Clean Tech Book Touts PHEVs; New Website Features
Jun 18, 2007 (From the CalCars-News archive)

The definitive book (so far) on the booming clean tech industry has
just been published -- and PHEVs and CalCars are front and center.
Details are the last item on this posting.

But first, here's a roundup of accumulated important items.

CALCARS.ORG IMPROVEMENTS
* GERMAN & JAPANESE CALCARS PAGES: We have the beginnings of a
multi-lingual site: if you look at the CalCars home page, you'll see
small Japanese and German flags. They link to directories containing
translations of the home page and from there to the top (summary) of
the all-important What Carmakers Say About PHEVs page. Thanks to
Matt, Akiko and Paul for their help...they're moving ahead with a few
other pages, and would welcome help!
We'd like to continue the expansion (Wikipedia is in over 100
Languages, so why not Calcars?) If you're a native speaker of another
language and have the time and perhaps some translating experience
(or if you spot significant errors in what we have), please write to
info@... with the appropriate subject line.

* WHERE PHEVS ARE: TALLY NEARS 50
<http://www.calcars.org/where-phevs-are.html> has been significantly
expanded, including European Priuses and some PHEV school buses.
* HOW TO GET PAGE UPDATED: <http://www.calcars.org/howtoget.html> now
includes more players, while emphasizing that individuals can't
easily get conversions.
* CARMAKERS PAGE UPDATED: We've modified the summaries of automakers
at <http://www.calcars.org/carmakers.html> and added new specific entries.


OTHER PLUG-IN RESOURCES
VIDEO: Watch a great two-minute video featuring thirteen-year-old Jed
U'Ren, shown enjoying his family's EV-1 when he was six and now
wanting "to plug in my first car just like I plug in my electric guitar."
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTKK9R6Ylcs>
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: See New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson's
2.5-minute video "Energy Plan: Bring Plug-In Cars to market." He
promises a plug-in summit within 30 days of taking office in February
2009. Richardson, former Congressman and US Secretary of Energy notes
that Tesla will build EVs in his state.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv6j9Y5yFpk&mode=related&search=%20a%202:31>

SPEAKING OF WIKIPEDIA, the entry for PHEVs
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plug-in_hybrid> is now much improved
thanks to volunteers working with CalCars and many others, but can
always get better.

PHEVS AS READING/VIEWING MATERIAL: In recent weeks,
PlugInAmerica.org, with the cooperation of SetAmericaFree.org, has
distributed copies of the book, Plug-In Hybrids, The Cars that Will
Recharge America," by Sherry Boschert, and the DVD, "Who Killed the
Electric Car," to all 535 members of the House and Senate, and has
also distributed them to every state's Governor. We hope they're
reading and viewing! Plug In America is celebrating its second
anniversary (it was initially called DontCrush.com: The Campaign To
Save Electric Cars)


NEW BOOK PICKS CALCARS, HIGHLIGHTS PHEVS
The Clean Tech Revolution: The Next Big Growth and Investment
Opportunity, 308 pages, $26.95, is written by Ron Pernick and Clint
Wilder -- among the most well-known writers, advisors and conference
organizers in Clean Tech. Collins, Its publisher says it "highlights
breakthrough clean-tech opportunities, potential roadblocks and
pitfalls, and pioneering individuals, companies, and regions around
the world," and describes it as "a groundbreaking book that shows how
clean-tech markets offer the best opportunity for wealth creation in
a generation while solving some of the greatest issues facing humankind."

The authors identify 10 companies in each of eight clean-tech
sectors: solar energy, wind power, biofuels and biomaterials, green
buildings, personal transportation, smart grid,mobile technologies,
water filtration. Companies were chosen based on growth and industry
influence in the near to mid-term

Even though it's a non-profit, CalCars.org was named on the Ten to
Watch list of companies in the chapter, Personal Transportation:
Designing Ultra-Efficient, Low-Emissions, High-Performance Vehicles.
"Our Ten to Watch lists at the end of each chapter highlight
companies that are playing a significant role in the growth and
innovation of the clean-tech industry," said Pernick. "We chose ten
companies, whether public or private, that are poised to make an impact."

The Top 10 in Personal Transportation are CalCars, Chery, EEStor,
General Motors, Honda, REVA Electric Car, Tesla Motors, Toyota,
Valence Technology and Vectrix. (We're first on the list because it's
alphabetical!) The citation concludes, "But regardless of its future
business plans, or whether these plans eventually make money, CalCars
will continue to be a key PHEV player to watch for its advocacy,
technology leadership, and grass-roots influence in an industry that
often needs a good kick from the outside."

Repeatedly, PHEVs are described as offering "compelling growth
opportunities for entrepreneurs (and their investors) to work with
the big companies on battery technologies and other key components."
And Flex-Fuel PHEVs are described as a "Breakthrough Opportunity."
And electric vehicles and electric bikes and scooters are also
singled out for their great prospects.

MORE ABOUT THE BOOK
The book manages to include information that's only a few months old
-- unusual for a book from a major publisher! And on other subjects,
the authors are on the nose in analyzing the cost disadvantages of
unsubsidized nuclear power, the myth of "clean coal," the
disadvantages of corn ethanol, and the opportunities for solar and wind power.

The book is available at bookstores and online. At
http://www.thecleantechrevolution.com/ you can read reviews and
download the introduction and chapter on solar energy. We'll close
with some endorsements and blurbs:

"Should be required reading for any responsible citizen of this planet."
-Guy Kawasaki, Managing Director, Garage Technology Ventures, and
Author of The Art of the Start

"Greentech is the next right thing. And this book is an important
reader for anyone--venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, policymakers,
scientists, business strategists, or consumers--interested in the
next wave of technological innovation."
-John Doerr, Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers

"Thomas Friedman's book The World is Flat helped people recognize
that globalization is pervasive. Similarly, The Clean Tech Revolution
shows us that clean energy has arrived and will have a far-reaching
impact on the global economy."
-Bob Greifeld, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Nasdaq
Stock Market, Inc.

"If you ever wondered whether clean tech is a real industry with
serious companies, read Ron Pernick and Clint Wilder's authoritative
book. Investors, entrepreneurs, and clean-tech executives will find
its concise listings and descriptions invaluable."
-William K Reilly, Founding Partner, Aqua International Partners, and
Former Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

"Pernick and Wilder provide a practical guide to becoming involved in
America's next great entrepreneurial frontier."
-Nancy E. Pfund, Managing Director, JPMorgan

"The Clean Tech Revolution is a blueprint for the future. By
chronicling the gestation of the clean-tech industry, Pernick and
Wilder have set the stage for understanding our next Silicon Valley
and the entrepreneurs, investors, technologies, and companies that
are making it happen.
-Nancy Floyd, Founder and Managing Director, Nth Power

"The biggest market opportunity today is to find alternatives to the
earth's diminishing resources. This is the definitive guide on how to
make money by protecting the environment."
-Gavin Newsom, mayor of San Francisco