Norway announced that beginning next month, no car advertisements will be allowed to state that a vehicle is clean or environmentally friendly. An ad can't even state that a car produces a low amount of carbon dioxide, because that may mislead buyers into thinking that the car emits low amounts of nitrous oxide and other polluting particles.

If an advertisement does cross the line, the auto manufacturer will be fined.

Is this a case of a country just stating the truth? Yes, no car is actually good for the environment. Or is this going too far? Most people will continue to buy and drive cars no matter what advertisements appear. Shouldn't we at least try to get them to buy ones with the least negative impact?

So researchers are ready to switch to grasses like switchgrass as a possible source of ethanol. It requires less irrigation and fertilizer than corn, successfully filters out pollutants that run off from farm fields, and holds up well in droughts.

The only problem is that scientists haven't perfected how to extract the grass's sugars, which are chemically locked up and harder to extract than those in corn, in order to obtain the right concentrations of alcohol needed to turn it into ethanol. Until that becomes feasible, the grass can be used like hay to feed cattle, and the University of Maryland has turned it into heating oil and uses it to heat a maintenance building and a greenhouse.

EthosGen, a Dallas-based enterprise, patented a method for deriving ethanol from grasses and is searching for a location to test that process on a large scale. The process combines enzymes with a genetically-engineered grass strain to develop ethanol.

Cornell University is also experimenting with grasses in a state where 90 percent of New York's energy needs are met by imported oil and natural gas. Governor Eliot Spitzer's new energy initiative calls for the state to get 25 percent of its energy needs from renewable resources by 2013. If grasses can successfully and economically be turned into ethanol, it would be a major push toward that goal.

Perhaps the wave of the future will be weed-like, golden and billowing in the wind.

The entire list is below, but here are my favorites:

Phoenix Motorcars - unlike Tesla motors, they are building mass-market electric vehicles and have been at the forefront of technology innovation using advanced batteries. Cobasys/EEStor/A123 - one of these battery companies will likely have a breakthrough in developing batteries to power plug-in hybrid vehicles that can go a minimum of 50 miles on a single charge Gridpoint- is developing technology to bring the power grid out of the 20th century to make it more reliable and energy efficient. As the people of Southern California know, this is one of the most important missions for securing our energy infrastructure. Verdant Power - developing hydropower that doesn't require dams to block waterways Konarka Technologies - thin film solar could put renewable energy generation anywhere the sun shines

Automotive & Transportation AC Propulsion CleanAir Logix Myers Motors Mygistics Phoenix Motorcars PML Tesla Motors Think Global ZENN Motor Company

Biofuel & Agriculture Altra Biofuels Amyris Biotechnologies Chemrec Cilion ClearFuels Technology E3 Biofuels Gevo Greenfuel Technologies Imperium Renewables LS9 Mascoma Mendel Biotechnology RangeFuels Solazyme Targeted Growth

Energy Management & Efficiency Blade Network Technologies H2Gen Innovations Silver Spring Networks SmartSynch Verdiem

Energy Storage A123 Systems Bloom Energy Cobasys Deeya Energy EEStor GridPoint **OVERALL WINNER** Jadoo Power Lilliputian Systems ZPower

Nanotech & Materials Artificial Muscle d.light design EoPlex Technologies FiberTech Polymers Hycrete Nanoexa Nanostellar Serious Materials Space-X

Clean Energy (not solar or biofuel) Airtricitiy CoalTek General Compression Great Point Energy Nordic Windpower Orion Energy Powerspan Verdant Power

Solar Ausra Better Energy Systems BrightSource Energy Daystar Technologies Energy Innovations HelioVolt Innovalight Konarka Technologies Miasolé Nanosolar Silicon Valley Solar Solaicx SolarCity Solaria Solexant SolFocus Stion Stirling Energy Systems

Waste Management Earthanol EnerTech Environmental Intechra iReuse LanzaTech MBA Polymers TechTurn Ze-Gen

Water AbTech Industries Aqua Sciences Aquarius Technologies Atlantium Technologies Bio-Pure Technology Derceto EnviroTower GeoPure Water Technologies IDE Technologies Industrial Plug and Play MicroviBiotech MIOX Corporation NanoH2O Novazone P2W Pollution To Water PAX Water Technologies Poseidon Resources Seven Seas Water Superall Products

It's good news for the environment, and for FuelCell Energy, Inc. shareholders, whose shares rose after the announcement on Aug. 30.

Four companies that received funding include:

-- AccuWater – seeded by the Central Texas Angel Network, AccuWater™ Irrigation Control is an intelligent, Internet-based irrigation system that curbs overwatering by 20 to 50 percent and virtually eliminates run-off
-- HelioVolt – a solar start-up specializing in the development of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) for thin-film solar panels recently secured $77 million to build a manufacturing plant capable of producing 20 megawatts worth of solar panels annually
-- Skyonic – a privately-held angel funded company that designed a proprietary technology, the SkyMine™ process to convert power plant emissions into commercial-grade chemicals that can be recycled into numerous industrial application
-- Xtreme Power – designs, manufactures and markets power systems products capable of storing, conditioning, and leveling electricity at extremely high efficiencies from 100KW through megawatt range. Currently, the company is working with the National Science Foundation as a clean power source for research at the South Pole.

