Those Brazilians are so showy when it comes to their ethanol and today they are at it again in a very big way.  Domain-b.com is out with the news that Royal Dutch Shell and Cosan S.A. (world’s 5^th largest producer of ethanol) have announced a $12 billion joint venture to produce and sell ethanol.  This trumps any other alternative fuel investment made by a western oil major, suggesting confidence in ethanol’s staying power for transportation.  Talk about confidence.  Japanese hoteliers are the latest to throw their hat into the electric vehicle (EV) ring and in Nissan’s latest push, they’ve landed a commitment that will result in 18,000 EV charge points.  What makes more sense, suggests Gas 2.0 , than charging your vehicle while recharging thyself on a zero-emission eco-vacation?  While vacation-land USA hasn’t scored a hotel deal, Orlando is all charged up over Nissan’s Leaf, too.  Automotive World shares the news that the central Florida fantasy land is the latest city to announce their partnership with the automaker. 

Fantasies come in many forms and two researchers from the University of Singapore are out with a doozy.  Could it be that the hydrogen economy fulfills psychological and cultural needs, thereby trumping the viability of the science?  Scitizen chronicles their methodology which involved a broad range of literature scans which contained a rich number of compelling visions about cheap, abundant and clean energy with hydrogen as the replacement answer to the internal combustion energy.  Coachella Valley Green leaves make-believe to researchers as they proudly showcase an upcoming unveiling of the 6^th generation fuel cell bus to grace SunLine Transit’s fleet.  This warrants a shout out to birthday boy Richard Cromwell III who was the original SunLine chief responsible for the alternative fuel incubator that the agency has become.  Visionaries come in many forms and my favorite du jour is the clever guy who never saw a windshield that couldn’t be recycled.  Inhabitat shows a gem of a greenhouse that could be named “auto glass gone wild.”

Gems are on my mind as I get to join Clean Cities friends for a long weekend at the Tucson Gem Show.  So, this is it for the news of the week.  But, I’ll be back with more jewels on Monday.

Even though the forecasted high temperature in our nation’s capitol is expected to be 25 degrees today, I’m thinking hot air will prevail. Oil and coal companies may be the losers as the White House announces their proposed budget for 2010. $40 billion is what the New York Times says will be redirected from oil interests to clean energy over the next decade. While elevated lobbying will be part of the drill, the Kansas City Star delivers even more bad news for oil companies. The Energy Information Administration has declared that 2007 was the peak year for gas consumption. The combination of fuel efficiency standards, market growth of alternative fuels, and a vehicle purchase plateau, all add up to a spiraling demand trend. 2007 was also the year that saw the beginning of a shift that auto manufacturers better pay heed to, reports Earth2Tech. You’ve heard of death and taxes but the new certainty is that drivers are using car-sharing services in record numbers. In the last two years they’ve seen a user increase of 117 whopping percent. A Frost & Sullivan analysis predicts that within five years, 4.4 million drivers in North America will opt to save $1834 annually through car-sharing.

What calling does a guy with degrees in linguistics and French civilization answer to? If the guy is Phillip Roberts, he goes on an e-mission. Roberts is the founder of a 5-person, Long Beach, California company called Extengine Transport Systems. When his beautiful view of the harbor was sullied by a soot challenged balcony, he did what any clean air loving guy would do and developed a retrofit emissions control system solution. The Los Angeles Times showcases the passion that has caught the attention of, and product funding from the Port. Diesel emissions have become just one motivation behind the National Association of Fleet Administrators calling for the Senate to get their act together and vote to extend biodiesel tax credits. Fleet Owner cites the December expiration of the credit resulting in biodiesel costing 20% more than diesel. I’ve heard through the grapevine that the tax credit extension and the renewable fuel standard will be two focal points of the National Biodiesel Conference which kicks off in Texas on February 7. Of course, the rival kick-off that day is in Miami and Audi is all over it with their peppy new ad campaign designed to help us all make better choices for the environment. While the “Green Police” sounds like a clever enough ad development concept, the German auto manufacturer really shoulda checked out the other Green Police…those nasty fellas behind executions in Nazi Germany. Oops.

