Black liquor biofuels - Is it really green?

It's not saving any trees

Chemrec, a company specializing in black liquor gasification, has completed $20 million in funding to turn pulp and paper mills into "biorefineries".

According to the company, the waste of pulp and paper mills, aka black liquor, could be turned into enough biofuel to replace 2 percent of global fuel demand.

Of course, how does this fuel get into the pipeline? How much gas will it take to get this bio-gas to gas stations?

Converting waste into energy is always a good practice, but how green is this investment?

Q Microbe drawing cellulosic ethanol investment

Qteros' microbial hopes

Qteros picked up $25 million Series B funding today, reports CNET, led by investors like BP and George Soros.

The Q Microbe is a naturally occurring micro-organism that, according to Qteros, can efficiently turn cellulosic materials into ethanol - eliminating the need for enzymes which account for 30 percent of production costs.

Now, that's a green investment, literally.

Recession hurting cellulosic ethanol

Ethanol's promise fading?

"Because of the upheaval in the capital markets," CNET is reporting that "Mascoma cannot go public to raise additional funds, and institutional investors are being more cautious now. So the company is positioning itself to hold on to cash as long as possible."

Thus, the company is laying off employees.

Unfortunately, Mascoma is one of the few well-funded cellulosic ethanol companies out there, and if cellulose is the future of biofuels, the future of biofuels isn't looking too promising.

Solix out to prove algae-biofuels work

Biocrude the new oil?

Solix Biofuels has raised $15.5 billion according to the New York Times to prove that a 5 acre algae farm can produce biocrude that can be refined into gasoline at a far cheaper rate than any other biofuel.

Fast regeneration and CO2 consuming qualities make a algae a very compelling prospect for biofuel production, however, "creating the right conditions for algae to serve as a biofuel feed stock at commercial scale remains an expensive proposition".

Solix hopes that its photo-bioreactor can change these cost dynamics, and prove that algae is the next big thing in green investing.

America's corn economy unsustainable

America's fast food culture also driven by corn

Go to any one of America's fast food restaurants and your burger or chicken sandwich almost certainly comes from an animal that was predominantly corn fed.

"The trend over the past few decades has been to push for cheap animal protein," says Vicki Hird of environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth. She notes that government subsidies that favour corn have encouraged pesticide- and fertiliser-intensive monoculture farming in the US. "We are using corn in ways that are completely unsustainable," says Hird in the New Scientist.

Yet, as ethanol has grown, there has been a push for soy based feed for animals. Unfortunately, this soy is coming from Brazil, and it comes at the expense of the deforestation of rain forests that constitute one of the world's last clean air recyclers.

Will America ever stop being so corny?

Glycerol a big boost for biodiesel?

Turn it into methanol

Every year the US incinerates about 350,000 tons of glycerol per year, much of it produced as a waste product from biodiesel. However, a new method developed by Oxford University can now turn this waste product into methanol according to CleanEdge.

Inspiring sustainable farming video

Keeping it green and local

Great video on the Millstone Farm in Connecticut, which is focused on becoming a leader in sustainable farming.

Makes me wonder, can biofuel farming ever be sustainable? Perhaps, but certainly not if the feed crop is corn.

What does VeraSun Energy say about corn ethanol?

Hedging on weather

When CNBC reported that VeraSun Energy was filing for bankruptcy yesterday, I knew it meant something bad for corn-based ethanol.

Turns out that VeraSun made some bad hedges on corn. Flooding in the Midwest caused corn prices to rise significantly, only to drop more than 50 percent, and VeraSun simply made the wrong bet. Yet, this is probably a bet that will have to be made again and again in the future.

Just shows how much the weather can have an impact on ethanol, especially corn-based ethanol. With future weather predictions looking much more volatile, how safe of a bet will corn be in the future?

Corn ethanol not so bad?

Much better than gasoline

A few new studies by the Illinois Corn Growers Association - obviously an unbiased source - suggest that many complaints about corn-based ethanol are unfounded. According to GCC the reports "conclude that the production of corn ethanol results in a smaller lifecycle carbon footprint than that of gasoline—significantly so in some cases. The reports also conclude that ongoing improvements in crop yield and more efficient production technologies will continue to improve the carbon profile of the biofuel, while also allowing room for expansion without impact on food or feed supplies."

I don't want to jump to conclusions, but the Illinois Corn Growers Association? Sort of reminds me of all the Wall Street execs, just before the financial collapse, claiming that the US financial system and their companies were in perfect shape.

