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The New York Times has a Q&A about growing our way out of petroleum dependence.
"ETHANOL is on a roll, increasingly promoted as a homegrown alternative to oil from the Middle East. But is ethanol really the fuel of the future, or is it destined to remain a niche product in the Midwest, subsidized by Congress for the benefit of farm-state politicians? Here are some basic questions and answers:"
AdAge reports that BMW Motorcycles has " ... selected Concept Farm, New York, as its new agency of record for its estimated $2 million motorcycle account." On-line marketing of expensive low volume motorcycles makes a lot of sense.
"The brand plans to boost its online presence, because word-of-mouth among riders is more effective and more efficient than advertising, he [Laurence Kuykendall, the marketing communications manager at BMW Motorrad USA] said. 'Not that we are anti-advertising,'"
BMW has long had a strong on-line presence and its good that they recognize its success and plan to expand.
The AdAge story includes a picture of the soon to be discontinued BMW F650 motorcycle.
Like most complex subjects, opinion about energy supplies and renewable energy has been formed from supposition, anecdotes, politics and hope rather than engineering or scientific fact. The World Bank has put together a Renewable Energy Toolkit.
"REToolKit provides a broad set of tools to assist Bank staff and country counterparts to improve the design and implementation of renewable energy (RE) projects, incorporates best practices and lessons learned from RE projects supported by the WBG and others, and is operationally oriented to address practical implementation needs at each stage in the project cycle."
The promise is that it will "evolve over time."
Moving energy from the source to the consumer has never been simple and most of us know that politics can either grease the skids or plug the pipes. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas just published Running in Empty? How Economic Freedom Affects Oil Supplies.
"When it comes to increasing oil production, economic systems matter quite a bit. More oil would flow onto world markets and prices would be lower if major oil resources were in countries where producers responded freely to market incentives. The extent of economic freedom in the countries with the world's oil supplies will greatly affect how well that oil is delivered to consumers."
It includes some interesting numbers on the size and growth of proven reserves, where they're located and why there is hope for the future.
Toyota has created an eco-friendly persona headed by the hybrid Prius sedan, a step up in technology, economy, size and price from the iconic Corolla fuel sipper and now supported by a cast of Yaris econoboxes. At the same time critics give Toyota a pass on the V8 Land Cruiser, V8 Tundra pickup and a showroom full of high glitter high performance Lexus luxury and performance vehicles. While Congress and consumers complain about $3.00 gasoline Toyota creates TV ads with the headline, "The new 268 horsepower Camry."
And the poster child for everything that has ever or will ever go wrong with the earth's ecology? Hummer. The folks at GM must be wondering exactly when they lost control. And how they're going to get it back.