That Khalid Al Falih is a hoot, that’s what he is. The CEO of Saudi Aramco led a U.S. lash out choir at the Davos World Economic Forum yesterday saying oil ‘r us and peak oil is so yesterday. CNN Money shares news of the happy talk about abundant oil supplies. Total’s chief begs to differ saying indeed there are plenty of reserves but the cost to extract and produce it makes peak oil very real. Where in the world is Osama bin Laden? Not sure, but wherever he is, he’s gotten chatty with a microphone this week. A new tape has the recluse blaming the U.S. for global warming. BBC News reports that his solution is to boycott the U.S. dollar. Japan’s Nissan has no problem embracing U.S. currency and the automaker happily accepted the news from Energy Secretary Chu that they are getting a $1.4 billion loan from his Department. The New York Times points out that the Leaf is charting new electric vehicle (EV) territory by entirely abandoning the gasoline engine as they outfit their facility in Smyrna, TN. Smyrna didn’t make Norwegian manufacturer TH!NK’s list of most ready EV cities. Automotive World lists the top 15 in the index with LA, San Francisco, Chicago and New York leading the way.

He loves us, he really loves us, enthuses Ethanol Producer Magazine over President Obama’s reference to biofuels in his State of the Union address. If you missed it, there was a call for more clean energy jobs with “…continued investment in advanced biofuels….” The Renewable Fuels Association came out with a “yes, but” retort saying the administration also needs to apply science in finalizing the new renewable fuel standard and should approve E15. Not everyone is gung ho about Obama administration giddiness over biofuels and electric vehicles. In fact, Mike Jackson, the outspoken head of the National Auto Dealers Association (NADA) spoke off script in DC this week by departing from the green vehicle lovefest taking place at the Washington Auto Show. The Wall Street Journal blogs about the latest broccoli bruising. Jackson asserts there is no way this green stuff can make it unless there is a gas tax. To demonstrate his point, he colorfully intoned that it’s like telling a shop owner who sells donuts and broccoli “you have to sell 50% broccoli-and we’re reducing the price of donuts.” Dollars to donuts you’ll be hearing a lot more from Jackson as his NADA show kicks off in Orlando February 13-15.

If my searches this morning are any indication, it’s going to be a weird day. News of the weird begins with LA Weekly where “Would you like paper or plastic?” takes on new meaning. A group called “Save the Plastic Bag Coalition” (a euphemism for plastic bag manufacturers tired of losing profit to paper?) petitioned the courts to overturn a plastic bag ban in small Manhattan Beach, CA. Guess what? SPBC won! Heading northeast to Ontario, Canada one wonders what is the connection between smoking cigarettes and a Ford Escape Hybrid? I’m glad you asked. It seems that the Canadian Cancer Society encourages contest entries for fabulous prizes if you stop smoking during the month of March. Following abstinence testing, you could resume smoking and drive off in your cool Ford Escape. As the incredulous autobloggreen reporter observed, “This competition is easier than Lent!”

Ford Escape Hybrids are likely to be part of the mix in Vancouver as the beautiful city prepares for what some are calling the greenest Olympics ever. When the masses descend next month they’ll see a few dozen hydrogen buses, flex-fuel vehicles and lots of hybrids as part of the 4500 vehicle fleet driving the winter games. Mother Nature News reports that there is even an official automobile-the Chevy Equinox. London plans to rise to the greenest ever challenge as they prepare for the 2012 games and they may just benefit from a new initiative announced by EU President and Spanish Prime Minister Zapatero. February 8 is the date, reports the EU Observer, that a major electric vehicle initiative is to be announced in the Spanish seaside town of Sebastian. I’m smitten with almost any city that can describe itself using the word “waterfront” but Charleston, SC is up for some worrisome years ahead according to a newly released study assessing the health impacts of their growing port operations. This is one of the first studies in the southeast that puts a dollar figure on port emissions and Live5News assesses the annual price tag at $54 million a year and growing.

The snippets I heard from last night’s State of the Union suggest a continuing focus on the development of a broad range of energy sources. KCI Investing’s Elliot Gue is out with a bold prediction that this will be the century for natural gas. He cites a very favorably disposed Congress and predicts that the mouthful, New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions Act (NAT GAS Act), will rapidly propel the fuel. The Act calls for 50% of government vehicles purchased or placed into service by the end of 2014 be CNG capable. T. Boone Pickens is part of the restless republic and you can hear him today on the Green Revolution Show to talk about how the NAT GAS Act is a critical component of U.S. energy independence. The show is streamed live online at 1 p.m. Central.

