to increase use of domestic and foreign alcohol-based fuels such as ethanol.

In addition this “Clean Car Challenge” would encourage U.S. automakers to develop zero-emission vehicles by offering consumers the incentive of a $5,000 tax credit when they purchase one.

For just a moment, we’ll pretend Senator McCain didn’t conclude his inspirational speech by climbing into a full size SUV and reflect upon the undeniable truth that he is in fact on the right track with such ambitions.

In April of this year the Secretary of Transportation (Mary E. Peters) proposed an interesting plan: She calls for an acceleration of last year’s Congress enacted CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards by a whopping 25%. For those in need of a refresher, CAFE is the sales weighted average fuel economy, expressed in miles per gallon (mpg), of a manufacturer’s fleet of passenger cars or light trucks manufactured for sale in the United States, for any given model year. Fuel economy is defined as the average mileage traveled by an automobile per gallon of gasoline (or equivalent amount of other fuel) consumed.

With average fuel prices surpassing the $4 per gallon mark across much of the nation at the time of this article’s writing, there are few who wouldn’t mind seeing Peters’ plan of 35.7 mpg for cars and 28.6 for trucks/ SUVs by the year 2015 come to pass. Unfortunately many auto-insiders have retorted to this ambitious proposal stating that Peters is clearly out of touch with the development lead times that must be taken into consideration before any automobile sees the light of day.

To put into perspective the type of lead times we’re talking about here, while the 2008 model year cars are on showroom floors, the 2009s are already standing in line waiting for their debut in the next couple of months. The 2010s are already fully designed, engineered and developed (waiting only on the assembly line schedule) as are the 2011s with only room for minor tweaks and color changes.

In this line of thinking, many are scoffing at such efforts at legitimate increases in fuel economy standards as mere political ploys of a governmental department looking to save face. Whether or not this is actually the case is yet to be determined but one thing is for certain: We are witnessing the early stages of the dangers in our dependence upon fossil fuel. Perhaps the pressures of an economy based on the trade of crude oil will be enough to inspire the auto industry to pick up the proverbial pace a bit.

In 1978 gasoline was selling for .63 cents a gallon and forward thinkers had decided then to create an annual competition that would pit college and university teams against each other in design, construction, and endurance of open-wheel race cars. This competition was (and still is) known as the Formula SAE and while 30 years is nothing to scoff at, what we find most pertinent of late is what has taken place the past two years of the competition. In only its second year, the contest has introduced a new and exciting concept: The Formula Hybrid.

Each entry to this newly developed class must be a genuine hybrid (with both an internal combustion and electric power-source). Just like with the Formula SAE, entrants are evaluated on presentation, performance, and endurance. Here’s where things get interesting however, the Formula Hybrid class allots each team a limited amount of fuel to work with. The idea? To maximize hybrid technology by reaching the checkered flag well after the tank’s run dry.

This competition presents technological challenges for students with backgrounds in electrical, mechanical, and computer engineering. Formula Hybrid encourages interdisciplinary teamwork and innovation but best of all it is a means of ensuring the world’s future engineers a foundation in hybrid technology. Whereas in years past, gasoline engines were sufficient in powering the entrants, this latest transition is a sign of the times and a direct result of concerns of rising fuel costs/ limited fossil fuel reserves.

At this rate of progression, it wouldn’t be surprising to see future offshoots to the competition that will include biofuel powered engines, full electric race cars, and alternative energy resources. Consider this: Upon graduation many of these students take positions within the automotive industry. Mere innovations today could become standard equipment in the vehicles we drive tomorrow.

Two good news related to cars and their significant role in carbon emissions came out yesterday. The first was the proposal announced yesterday in Brussels by the European Union to force car makers to meet the goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions to 120 grams per kilometer (192 grams per mile) by 2012. EU officials told car makers to make “deep cuts in tailpipe emissions of the cars they produce or face fines that could reach billions of euros during the next decade,” wrote the International Herald Tribune.

Unsurprisingly, the industry promised a fight citing difficulties in meeting the deadline and loss of competitiveness on a global scale. But the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, said tough laws were necessary to meet goals and to show the EU’s intention to be a leader in carbon emissions reduction.

The car industry had been given a decade for voluntary action but so far failed to make satisfactory adjustments so now they have no right to complain. They make billions of dollars selling their polluting machines and they have to pay for it. Even though it is good news that Europe is taking such measures now, it is rather shocking that governments have waited so long to get tougher on car makers. Haven’t we complained about the effect of car pollution on people’s health for decades now? Because of its financial power, the car industry has gotten away with too much damage on society and it’s high time to put a stop to that. Forcing them to cut down on carbon emissions to curb global warming will have the additional benefit of protecting our health as well and that is potentially great news.

Over in Japan, Honda yesterday announced its plans to “invest aggressively in research for hybrids and other new technology”, according to a CNN report. According to the company’s president, Takeo Fukui, Honda will introduce a new hybrid model running on gas and electricity in 2009, with sales of 200,000 vehicles a year. The company will focus on getting hybrid sales to account for 10 percent of its sales by about 2010.

Last month Honda unveiled the FCX Clarity fuel cell vehicle at the Los Angeles Auto Show, announcing plans to begin limited retail marketing of the vehicle in summer 2008. The FCX Clarity is a next-generation, zero-emissions, hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle based on the new Honda V Flow fuel cell platform, and powered by the Honda V Flow fuel cell stack. According to the a company’s press release, “the FCX Clarity marks the significant progress Honda continues to make in advancing the real-world performance and appeal of the hydrogen-powered fuel cell car.”

The Senate is currently voting to approve a proposal to raise the fuel economy standard to 35 miles per gallon. However there are still too many senators who are sympathetic of the automobile industry, who want the lower the propose mileage set to 30 miles per gallon.

If approved, we do hope:

1. The SUVs and pick up trucks should have some sort of standard. Big SUVs and pick up trucks are consider vehicles for work and not passenger vehicles. That’s the main reason, American car manufacturers pushed those big vehicles to market . They can use a big frame, use an inefficient engine which can yield a lot of power, and still be cheap to manufacture. This is especially true as many SUVs and trucks share the same engine.

2. More efficient cars can mean the following:

• More sophisticated and precision built engines.
• Lighter vehicles which can yield more miles.
• Hybrids will get the extra miles out of a motor. A combination of a. and b.is good enough. Hopefully this will not drive the prices of high performance vehicles too high.

For more information: Senate would raise fuel standards

Although the science behind this newly found bio-fuel is not fully complete and ready to implement, butanol leaves us with a hope greater than that of ethanol.

But what is butanol? When speaking of it as a bio-fuel, it is an alchol based fuel that, at 85% strength, can be used without any changes to many engines, unlike ethanol. Butanol fuel is produced from fermentation of biomass. Essentially rotting bio-materials can be converted into butanol.

It’s imagery that causes us to reflect on a mad scientist named Doc Brown from a movie called Back To The Future. We see a frazzled man with interesting sunglasses from the future that was dumping trash into his Delorean engine to produce fuel. Just exclude the aluminum cans and plastics, and keep the banana peels, rotting foods, and plants, and we’re not far from a butanol powered engine.

When compared to ethanol, butanol is less corrosive, more sutable for distrubution through existing gasoline pipe-lines, and has more energy available to burn. Although there are no automobiles in production right now that are ready for butanol, it is concievable that we could see more ink about this new fuel in the near future.