Algae: Great potential as a biofuel, but not yet ready

Still a little too green

The 2008 Algae Biomass Summit demonstrated, according to GCC, that algae-based biofuels show tremendous potential, but "face difficult technical and economic challenges if it is to scale to be a significant component of a global energy solution."

In terms of a fuel, it simply costs too much to produce algae-based biofuels, and there hasn't yet been a scalable process for such production.

Most, especially investors, believe algae is still at least one big breakthrough away from challenging traditional fuel sources, as well as alternative sources. Fortunately, most of those investors believe that breakthrough will occur.

Biofuels for home heating oil

Can biofuels replace foreign oil for cars and home heating?

In 2010 Massachusetts will require that home heating oil be mixed with biofuels. Some 8 million homes in the US use oil for home heating, and those inside the oil-for-home-heating industry believe that biofuels can help them compete with natural gas. Check out CNBC for more.

Can biofuels live up to the hype, or has the biofuel hand been over-played?

Can green jobs power a new America?

Can it power America's 'new' economy

According to a study released by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, by 2038 America could create 4.2 million new green jobs if American makes a bold commitment to green power, such as solar, wind, and biofuels.

Others, such as Barack Obama claim we could create 5 million new green jobs in just 10 years if we committed to green technology to power our economy.

While the later is probably just political hype to be expected in an election year, it does demonstrate the potential of the alternative energy sector.

Can America commit to the future and embrace alternative energy, even if it means some extra taxes and costs up front?

Water hungry biofuels pose problems

Time to rethink biofuels

At a conference on Tuesday, "Environmental expert Tim Barnett of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography cautioned that water shortages also would be a pressing issue for many regions." Thus, according to the DetroitNews, "Climate and energy experts said the production of some forms of energy -- biofuels, for instance -- required large amounts of water," should therefore be reevaluated.

Thus, focus should be placed on biofuels, such as algae, that require little water and little land.

Isn't it time to get smart about biofuels?

Turning trash into ethanol?

Another reason to forget corn?

Fulcrum BioEnergy wants Americans to forget about corn-based ethanol. Instead, Fulcrum would prefer to turn organic garbage into ethanol. More interesting, the company can turn trash into fuel for less than $1.00 per gallon in an energy positive, carbon negative way according to the company.

While turning trash into fuel is a great idea, is ethanol the right fuel? Many companies are currently using methane from trash to power factories and such. Which technique is better? Might it not be better to keep trash energy local, rather than transporting this energy?

Can algae save the airline industry?

Can algae-based biofuels become cost-effective?

Last year one of the more interesting displays at Wired's NextFest was algae biofuel. While algae is believed to be one of the best feedstocks for biofuels because it produces far more energy per acre than crops like soybeans or corn, it has also proven to be quite expensive thus far. Nonetheless, supporters keep trudging along and, recently, the US airline industry has expressed a strong interest in supporting the development of the algae fuel.

Can the weight of the US airline industry make algae the fuel of the future?

Biofuels: Who is lying on ethanol?

Is big oil really paying off all of ethanol's critics?

Corn-based ethanol has been under attack from every angle imaginable for the last few years. Water, runoff, pesticides, fertilizers, food prices and more have all been utilized by numerous academics throughout not just the US, but the world, as evidence of corn's dark side.

Yet, there are some in the US auto industry, as well as in Congress, that call all of these criticisms 'fabrications' funded by big oil.

In terms of food prices, for example, corn supporters claim that wheat and rice are to blame, not corn. Moreover, drought and other natural problems are also at fault.

Certainly, other factors are involved in the world's grain shortage. Still, if you grow less wheat and rice to grow more corn, isn't corn then part of the problem? Likewise, if the world is heading into a time of greater-than-normal drought, is it really a good idea to use food to power our energy guzzling vehicles?

Corn-based ethanol might not be as-guilty-as-charged, but it's far from innocent, and those that refuse every criticism of corn are starting to look like typical, pork-beholden politicians and self-interested corporatists - and every bit as evil as those in big oil.

Switchgrass: Could it set ethanol on fire?

A problem for cellulosic ethanol?

Fans of ethanol always justify corn as a step towards better methods of ethanol production, especially cellulosic ethanol. And many have touted switchgrass as an eventual replacement to corn as cellulosic ethanol develops, but switchgrass also has its problems. Turns out switch grass is highly flammable.