Quote of the day:
“Karma’s a bi[a]tch.”-observer of the plastic vs. paper fracas

Let’s say you were offered $9200 this year by changing one small behavior. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) wants to sign you up and Treehugger says APTA has done the research to back up the cost savings. If you live in one of the top 20 transit markets in the country, hop on a bus and your combined savings on insurance, maintenance, fuel and parking will result in sweet savings. As Huliq News tells the story, Boone Pickens wouldn’t bet on Americans jumping out of their cars and into buses anytime soon. The Boone story would have us believe that the iconic entrepreneur has given up on the intent of the Pickens Plan of two years ago and is now focusing on natural gas for heavy-duty fleets. I’m not buying it. Boone just hit the reset button. He and others have always known that the most realistic oil displacement and natural gas market penetration will come from those who use the most. And what’s up with Congress not extending the biodiesel tax break into 2010? Biodiesel businessman and NBB Board member John Vavolo writes a compelling piece for Syracuse.com saying that just last year biodiesel displaced 38.1 million barrels of oil, added $4 billion to the gross domestic product, and accounted for a very specific 51,893 jobs. Wake up and smell the coffee, Congress. This is a tax credit worth extending.

Is it just me or is there a manic, hyperactive, aggressive frenzy around all things hybrid and electric? Lithium will save the day and ABC News is among many saying that Toyota has scored a stable production of the rare metal to ensure their ambitious 2011 production numbers for their gasoline-electric hybrid cars. The automaker has thrown their battery lot into nickel metal hydride in the past, but the acquisition from an Argentina company suggests a strong lithium-ion future. IEEE Spectrum questions whether battery economics for electric vehicles (EVs) will ever make economic sense. One doesn’t think of IEEE as being edgy but they are out with their list of the best and worst technologies and their peevish picks for losers include the Chevrolet Volt (too costly and too much hype) and cellulosic ethanol. Puh-lease. Switchgrass isn’t the only feedstock for the very cool advances being made. Okay, for a minute let’s say EVs and ethanol are the solutions of the future and they always will be. Where is a wean me off of foreign oil dogmatist to turn? I know! I know! Let’s go back to the future and resurrect wood gas cars. Low-Tech Magazine has a great piece, complete with delicious photos, chronicling how more than one million cars (primarily in Europe) efficiently and cleanly provided a nifty transportation option during World War II. They even nailed the infrastructure with more than 3000 petrol stations where drivers could stock up on wood. As one enthusiast opined, the practically carbon neutral car is for idealists and times of crisis. Hey, it’s always good to have a strategy in your back pocket.

Ready or not, the holidays are now out of the way and we get to shift our attention back to Congressional antics. Eight stars of gold on a field of blue Senator Lisa Murkowski is in the spotlight this week as she sets out to explain why the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shouldn’t protect the environment by regulating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The New York Times says the Supreme Court told EPA to do just that three years ago and curious minds want to know if the Senator’s record donations from electric utilities last year could have purchased her opinion? Frank O’Donnell from Clean Air Watch says that maybe $50k won’t buy a Senator but it sure can rent one. Big oil feels picked on and Mother Nature Network says they’ve found a new voice in a web-based startup magazine called Greening of Oil. The publication, a sister to Petroleum News, sets out to show the multiple pathways fossil fuel interests are pursuing to demonstrate their environmental feminine side. Writer Jim Motavalli says it’s an excellent vehicle to engage in to keep fossil fuel interests honest.

How about keeping the California Air Resources Board honest? Renewable Fuels Association chief Bob Dinneen has found his inner agitato over the state’s Office of Administrative Law ruling, in spite of vociferous industry objections, that the Low Carbon Fuel Standard stands. Dinneen’s Environmental Expert intimation is that the legal action has only just begun. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Chu doesn’t seem to share his home state’s viewpoint on ethanol. Just last week he shook loose the DOE piggy bank and awarded $1.6 million for ethanol fueling expansion. The Columbian is loving all of the money flowing into Washington state for forest biomass research, and moves to commercialize algae based biofuels. I’ve heard through the grapevine that the National Biodiesel Board is encouraging all biodiesel enthusiasts to come to their Conference next month and bring a friend on them. You can check out their generous buy one get one free registration offer here.

