Ever dream of taking a crazy road trip all over the United States? How would you like to do it without using a single bit of gasoline? There’s a show I watched tonight on The Science Channel called Cool Fuel where they do just that. The people on the show put together a plan to take their dream trip across the country using only bio-diesel, geothermal, solar, and other renewable power sources anywhere they come across that they can find it. They even try to work off the costs of their fuel when they can, such as one bio-diesel station they go to where the guy offers to mow the lawn with a solar-powered lawn mower to pay for a fill up. There are all sorts of crazy vehicles they come across on the show such as a one-of-a-kind VW car where the bio-diesel engine is on a trailer pushing it down the road. The show even features a cameo by actor Ed Begley, Jr. who has a solar powered home. If you’re wondering who Ed Begley, Jr. is, you’re probably not alone, but I looked him up on IMDB and this guy has been in everything from Star Trek to Scooby Doo to CSI to… well, Cool Fuel. In fact, here’s a list of his work, over 200 films and TV shows. This guy’s like a real-life version of Troy McClure! Anyway, enough about Mr. Begley… Cool Fuel is not only pretty entertaining due to the crazy inventions they come across, but it’s also very interesting to learn about these vehicles and the different ways to power them. I would recommend it to anyone looking for their options for a renewable energy vehicle or just wanting to learn more about them. 

-LINKS- 
Cool Fuel 
IMDB 
Ed Begley, Jr. 
Troy McClure

One of our main purposes for this website is not only to do something good for the planet, but to also help consumers save money by cutting energy costs. Well, I’ve decided to take that a step further by helping to point out some investments that present ways of hopefully making money for investing in companies that are doing something good for the environment. 

Stock Symbol – Company Name 

• Solar Stocks
o ESLR – Evergreen Solar
o FSLR – First Solar
o SPWR – SunPower
o LDK – LDK Solar Inc.
o YGE – Yingli Green Energy Holding Company

• Wind Stocks
o GE – General Electric (Yes, the General Electric. They’re subsidiary GE Wind is a leader in wind power)
o FPL – FPL Group Inc.

• Ethanol
o GPRE – Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc.
o PEIX – Pacific Ethanol, Inc.
o USBE – US BioEnergy Corporation
o VSE – VeraSun Energy Corp.

• BioMass
o MEOH – Methanex Corporation
o GEYC – Green Energy Corp.

• Hydrogen Fuel Cell
o HYGS – Hydrogenics Corporation
o QTWW – Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Inc.
o FCEL – Fuel Cell Energy
o PLUG – Plug Power Inc.

• Geothermal
o ORA – Ormat Technologies Inc.

• Wave Power
o OPTT – Ocean Power Tech Ocean Power Technologies, Inc.

• Recycling
o AERT – Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies, Inc.
o CSAR – Caraustar Industries, Inc.

• Renewable Energy Automotive
o CLNE – Clean Energy Fuels Corp.
o ENA – Enova Systems Inc.
o SATC – SatCon Technology Corporation

• Green Mutual Funds
o Winslow Green Growth Fund: WGGFX
o PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy: PBW
o Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy Fund: GAAEX

One of the largest electric companies in the United States, Duke Energy, has announced their acquisition of Tierra Energy. Tierra is a company based in Austin, Texas that focuses primarily on wind power development. “As our nation’s appetite for electricity continues to grow, renewable energy will play a larger role in meeting that demand,” said Duke Energy Chairman, President and CEO, James E. Rogers. “This acquisition supports our strategy to increase our investment in renewable energy and national efforts to reduce carbon emissions.” With an increasing focus on renewable energy, we may begin to see a growing number of these types of situations occurring where larger, more established power companies buy up smaller renewable energy companies to gain positions in that market. Read the full press release for more information regarding this acquisition. 

Tierra Energy 
Duke Energy