"Dried-out grasses are a hot fuel source, and farm machinery could easily provide a spark for ignition. That could become a problem in a region known for its relatively high sustained winds, and many fire departments don't have experience in large grass fires," notes a recent AP article.

World food stocks dwindling

A reason against biofuels?

"In an "unforeseen and unprecedented" shift, the world food supply is dwindling rapidly and food prices are soaring to historic levels, the top food and agriculture official of the United Nations warned Monday," according to the International Herald Tribune.

And, surprise, surprise America's hell bent path towards ethanol is a major player.

"A more complicated issue is the use of crops to make biofuels, which are often heavily subsidized. A major factor in rising corn prices globally is that many farmers in the United States are now selling their corn to make subsidized ethanol.

Mann said the European Union had intentionally set low targets for biofuel use - 10 per cent by 2020 - to limit food price rises and that it plans to import some biofuel. "We don't want all our farmers switching from food to biofuel," he said."

I guess Europeans are smarting than Americans, especially when it comes to politicians.

My kind of ethanol

Corn: Not my kind of ethanol

I am regularly criticizing corn-based ethanol, but I hate always being negative. Nonetheless, it is just disappointing that biofuels are so dominated by pork-driven corn subsidies, when investment should ONLY be going into cellulosic biofuels and hot biofuel technologies such as cyanobacteria.

Cyanobacteria offer unmatched biofuel yield relative to other potential sources of bioenergy, including arable crops and forestry-based candidates, according to the project leaders. The ASU/BP/SFAz partnership will seek to boost the fatty acid metabolism of Synechocystis to generate more lipids while minimizing competing metabolic pathways. (more)

Speaking of biofuels: EU plan 'disatrous' for poor?

Just not a good idea?

Biofuels are one of those things that sounds great, but upon a closer look, suddenly seem quite tarnished. Certainly, there is no doubt that cellulosic ethanol and algae-derived biofuels, for example, hold excellent potential.

Grain-based biofuels, however, could be "disastrous".

"Europe’s plans to increase the use of biofuels as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector could prove disastrous for some of the world’s poorest people," according to Oxfam International.

Biofuels need not spell disaster for poor people in the South—they should instead offer new market and livelihood opportunities. But the agro-industrial model that is emerging to supply the EU target poses little in the way of opportunities and much in the way of threats. Without the right policies in place among companies, producer governments, and importing governments, the kinds of negative social impacts outlined above will only get worse as the scramble to supply intensifies. —Biofuelling Poverty

Water wars and biofuels

Switchgrass fine, but time to kill corn?

I have not been a fan of corn-based ethanol, and the more I learn about corn, the more I believe that the ethanol movement is pure insanity.

Now, after watching the video Water wars heat up, I have no doubt that corn-based ethanol isn't just insane, it's terribly dangerous. Yet, it's a favored piece of legislature by most politicians. I don't mind subsidies for cellulosic ethanol, but it's time to stick a knife in corn subsidies - that pig is done. Enough pork already!

Biofuels to "greatly increase pressure on water"

More harm than good?

Grain based bio fuels - crops grown specifically for bio fuels - continue to draw red flags from the scientific community. Inevitably, fuels driven from grains, such as corn ethanol, are polluting groundwater, lakes, rivers and streams with fertilizer and pesticide runoff resulting in dead zones, such as in the Mississippi River basin and the Gulf of Mexico.

Aside from destroying water resources, a significant increase in such bio fuels could also "greatly increase pressure on water resources" in many parts of the U.S. - greatly diminishing an already scarce resource (more).

Can corn ethanol really be a good idea when so many have already predicted the ever growing importance of water in the very near future?

Isn't it time to end grain based bio fuels? Shouldn't all of our bio fuel efforts be focused on waste driven bio fuels, especially waste-driven cellulosic ethanol?

BlueFire: An example of a good ethanol subsidy?

Better than corn-based ethanol subsidies?

"The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and BlueFire Ethanol Fuels, Inc. (OTC BB:BFRE.OB - News) today announced a cooperative agreement, which plays a critical role in bringing cellulosic ethanol to market.

The agreement provides BlueFire with the first of two stages of the Grant funding (totaling $40 million) for its second U.S. commercial ethanol production facility located in California. This facility was designated to demonstrate the economic feasibility and environmental superiority of producing cellulosic ethanol from post-sorted green waste and other cellulosic materials."