Kudos Honda! Once again the natural gas fueled Civic GX has won the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy prize for the greenest vehicle. The Global Post lists tailpipe emissions, fuel consumption, GHG emissions and a cradle-to-grave lifecycle analysis as the factors used to pick the winners. The 2010 Toyota Prius and the Honda Civic Hybrid also received top honors. Small and fuel efficient is also the theme of the Detroit Auto Show which the Autoextremist Peter De Lorean is finding to be a bit of a snooze. He offers his own awards calling the Audi eTron the most beautiful auto propulsion concept while the honor for “Much Ado About Absolutely Nothing” goes to the “Electric Avenue Display.” If sarcasm appeals to you, here’s just a taste of what’s in store in Mr. DeLorean’s latest rant. “Without further ado then, pack your pillows and fuzzy slippers, and let’s go for a semi-conscious lap around the Quietest Auto Show in Recent Memory.”

Michael Keeley, a former Deputy Mayor of LA once commented on why he thought the city was out of control. “Think of city government as a big bus. The bus is divided into different sections with different constituencies: labor, the city council, the mayor, interest groups, and contractors. Every seat is equipped with a brake, so lots of people can stop the bus anytime. The problem is that this makes the bus undriveable.” The Wall Street Journal exemplifies brake problems in an interesting paradoxical tango between the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new emissions rules and the California Energy Commission’s (CEC) GHG emission reduction goals. While their goals are compatible, the conflict results from CEC realistically pointing out that the EPA needs to slow down long enough to make sure the tools are in place so carbon is actually mitigated. Lionel Orford is focused on a different paradox as he makes an analogy between peak coal in the mid-1800’s and peak oil today. The electrical engineer is working on a fascinating sounding book that drew my attention to “Jevons’ Paradox.” William Stanley Jevons was an English economist who wrote that when technological improvements allow a fuel to be used more efficiently, the consumption goes up not down. And, like oil, even though there is plenty in the ground, eventually the economics make it unprofitable driving down demand. The Energy Bulletin feature uses the paradox to pose the question, do we have it in us to make the necessary changes to avoid the fate of the Mayans and Easter Islanders? While James Fallows, writing in The Atlantic, doesn’t specifically concern himself with energy, he gives many compelling reasons in his article “How America Can Rise Again,” why the answer is “Yes! Yes!”

While some are intent on stopping the bus, others are building a better one (metaphorically). The four stages of innovation are Shakedown, Knockout, Finals and Validation, at least as far as the organizers of the Automotive X Prize competition are concerned. The Detroit Free Press proudly proclaims that the official competition for the remaining 41 teams takes place in Michigan between April and August. The three winners will split a $10 million prize. There’s more good news out of the Detroit auto show and the winners are propane and CNG enthusiasts. USA Today’s James Healey talked to GM’s chief truck engineer who said it is time to start dreaming of alternatively fueled Chevrolet Silverado’s and GMC Sierra’s and by 2012, full-sized GM pickups will be on the market. They’ll cost less, pollute less, and give the world another sign that U.S. auto manufacturers are serious about alternatives to petroleum. What a break!

So, for grins I Googled “Detroit Auto Show” and up popped 12,711 news entries. Why fight it? For starters, the New York Times offers a thoughtful look at what is driving the battery and hybrid frenzy. By most accounts, the 3% hybrid market share won’t be budging upward real soon. Insiders are quick to point out that automakers have no choice but to embrace fuel efficiency to be able to meet future regulations. Those who regulate held a lovefest with automakers at the show yesterday. Picture big hugs between Ford’s Alan Mullaly and Nancy Pelosi (or don’t) and a phalanx of two dozen plus electeds and regulators from D.C. They came with bags of coins, reports the Detroit News, and offered another $200 million to the industry. My favorite goody two shoes line was Bill Ford thanking Washington for saving his domestic competitors. But let the chuckles continue.

I do enjoy GM’s iconic Bob Lutz who calls global warming a crock and believes hybrids don’t make much sense. The equal opportunity champion of the controversial told CNN Money that what the world needs now is a significantly higher gas tax. I do get his point but it does seem likely that gas prices will continue to ride upwards without regulation. AFVi’s latest confirmed Conference speaker, Tom Whipple, gives his characteristically smart global look at all of the factors pointing to $3/gallon and rising prices over the next 6 months. As China’s economy swells they are scanning the globe for more oil and the result is a demand competitive price pickle.

