WEEKEND

Read a report that China by '09 had 97% control of active molybdenum mining (to add to their control in rare earth minerals and lithium, growing control in fossil fuels and clean energy, along with sovereign wealth funds of trillions.) Wish we were doing that well. But I read on that there's a huge moly deposit in Idaho. Big enough for world demand for a decade. Worth $70B. So, we're not completely screwed. Yet.

World solar industry projected to be $70B by '15.

Our government put off a decision to raise ethanol blend in gasoline until fall. Well, what's fall? Elections. The corn states' vote. The closer to elections, the more those voters will remember that democrats raised their farm business demand (but all the rest of voters won't see higher food prices until after elections). My bet is it gets raised to 12% (a 20% increase). But I hope there's no raise. Also heard on Farm Report that the corn market's already getting tight. With no politicians with the guts to say no food for fuel, I guess we just have to wait until all the corn eth and soybean biodiesel plants get converted over to cellulosic and other non-food stock plants. And never buy a corn ethanol or soybean biodiesel stock.

Obama gave the job of Gulf oversight as a second job to Secretary of Navy. What the hell. Is that his way of paring the deficit? And Hayward out yacht racing. As one Gulf resident put it, put a skimmer on the back of that yacht and sail it over to the Gulf. Unbelievable. I'm praying all the oil is out of the Gulf before the first hurricane. Right now it looks like neither the government or BP are doing all they can for that to happen.

What the hell's going on! TVA put a moratorium on their solar subsidy program for homes and businesses. Gone through $30M of $50M allocated. And BLM has added on MegaWatt capacity fees to normal market value land lease costs for solar that are tiered by technology so that it's a disincentive for the more efficient techs and charging, in cases, twice as much as market value.

It would take 15K sq.mi. - 10M acres - of algae production to replace all US fuel use. Equal to 1/7th of US land in corn production. An acre of algae can produce 5K gallons of diesel/year.