Isn't this a better way for the government to support the biofuels industry? Quite simply, corn-based ethanol is just not a good solution. In fact, it's just not a good idea at all.

Jane Goodell questions biofuels

Is the biofuels industry trustworthy?

"We're cutting down forests now to grow sugarcane and palm oil for biofuels and our forests are being hacked into by so many interests that it makes them more and more important to save now," Goodall said on the sidelines of the Clinton Global Initiative, former U.S. President Bill Clinton's annual philanthropic meeting.

"Biofuel isn't the answer to everything; it depends where it comes from," she said. "All of this means better education on where fuels are coming from are needed."

Biofuels are a great direction, but much of the world is headed down the wrong path full speed ahead. Money, money, money will lead to better technologies, such as cellulosic ethanol, and will justify the means according to these zealots.

Sometimes, however, when you are clearing new ground you fall off a cliff. That's where corn-based ethanol, for example, is taking America.

Unfortunately, money always seems to trump all other issues in big business, and as corporations, even big oil, become more entrenched in biofuels, will profit be all that matters?

Is Cyanobacteria the key to biofuels?

Cyanobacterium + CO2 + Sunlight = Clean and Green Energy

Forget corn, forget sugar - forget all plants. Is ethanol all about pond scum? Could replacing oil with ethanol be as simple as cyanobacterium, CO2 and sunlight?

That was the point of a display by Professor Pengchen Fu, of the University of Hawaii, at Wired's Nextfest this past weekend.

"The benefit over other techniques of producing ethanol is that this is simple and quick—taking days rather than the months required to grow crops that can be converted to ethanol," Fu told the Honolulu Advertiser back in May.

"And he believes it can be done for significantly less than the cost of gasoline and also less than the cost of ethanol produced through conventional methods.

Also, this system is not a net producer of carbon dioxide: Carbon dioxide released into the environment when ethanol is burned has been withdrawn from the environment during ethanol production."

Now that's green - pun intended.

Will biofuels lead America into recession?

Are biofuels causing food price inflation?

Wheat is approaching a staggering $900.00 level as droughts destroy crops throughout the world. In addition, the U.S. government's push to subsidize the conversion of food crops into fuel crops is exacerbating the problem according to reports on CNBC.

Ironically, food price inflation is far more devastating to consumers than is energy price inflation. So, what is the government trying to accomplish? Even worse, food price inflation limits the ability of the Fed to lower rates noted CNBC's Jim Cramer this morning.

I regularly voice my concerns over biofuels, and it seems blatantly obvious that food crop-driven biofuels are not good for America.

Biodiesel wonder weed for emerging markets?

Could Jatropha provide cheap biodiesel?

I'm not a big fan of biodiesel or ethanol - at least not yet. Most important, I don't believe that the plant materials being used to develop these fuels, such as corn or soybeans, are the right ones. Still, cellulosic biofuels offer incredible potential. Thus, biofuels do have a role in America's energy paradigm, and I do believe they should be pursued.

In other areas of the world, however, biofuels offer much more potential, particularly because most other countries aren't the energy hogs that is America and our gas-guzzling culture.

Thus, CNBC has been plugging Jatropha as the "wonder weed" for emerging markets, particularly India, China, Malaysia and the Philippines. Offering 10x the oil per acre as soybeans, the once annoying weed, jatropha, could be a major money-making weed for the biofuels industry.

Unfortunately, it's not easy to play Jatropha as an investment, and it must be played through corn and soybeans, which all trade together according to CNBC.

Frankfurt - Fuel efficiency Pretending?

Green hotdoggin' at the Frankfurt AutoShow?

The hype around the Frankfurt Auto Show has almost exclusively been focused on green vehicles, such as hybrid cars, clean diesel vehicles, and bio-fueled vehicles. Obviously, it's great that automakers are focusing on green issues, but are they just posing?

With the EU possibly on the verge of very strict emissions requirements, automakers have to be prepared. Nonetheless, if the EU doesn't act, will automakers continue with their green efforts?

Transport and Environment, a Brussels-based environmental lobby group, is not impressed with Frankfurt-attending-automakers according to Reuters. Essentially, automakers are just throwing out a few token green cars, rather than making real changes, the group claims.

"It's not good enough to have one or two cars," said Transport and Environment spokesman Dudley Curtis. "What we need is emission reduction across the board."