Goody two shoes or not, Ford has ascended to a state of automotive grace over the last tumultuous year and kudos to the automaker for winning both the car and the truck of the year award. Chosen by a jury of 49 automotive journalists, Green Car Congress points out that this is only the third time in 17 years that one manufacturer has won both prizes. The #1 vehicles are the Ford Fusion Hybrid and the Ford Transit Connect. The bad thing about winners is that there are losers and Time does a mighty fine job picking the top 50 worst cars of all time. You need to check it out just to see if you owned one of them but they have a lot of fun with the last turn of the century “Horsey Horseless.” They ask a question that future generations may ask about the fancy 2010 Detroit vehicle lineup along the lines of, “It’s not clear if it was ever actually built or if it is a chimera of auto history.” We will have to wait for it, but Time will tell.

EVangelism runs rampant in Detroit starting today through January 24. When 5500 credentialed media descend upon the North American International Auto Show, it’s a little tough for other headlines to rise above the din. Crain’s Detroit Business reports the economic impact will be $320 million from the two week event. Good for them. Secretary of Transportation Ray Lahood gave what Autobloggreen calls “a positive little speech,” this morning. Absent the pom poms, there was still no mistaking an all out federal government cheer for the auto industry, particularly GM and Chrysler. Secretary Lahood singled out the Chevrolet Volt in particular saying it is exactly the kind of green car America is looking for. Not all of America, implore two researchers, writing for Science Daily. The scholars from the University of Michigan and the Rochester Institute of Technology caution that there are smart ways and less smart ways for the feds to subsidize Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) and a blanket subsidy is in the latter category.

Where in the world is Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Chu today, curious minds want to know. The good secretary is poised to make an announcement in Columbus, Indiana. Home of Cummins you ask? Why yes, fortuitously, the manufacturer is one of nine lucky recipients of $187 million targeted to improve fuel efficiency and emissions reductions. Secretary Chu will announce the winners today and Reuters beats him to the punch this morning. Many of the recipients are Detroit favorites that will contribute to an estimated 6000 new jobs by 2015. If five years is too long and you are seeking a clean transportation job, the Ypsilanti-based Clean Energy Coalition (CEC) may hold your future in their hands. CEC is one of many organizations turning stimulus money into investment in a clean energy future.

A stellar auto show, bold new vehicle technology and record amounts of stimulus still are not enough to make the U.S. competitive in this brave green world, argues New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. The source of his angst? China. Beijing’s leadership understands that they hit the snooze button too many times during the Industrial Revolution and they aren’t about to let all things green pass them by. With an ascending automotive industry, impressive high speed rail, and a solar market so powerful that in one year the price has gone from .59 to .16 per kilowatt hour, Friedman warns that if we can’t unearth our invigorated innovation, we’ll be in a world of economic hurt. Calling all EVangelists.

Cities and counties throughout the U.S. are waking up to news that the Environmental Protection Agency has tightened the pollution forming ozone limits enacted by the Bush administration. The Washington Post shares the angst of the American Petroleum Institute citing the horrors this regulation will impose on the economy. Give lungs a chance, says the American Lung Association, representing a different viewpoint. There is a 60-day public comment period.

The Detroit Auto Show isn’t the world’s first this year as one in New Delhi is already underway. That, combined with news that China’s annual auto sales surpassed those in the U.S. for the first time ever portends a growing rivalry for automotive leadership. Newsman Harry Fuller has a great analysis in zdnet explaining why Grandpa’s Oldsmobile has disappeared from autoland. The center of automotive gravity has shifted to Asia, and China is intent on a successful export business as an adjunct to their domestic gains. How is the U.S. to compete? Energy Secretary Stephen Chu told the Detroit Free Press yesterday that his department will no longer be the piggy bank for U.S. investment. The government has put $266 million in aid to develop and manufacture Volt batteries (of course, we the people own 61% of GM) and Chu’s vision of tough love is that private capital has to be used to innovate our path to prosperity.

I love it when AFVi press releases are published verbatim. Thank you School Transportation News. Yesterday’s release was an announcement of the great programming AFVi is lining up for the May 9-12 Conference in Las Vegas. MotorWeek’s John Davis and iconic entrepreneur Boone Pickens lead the speaking pack. Mr. Pickens will no doubt talk about how patient we have all been watching Congress slog through economic stimulus and health care reform. Boone is no longer patient, though, and today he urges people to sign a Pickens Plan petition to stop importing 2/3rds of our oil and sign the NAT GAS Act, already. Done. As oil prices climb higher, I’m not wild about behemothic oil setting record profits for another year. I am wild about YouTube and in particular the League of Conservation’s portrayal of the oil fiefdom in the delicious “Big Oil’s Bring Your Kid to Work Day.” Enjoy.

