Brilliant. Instead of changing infrastructure to accommodate ethanol or bio-diesel, why not change the fuel?

Sapphire Energy plans to use Algae to produce Gasoline.

Simple, and smart. These are the kind of things that could really be game changing.

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1687/70/

Earth2tech.com has a good review of cellulosic plants that are being built. I personally hold great hope for cellulosic ethanol as being a very promising technology for the future. Let's keep out fingers crossed.

This report includes plans, and some interesting notes on where the funding has come from.


http://earth2tech.com/2008/06/03/12-companies-racing-to-build-cellulosic-ethanol-plants-in-the-us/

Since 1981, the top selling car in the US has not been a car, but a truck. The Ford F150 has consistently been the top selling vehicle. In May, in a remarkable change, the Honda Civic has jumped to the top of the list.

Is this a sea change? Or a temporary bump? Clearly fuel prices are high, and that leads to changes in behavior, but will it extend to support for other greener choices?

If someone can produce ethanol for $1 a gallon, as has been claimed, will small efficient cars remain popular, or will we instantly see a return to big trucks and SUV's?

It'll be interesting to see what major manufacture is "first". First being second really. There was the GM EV1. And back in the early part of the 1900's, there were lot's of electric cars. So even the GM wasn't really first. I'm mostly giving the CNET site a bit of hard time, since they say the Nissan will be "first". Neat to see that electrics are on the horizon for a big manufacture.

CNET Car Tech

I know I'm not the best writer, but this article from Wired Magazine is pretty bad. The headline is clear:

Use of wind energy expected to grow dramatically.

Later, buried in the article:

But the report cautioned that its findings were not meant to predict that such growth would, in fact, be achieved, but only that it is technically possible. And it acknowledged "there are significant costs, challenges and impacts" associated with such rapid growth.

Huh? Expected has pretty clear connotations, and the later paragraph doesn't sound like "expected".

I have a lot of hope for wind, but I agree that there are "significant costs, challenges and impacts".

Wired News

Wired Magazine has a review of many motorcycle or motorcycle derivative products that all promise to be clean. Considering that even normal motorbikes get better MPG than any car, it seems to make sense. They also don't have to meet the safety standards that make modern cars heavy, and therefore less efficient. (I'm not saying safety is bad, but there is a correlation between safety/weight/cost. )

It's interesting to see things like the very car like Apterra get classed as Motorcycles due to being 3 wheelers. This allows them to have to deal with less regulations.

Perhaps a new class of vehicle is deserved? A lightweight, efficiency class, with different safety standards. Allow me, like a motorcycle driver, to chose my trade offs.

Wired Magazine

But if someone is looking for a high end sports car, and want's to save fuel, then this might be the way to go. I predict these will be popular in Menlo Park at all the new Green VC funds.

Of course, buying a Fit or Prius, and then buying 3 more similar cars and trading them for poor peoples beater, old, polluting cars, then getting those cars off the road, would be far, far better for the environment. Of course, that wouldn't be clear to everyone who passes them on the road, so the smug value is low.

Fisker's new hybrid car

I was talking about electric cars just yesterday. They still have many limitations, cost, range and charging times. But they are getting close. I could see my wife and I sharing an electric car and a conventional car or hybrid. Use the electric for much of the day to day stuff, the hybrid or conventional for longer trips. If there was an electric car with the room and drivability of our Honda Fit, for less than 20K, I'd strongly consider it. Venture Beat blog has a seemingly comprehensive list of electric car manufactures:
30 electric cars companies ready to take over the road » VentureBeat

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