Austin Energy is ranked as the top green energy program in the country by the DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and SustainLane ranked Austin as the top city for clean technology.

These investment pay back the city with jobs and tax revenue that can pay back the tax incentives several times over.

So take that Silicon Valley!

McDonald's offered Big Macs for $1.58, or 150 yen, to anyone who would simply download a form from the government site and check off up to 39 boxes as a promise to perform acts that would reduce carbon dioxide emissions contributing to global warming, such as cutting air conditioning use or reducing shower time. Customers could print the forms or show them on their mobile phones when buying their McMeal.

McDonald's is one of more than 80 companies offering goods or prizes to help Japan's drive to reduce greenhouse gases.

Is this a case of altruism or false promises to satisfy the craving for a greasy Big Mac? It's great that the Japanese government is urging its citizens to make changes, but checking off boxes is hardly a sign of action. Perhaps instead of making a promise, customers could take alternative transportation to the restaurants rather than driving, or show a lowered electricity bill or a receipt for fluorescent light bulbs. Or McDonald's could convert all its leftover fry oil to biofuel, like it plans do in Britain.

The site, launched September 5, aggregates news feeds about corporate sustainability and green PR.

But the site's most interesting features center around four forums: "The Whistle," about whether corporations are violating laws designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; "The Long View," about long-term profit-maximizing, carbon footprint-reducing investments corporations can make; "Value Added," about steps corporations can take toward developing or implementing CO2 capturing or sequestering technologies; and the "Deconstruction Zone," about the accuracy of a company's corporate environmental responsibility report.

If used widely, this could leave a much greater impact than getting everyone out of the office to paint homes for a weekend. This could be a venue for unleashing truths about corporations' policies including unveiling "greenwashing" hypocrisy, sharing tips and incentives to improve corporations' effects on the environment, and rewarding companies doing well.

However, at least chairman Robert C. Olsen recognized global warming and realizes that fossil fuels are contributing.

ExxonMobil is basically alone among the energy companies in not diversifying. While Chevron, Shell and BP see alternative energy as a long term opportunity, Exxon is maximizing profits quarter-to-quarter by not investing in research or testing the alternative waters.

If I were an investor, I'd be nervous about Exxon's myopia. If a carbon tax and or carbon cap and trade system (or breakthrough in electric vehicles or solar) occurs, the company could lose much of its value in a hurry.

The problem is how to pay for the expensive transmission lines that would link the region up with the eastern power grid. Colorado residents might be asked to pay for the lines, but that doesn't seem quite fair. This presents an opportunity for investors or energy companies to bridge the gap (so to speak) by financing the transmission lines and then renting them to the utilities. State governments could also help by providing incentives to invest in transmission lines, which would create new revenue while expand the use of renewable power.

Technical innovation would also help to make transmission lines more affordable, and has gotten the attention of some major venture capitalists.

Being close is sometimes better than having the best weather conditions. Even if the total sunlight is less than provided by the Southwest, putting a solar power plant near urban centers can be advantageous. The Exelon-Epuron Solar Energy Center,, a 3.7 gigawatt plant near Philadelphia will be the 4th largest in the country.

And consumers are pushing the industry to take action. Hundreds camped out at Heathrow Airport two weeks ago to protest air travel's effects on climate change.

But aviation officials are also searching for an answer. Carbonfund.org has now partnered with jet charter company Jets.com so jet-setting clients can choose to offset the carbon footprint they create while using private jets.

Customers can choose to purchase the offset online in addition to the cost of their flights. Jets.com set up an online system that calculates the carbon offset cost depending on the specific jet's carbon dioxide rate and charges the customers $5.50 for each CO2 metric ton used during the estimated flight time.

Those charges will then go to Carbonfund.org for reforestation programs throughout the United States.

The private jet industry isn't the only form of air travel looking to better its ways. The U.S. military and commercial airlines are hopping on board as well.

The Department of Defense is researching how to create jet fuel out of organic matter. The military hopes to reduce its dependence on expensive foreign oil, although the environmental benefits shouldn't be ignored.

The United States burned 25 million gallons of jet fuel in 2004, which equates to about 240 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Meanwhile, Virgin Atlantic Airways aims to fly a Boeing 747 on biofuels in 2008. And Boeing unveiled the new 787 Dreamliner, which purportedly uses 20 percent less fuel than similar-sized aircraft. Plus, Boeing and Airbus aim to fly their jetliners on biofuels within five to 10 years.

If people won't stop flying, improving aviation's fuel efficiency and lessening its dependence on oil is the next best thing.

Unlike batteries that stores chemical energy, ultracapacitors store energy in an electric field. The advantages include lighter weight and faster recharge times than batteries, so a car with a range of 500 miles could be recharged in a matter of minutes.

EESTor has been quiet about its development and many folks are skeptical that they can build reliable products. However, astute VC firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers has given the company several million dollars, so they must have something substantial to offer.

If, and this is a big if, ultracapacitors can function as promised, they could make electric vehicles competitive in many applications.