As newspapers everywhere are drying up, kudos to USA Today for getting the paper outside of every hotel room door gig. Regardless of content, that makes it a pretty powerful source of information so no wonder “A Honda guy” called yesterday to tell the “Drive On” writer that his take on fuel cells is all washed up. Honda’s leasing their FCX Clarity to the Captain of the Anaheim Ducks and the USA Today coverage denigrated all things fuel cell. Chastened, they issued somewhat of an apology in today’s paper.

Apologies are a theme today as China Daily wants their State Standardization Administration to say I’m sorry for issuing a standard for electric bikes and then suspending it and then showing no regret. China claims the world’s biggest bicycle market and almost all of U.S. bikes are imported from them, which may matter in our future if WorldChanging has it right. The publication lists ten top trends for the coming decade and the first one is social transformation through increased bicycle ridership. There are some other interesting predictions like the rise of cellulosic biofuels, the end of cheap oil and get ready for carbon taxes. One California company is saying no to dependence on foreign bikes. Earth2Tech highlights several companies that are enjoying the bounty of green tech funding. Zero Motorcycles (formerly Electricross) recently scored $5.56 million for their electric street and dirt bikes. Not to be outdone, their Santa Monica neighbor CODA Automotive, has managed to raise another $25 million for their electric Sedan which will launch in the U.S. this year. This would be a China-built vehicle.

And, while Vancouver based Westport Innovations does business in China, Blogging Stocks prefers to focus on the impressive advances the company is making with their natural gas engines. Their shares closed up yesterday, they’ve been featured on Jim Cramer’s ‘Mad Money,’ and while Joseph Lazzaro hasn’t given them a rating yet, he’s thinking that with cost competitive engines and tougher diesel emissions standards, Westport is a company worth paying attention to.

Whether the Chinese government has the moxie to apologize for their EV misdeeds, the opiners at China Daily offer this parting thought, “A fall in the pit is a gain in your wit.”

On any given day, one can adopt a cup half-empty or half-full viewpoint of this industry. It’s a way more than half-full day as Amory Lovins gives uplifting, factual examples of how clean transportation momentum is already freeing America from its addiction to oil. His CNN piece begins with a business for profit assumption that his think-and-do tank, Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), chronicled in their 2004 study “Winning the Oil Endgame.” Throw in some oil price spikes, policy innovations, switchgrass based fuel goals and you’ve got an accelerated shift away from oil. One of his examples is an exciting IDEA, a 100-mpg, 1-ton utility/delivery fleet van due out in 2012 from Bright Automotive (a spinoff of RMI). The Anderson, Indiana based manufacturer is going to have company soon in nearby Elkhart. Think CEO Richard Canny will make an announcement today that a new electric vehicle manufacturing plant is moving to town. Wheels says the move means 400 new jobs and global expansion of their Think City vehicle.

It takes guts to change and the Georgetown University Transportation Shuttle (GUTS) is doing their part. The D.C. based campus shot for a 50% reduction in their carbon footprint by 2020 and three years into it they’ve already cleaned up their act by 17%. Biodiesel is their fuel of choice and they are doing very well thank you as they go through 3000-5000 gallons of B20 every few weeks. Driving up demand for biofuels is on many minds as the U.S. sets out to reach the benchmark of 36 billion gallons by 2022. Ethanol Producer Magazine spells out where we are and what we have to do to reach those ambitious targets. You’ve heard it before-more infrastructure, more vehicles and more education.

It’s hard not to be overwhelmed at times by the magnitude of issues like the rise of China and growing resource scarcity. The Times Online opines that the pin in the global warming balloon for Brits was tedium. That is, the going green hullaballoo of the ’00’s is so yesterday. Good grief, what can save us then? How about 10 foot Picassoesque aliens in turquoise speedo bodysuits, bedecked in fetching jewels? Well, maybe. Alice Thomson makes a compelling case that Avatar, the 4th biggest blockbuster of all time in just three weeks, has created an irrepressible and maybe planetary activist enthusiasm among the young set and the parents who buy their popcorn. Will it do for the planet what “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” did for race relations? I’ll have to trust Alice on this as I’m having a hard time putting aliens on my “to do” list.

