When it comes to knowing where our energy comes from, we don't know jack. The American Petroleum Institute asked 20 multiple choice questions, and not a single question was answered correctly by half of the people, and in most cases the right answer was given by less than 15 percent of respondents.

So do you think you know oil? Here are 10 questions, and see how you do. Answers below, but no cheating.

1. What percentage of the world’s 10 biggest oil and natural gas companies are owned and operated by foreign governments?

A) 10%
B) 50%
C) 70%
D) 100%

2. According to 2006 projections, what percentage of global energy demand in 2030 will be met by fossil fuels, such as oil, natural gas and coal?

A) 21%
B) 41%
C) 61%
D) 81%

3. From 2000 through 2005, U.S. oil and natural gas companies invested how many billions of dollars in emerging energy technologies in North America (such as biomass, wind, solar, alternative fuel vehicles, gas-to-liquids and oil shale)?

A) $1 to less than $25 billion
B) $25 to less than $50 billion
C) $50 to less than 75 billion
D) $75 to 100 billion

4. According to Oil and Gas Journal, at 2006 production rates, how many years will the global "known reserves" of oil last?

A) 20
B) 40
C) 50
D) 60

5. According to 2007 data, what percentage of U.S. energy use is currently supplied by renewable sources?

A) 0% to less than 10%
B) 10% to less than 20%
C) 20% to less than 30%
D) 30% or more

6. According to 2007 projections, what percentage of U.S. energy will be supplied by renewable sources by 2030?

A) 0% to less than 10%
B) 10% to less than 20%
C) 20% to less than 30%
D) 30% or more

7. What percentage of gasoline used in the U.S. would be replaced by ethanol, using current corn-based production technology, if every acre of corn was used for ethanol production exclusively?

A) 0 to 10%
B) 11% to 25%
C) 26% to 40%
D) 41% to 55%

8. What percentage of cars on the road today are designed to operate using the fuel E-85 (a fuel mixture that is 15% gasoline and 85% ethanol)?

A) 0% to 5%
B) 6% to 10%
C) 11% to 15%
D) 16% to 20%

9. In 2030, what percentage of the U.S. light-duty car fleet will be made up of flexible fuel vehicles able to run on E-85 (a fuel mixture that is 15% gasoline and 85% ethanol)?

A) 0% to 5%
B) 6% to 10%
C) 11% to 15%
D) 16% to 20%

10. In 2006, the U.S. imported what percentage of its oil?

A) 20%
B) 40%
C) 60%
D 80%

Answers: D D D C A A B A A C

An emerging technology that uses mirrors to concentrate solar power is being reviewed by the electric utilities' industry association. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) is evaluating concentrated solar, which uses reflectors to intensify the sun's rays to generate greater amounts of electricity.

Solar concentrating systems are being developed by Solaria, Soliant Energy, and others and have the advantage of producing more energy per square foot.

If EPRI concludes that the technology is feasible, you can look for many of the biggest utilities to start building plants.

Source: Yahoo News.

Toyota will introduce a new hybrid model (as opposed to hybrid-izing an existing line) in 2009, according to BusinessWeek. The new model will be between the Prius and Camry in power, and is seen as a way to increase market share while fending off clean diesels.

By the time the Toyota-to-be-named later rolls into dealerships in 2009, the competition from hybrids from GM and Chrysler will be much greater, as well as new diesels from Volkswagen and Honda.

The fuel efficient market has gaping holes between compacts and SUVs, and this mainstream category will likely see a bevy of new models. The new options will put pressure on car companies to lower prices, and the mass production of the electric drive trains and batteries should lower the costs for all hybrids. All good news for drivers who care about their environmental footprint and the cost of transportation.

The Department of Energy will give $125 million to fund a biofuel research center that will be lead by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The Bioenergy Science Center will also receive $61 million from the state of Tennessee and will be owned by the University of Tennessee.

The center will conduct research centered around converting cellulose from switchgrass and poplar trees into ethanol. Areas of research include developing plants whose cellulose and lignin can be more easily broken down into sugar, organisms that can break down the plants into fuel, and new processes for breaking down plant cell walls to get to the cellulose more easily.

Cellulosic ethanol is more than likely the fuel that will be powering flex fuel vehicles in the future since corn-based ethanol lacks the energy density to make it practical to displace even a small percentage of petroleum. Research like this is key to creating sustainable transportation, and public funds should be directed here with the intent to license the technology to companies to get back some of the tax dollars.

Also participating in the project are Dartmouth College, the University of Georgia, the Georgia Institute of Technology, the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and companies ArborGen. Verenium and Mascoma.

New ownership and the threat of federal fuel efficiency mandates has awoken Chrysler from it gas-guzzling coma.

Chrysler product development chief Frank Klegon told Reuters that the company was pushing ahead with new diesel and hybrid vehicles. Chrysler had been seeing its market share fall while Honda and Toyota's more fuel efficient cars gained popularity, but the company and its army of lobbyists continued to proclaim that making fuel efficient cars wasn't feasible.

Now with new owners Cerberus Capital Management calling the shots, the company is building on its plans to offer hybrid vehicles with new enthusiasm for gas electric and diesel vehicles. The company is developing dual-mode hybrids that adapt to city and highway driving, as well as a new four-cylinder diesel model.

In a reversal, the company recently testified before Congress that fuel efficiency wasn't possible, but now that Congress will likely require raising the bar, Chrysler says it can in fact build competitive cars.

Chrysler's Klegon said hybrid and diesels could be 30 percent of the market. If Europe can be 50 percent or more diesel (which requires less oil to produce, helping the environment on the refining side as well), then the U.S. can certainly reach 30 percent.

There must have been an earthquake in California that I didn't hear about because it seems as though the liberal republic of Berkeley has moved ten miles west.

Tap water will do just fine for city workers in San Francisco, according to Mayor Gavin Newsom. The city, which earlier this year placed a prohibition on plastic bags, will no longer spend money for city workers on bottled water, according to Reuters.

This makes business sense for the city, saving up to $500,000. Grumbling workers should be given free water bottles (from recycled plastic of course) to keep their whistles wet by refilling from the tap. Many studies have shown that bottled water is no healthier than tap water, and producing all of those plastic bottles and delivering them via truck is taking an environmental toll. Buying a filter for the tap is cheaper and may be better for you.

A new processing plant will be turning waste oil and animal fat into biodiesel using a new technology that can work with a variety of feedstock. Sanimax Energy of DeForest, Wisconsin, is using processing technology from Nova Biosource Fuel that is agnostic to the feedstock -- used vegetable oil, soy oil, canola oil or animal fat, according to Biodiesel Magazine.

Free-fatty-acid is more difficult for biodiesel plants to process because of the soap byproduct that must be removed. Being able to process any type of feedstock would accelerate the growth of the biodiesel industry since plants would not have to be customized.

Biodiesel and ethanol are likely to come from a variety of sources and making the production process as uniform as possible is critical. Restaurant grease and animal fat are advantageous since they don't require growing additional crops. More initiatives for collecting restaurant waste such as what is being done in California would likely spring up once processors have reliable technology.

Brazilian company HandCase is distributing free downloadable software for keeping track of your CO2 emissions and to purchase carbon offsets on your Palm OS mobile devices. C02 Global enables you to estimate your emissions, and to manage the certificates that you purchase.

Judging from the press release and the website, Handcase is much more comfortable writing in Portuguese than in English, but versions of the software have popped up on many download sites. I'm sure Handcase won't be the last company to look at tracking C02 emissions on a mobile platform.