"Sweet" Barrel of Oil out of Thin Air!

Can't Spell Delight with out GE??
Its been about a week since Valentines Day and that box of chocolates is down to those few flavors we're not all that thrilled to eat, and they just sit there, waiting to be eaten. It appears though that the sweets we love and enjoy may not taste so sweet in the near future. For the first time, Roundup ready crops of sugar beets are now available.

Monsantos (manufacturer of the broad spectrum weed killer Roundup) has introduced a Genetically Engineered sugar beet that can withstand direct application of Roundup. In conjunction with this new sugar beet, the FDA has changed the allowable residue limit of the active ingredient found in Roundup, Glyphosate, to be present in higher doses. Inevitably, the Glyphosate will end up in some for or another in the processed sugar. Hopefully enough of the public will hear about this and possibly change the course of action. But I doubt anything happens...

Out of Thin Air
In something that seems like science fiction, two scientists at Los Alamos (yes, that Los Alamos) have proposed a plan to help fight two of the big battles of our times. Our dependence on fossil fuels and the resulting greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels.

The two scientists have provided a plan that they say can take CO2 and convert it into synthetic fuels by known and proven scientific methods. As one of the researches states "Everything in the concept has been built, is operating or has a close cousin that is operating," which is a step up from many such "solutions" that has been presented. BUT there is one little wrinkle to this solution. The process of converting CO2 into synthetic fuel requires, you guessed it, a great deal of energy. To be viable on a commercial scale, the processing plant would be required to have its own dedicated power plant to provide the energy needed, preferably nuclear or some other clean power technology.

Though there are several blockades before this technology would become viable, it may be an interesting twist to the climate change challenge we are starting to face. It would undoubtedly take a tremendous amount of capital and resources to replace the vast oil empire, but imagine if the car of the future already sits in your drive way! It defiantly makes for an interesting challenge to conventional thinking on the climate change subject!

What Lies Ahead?
Oil bounced back over $100 yesterday and its been a surprise at how fast it has risen. It only seemed that a couple of days ago it was back down to around $86 and was looking to go further. But a falling dollar and a couple of key issues have seemed to push investors back into the oil markets. Bernanke is saying that he is willing to cut interest rates again (great) and Mr. Chavez has been talking his rhetoric once more.

The underlying principles of supply and demand appear to be thrown out the window. The latest report the AIE shows that gasoline stocks are nearing a 14 year high for this time of year in the U.S. and crude supplies are above average. Demand for fuels and oil derived products are also slowing, but the prices keep rising. This summer is expected to see another record U.S. average for fuel prices, and unfortunately, my run of NEVER paying for $3 gas may soon come to an end. We shall see.
Cheers!