American writer Mason Cooley said “Human society sustains itself by transforming nature into garbage.” In a delicious turn of events the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tells the tale of how the Altamont landfill east of San Francisco is turning garbage into a nature pleasing fuel. When regulations get tough, the innovative among us turn to landfills and now Waste Management is running 500 garbage and recycling trucks on methane from trash heaps. And, when regulations get tough the litigious among us turn to lawsuits. While there is plenty of legal action surrounding the Clean Truck Program at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the Press-Telegram does a characteristically great job of summarizing the innovation and accomplishments of the program that is a tish over a year old. More regulations took effect as the calendar turned to January and by 2012 the rigs around the ports will be 90% cleaner than those of the 1990’s. As we enter another “green” decade, regulatory, legislative and judicial developments are escalating. To help sift through significant discussions in those arenas, Metro Corporate Counsel offers a detailed review of climate legislation discussions in the U.S. Senate, EPA advances to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, and the role of federal courts in crafting a new body of environmental law.

There’s new automotive eye candy in Detroit, but even with a name as fetching as Olivier Francois, Chrysler can’t seem to get a break. Monsieur Francois has been tasked with the beleaguered manufacturer’s marketing efforts and the Detroit News says he’s not making too many friends as he drops long time partners and declined media opportunities at next week’s North American International Auto Show (formerly known as the Detroit Auto Showz). Said show is the subject of The AutoExtremist provocateur Peter De Lorenzo. He has some nice things to say about Ford and GM but holds a dim view of the “hotbed of green activity” that will dominate the show, questioning whether the fuel efficient, electric vehicle (EVs) set has staying power. Our friends to the North, say au contraire to the idea that the future is in doubt for small, fun-to-drive cars. John LeBlanc writes in the Toronto Star his forecast for the next decade claiming that 2010 will see a transfer of EVs from the lab to the showroom and the landscape will look entirely different ten years later. Between the markets in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries driving demand and the demographics of U.S. buyers trending young and urban, he suggests a very different vehicle mix in the years ahead. My favorite image from all of this, though, was imagined by Peter De Lorenzo who said, “And make no mistake – the national media will be all over the Green aspect of the Detroit show, especially when Nancy Pelosi tours the show on her bike.” He was just kidding but that I would like to see.

While we were all wallowing in holiday leisure, our public servants at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched a nifty vehicle emissions simulator to help fleets figure out how to reduce VOCs, NOx, CO, and PM. Environmental Leader helps the reader wade through the alphabet soup and even provides a link to EPA’s free software download. The ethanol industry is on board with emissions reductions but feels a bit agitato over California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). The Illinois Farm Bureau reports that many state and local farmers are on board with a federal lawsuit filed by ethanol trade groups challenging the constitutionality of the Standard. Meanwhile, eleven northeastern states inked an agreement over the holidays to develop an MOU that will advance lower carbon alternatives to current motor fuels. Connecticut is part of the consortium and StamfordPlus.com predicts an expanding alternative fuels market as a result of the partnership.

There has understandably been much pontification of the “what just happened?” variety as pontificators everywhere reflect on the first decade of the 2000’s. As 2009 came to an end, the federal tax credit for producers of biodiesel expired which the Detroit News portends to be potentially calamitous for the industry. With diesel prices falling by 18% since the recession began, and the U.S. Senate yet to follow the House’s lead to vote on an extension, some are questioning if the alternative fuel benchmark of 36 billion gallons by 2022 can be met. The perky Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) takes a Twainian view of the world suggesting any reports of the demise of biofuels are peskily exaggerated. Domestic Fuel shares RFA’s take on the decade past which sounds pretty darn good. Citing a growth in production from 1.4 to 10.6 billion gallons during that time, and more than $20 billion contributed to federal and state tax revenue, it was the dawning of the age of biofuels. So, who does a curious mind believe? Former Department of Energy (DOE) firebrand Joe Romm puts Andrew Revkin of the New York Times on his list of journalists who strayed the furthest from excellence on climate coverage. I put Andrew Revkin on my list of people I’ve never met who strike me as brilliant. He explains why climate change is the greatest story rarely told from the perspective of a journalist. Culling research and graphs and common sense, Revkin concludes that media coverage absent a direct punch from nature cannot alter that a changing climate has become an accepted fact of our everyday normality. Perhaps the ’10’s will be the decade in which we redefine the norm.