Do automakers really care about the environment or energy security, or is profit all that matters?

Does biodiesel make large SUVs O.K.?

Is there enough biodiesel to go around?

So you drive a large SUV, yet you have SUV guilt? What can you do? Convert it to a biodiesel.

"LoveCraft Bio-Fuels in Los Angeles has converted more than 1,400 vehicles to run on vegetable oil by installing a system of heaters, pumps and filters. Its most famous client was Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who modified one of his Hummers," writes MSNBC.

“To take the vehicle that symbolizes one of the worst environmental violators and get it to run on vegetable oil was pretty cool,” LoveCraft co-founder Brian Friedman said.

That is cool, especially for old SUVs until they are retired. Still, is there enough biodiesel to replace oil? Not according to most experts - not even close. Even worse, such a move could drastically increase the price of many foods.

Still, its hard to argue against waste-driven biodiesel, but it must be accepted that this is just a niche. This is a great program for older vehicles, but it certainly isn't an excuse to buy new, large SUVs.

U.S. - A world leader in green technologies?

The U.S. is a green leader?

"The United States, which rejected the Kyoto agreement, has never adopted a federal system of controls for carbon-dioxide emissions, although California has binding targets to cut CO2 emissions and other states are expected to follow.

The United States, however, has emerged as the world leader in developing clean energy technologies.

It involves a wide range of sectors, including wind, solar, biofuels, biomass (organic material to produce power and heat), energy efficiency technology, hydrogen and fuel cells, and tidal power.

"General Electric has been a leader in the campaign to develop new clean technologies that allows one to save energy and make money at the same time," said Dr. Andrew Dlugolecki, head of Andlug Consulting, a strategic consultancy on climate change and the financial sector based in Perth, Scotland.

He said oil companies, carmakers and power generators are increasing their investments in renewables and biofuels." More from Investors, big businesses see green in being green

Well, we should be the green leader, we're the biggest polluter and energy guzzler. Still, at least there is some positive momentum.

Wheat, global warming and biofuels

If global warming is real, could biofuels cause more harm than good?

"We're used to watching the price of oil mock gravity, but there's an even more essential commodity that's also become scarcer and pricier in recent months: Traders are paying record prices for wheat on world markets, thanks in part to shortages caused by a mix of drought and flooding. Canada, the second-biggest wheat producer after the U.S., looks set to harvest its smallest crop in five years, due to an unusually dry July, while production in the European Union may be down nearly 40% from last year after flooding rains followed long droughts. Growing global demand for biofuels is also eating up grain production, and boosting prices."

Biofuels are a good idea, especially those biofuels derived from waste. But grain-based biofuels, such as ethanol, appear to be nothing short of a subsidized boondoggle.

Ending foreign oil dependency: Does America have the gumption?

Fine here, but not on the highway?

A while back President Bush told U.S. automakers to start making more relevant vehicles, much to the chagrin of the auto industry. Then Barack Obama echoed much of that same sentiment, and now John Edwards has called on Americans to give up their SUVs.

Are Americans ready for such a change?

While hybrid cars, clean diesel vehicles and biofuels offer the future much cleaner vehicles, it will take years before such new technologies can cost-effectively replace conventional vehicles - at least in the short term thinking of American consumers.

Downsizing could have a much more immediate impact. And, coupled with new technologies, downsizing might just put the end of foreign oil dependency in America's sights.

Still, can such talk lead to the White House or does it doom a campaign?

Stop Eating Meat or Forget Biofuels

Cattle grazing has depleted the world of rainforests and there just isn't enough land for biofuels?

A new study by the University of Leeds and the World Land Trust are worried that biofuels might actually be even more harmful to the planet than conventional fuels.

"The group is concerned that large areas of land in the developing world are being cleared to grow crops such as sugar cane and palm oil to service the energy consumption needs of our gas guzzling culture. These crops are being converted to biofuels which ostensibly produce less carbon dioxide than conventional transport fuels. What the scientists have found is that up to nine times as much carbon dioxide will be emitted by biofuels compared to conventional petrol and diesel because biofuel crops are typically grown on land which is burnt and reclaimed from tropical forests." (more)

Meat hogs, gas hogs, energy hogs - when you act like a hog it seems there is never enough.

Congress and energy: Forget about it?

Wouldn't a gas tax be better than dead soldiers?

