September 2006 Digest

It has been five years since the alarms rang.

When the Twin Towers were hit many naive assumptions about the limits of zealot behavior were crushed. As they fell, worldwide compacts on human decency (the lives of the innocent) and cultural advancement (the growth of individual freedom and material currency) were shattered. The truth behind our renewed sense of vulnerability became uncomfortably clear - we aren't living in a balanced world.

The political and religious battles will rage on, financed in part by our payments to the region because of our over-dependence on fossil fuels. How do we reduce the intense, cross-cultural friction that exposed this tectonic shift in human relations? What can we do to convert the "feedstocks" of looming catastrophe into new energy and light?

Witness the rustling of positive change all over the world. Energy production is decentralizing, venture capitalists are marshalling their resources, political partisans are finding common cause, a visionary consortium is matching the dovetailing needs of under- and over-developed regions of the world, waste and pollution are being addressed with new biotechnology.

Here are September's stories that give us pause, hope, and direction:

General Topics--------------
• Microdiesel: Bacteria engineered to produce biodiesel
• Advancements in "BioConversion"
• Developing Ethanol's Side-stream Chemicals
• Decentralized Renewable Energy Builds Communities
• 9/11 Observance - Where do YOU stand?
• Both Reds and Blues Go Green on Energy
• Reducing Biofuel Risk through Feedstock Diversification
• Khosla Revs All Cylinders to Back Ethanol
• Energy Venture Capital Funding Jumps in 2006

Vehicles--------------
• Hybrids Plus claims 100+ MPG

Around the Nation--------------
• CALIFORNIA: National Latino Congreso Endorses Conversion Technologies
• CALIFORNIA: Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006
• FLORIDA: County to Vaporize Trash
• IOWA: Ethanol, today and tomorrow

Around the World-----------------
• WORLDWIDE: The Poor as Producers

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