"The dance that is going on between automakers, Dingell and other members of Congress is disheartening to anyone looking for a meaningful energy policy that will make the U.S. less dependent on foreign energy sources and for the the U.S. to finally act like a world leader when it comes to energy consumption and pollution generation."

Great quote from an interesting article on the BusinessWeek Autobeat.

Here's another, "Without a sustained communications commitment, most Americans just won’t get the fact that we are already paying huge gas taxes to protect the source of Middle East oil. It’s being sucked out of our taxes already to pay for the War in Iraq and other foreign interventions. That is adding to the deficit, and costing thousands of American lives."

How can a gas tax to fund things like hybrid cars and biofuels be bad when were spending 100's of billions in Iraq and sacrificing 1000's of American lives for what - cheap oil to soothe our gas-guzzling egos?

Green investing: Massive incentives for biofuels industry?

A good green investment?

"Later this year, when lawmakers finish dealing a new hand in the energy legislation game, the biofuel industry will clearly come up with the aces," states Jim Ostroff in Kiplingers recently.

Whether biofuels are a real solution of foreign oil dependency and/or global warming is debatable. Nonetheless, is it a good, green investment?

The other day I was watching CNBC's Fast Money program where Guy Adami claimed that investors should forget ethanol and focus on clean diesel technology as a better investment play.

Any thoughts out there?

Ford closer to flex-fuel hybrids

A better approach to biofuels?

"On June 13, Ford Motor Company will hand over several Ford Escape Hybrid E85s -- the world's first full-electric hybrid vehicles capable of operating on an 85 percent ethanol blend -- to several D.C.-area organizations for real-world testing. Ethanol is made from either corn or sugar beets, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions."

"Ford has produced 20 demonstration Escape Hybrid E85s for placement in six different states as part of its testing process, and continuing commitment to sustainability."

(Source: PressRelease)

Can Rick Wagoner be trusted on biofuels?

Rick Wagoner and Bob Lutz shake hands at the Volt debut

So, Rick Wagoner wants to push the focus of Congress from fuel economy to biofuels? He his a master of such distractions - he helped make Congress believe in fuel cell vehicles, rather than hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles for many years.

Kudos, Rick.

Nonetheless, many disagree with Rick's biofuel's assessment.

--> Finish: Rick Wagoner's biofuel credibility

Argentines worried about biofuels / food conflict

Save it for food

"Yet in Argentina, where a quarter of the 38 million people remain in poverty five years after an economic crisis, some fear that a growing demand for grains to make biofuels will translate into higher food prices after two years of double-digit inflation."

"This idea of using grains to make energy instead of using them for food, now that's a problem," resident Pedro Marcote said. "Food prices keep going up and up."

And it isn't just a concern in Argentina. The U.S. is also seeing small price increases in food due to ethanol, and those increases might be just a very worrying beginning.

"Authorities should be careful about promoting biofuel use, said Loek Boonkamp, head of the agricultural trade and markets division of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

He estimated this year that replacing just 10 percent of the world's current petroleum use with biofuels would consume about 30 percent of all the grain, oilseed and sugar produced in the U.S., Canada, the European Union and Brazil."

(Yahoo)

Europe dissing ethanol?

Are other biofuels a better option than ethanol?

"Cars that run on ethanol are more of a marketing gimmick," says Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, director of the Center for Automotive Research in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

While that might be true in Germany, other parts of Europe are interested in developing ethanol, according to an interesting article in Business Week. Nonetheless, much research is also being done into a wide range of fuels, and this diversification could benefit Europe greatly according to BW.

On the other hand, in the U.S. many bio-fuel developers claim that the U.S. is too focused on ethanol - Good ole Congress.

Forget the politicians when it comes to hybrids and biofuels?

Does it really matter which Party is in control?

If you ask me, competition works better than politicians. I'm not saying competition works perfectly, but it works better than a bunch of rich, special interest-funded partisan politicians.

Consequently, I've been very bothered that Congress has not extended Toyota's hybrid tax credits - something both Republicans and Democrats have ignored. Yet, in the last couple of years, both parties have talked considerably about energy dependence, especially foreign oil dependence and/or global warming. Yet, very little has been accomplished to alleviate these problems.

Obviously, the task is not simple. Still, it seems to me that the quickest way to make automakers deal with fuel efficiency is simple competition. Force them to act or risk losing customers.

Thus, the more success Toyota has selling hybrid vehicles, the more pressure there is.....Finish Hybrids and Biofuels: Forget the Politicians.