Bill Gates invests in ethanol .

[JohnWxy]

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=17&art_id=16737&sid=7537147&con_type=1

Firms pumped up about ethanol

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates plans to invest US$84 million (HK$655.2 million) in ethanol, and fellow computer pioneers are following that strategy in anticipation that technology will help wean America from its oil addiction.

Tom Cahill

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates plans to invest US$84 million (HK$655.2 million) in ethanol, and fellow computer pioneers are following that strategy in anticipation that technology will help wean America from its oil addiction.
Gates' Cascade Investments this month intends to buy a stake in Pacific Ethanol of California, which says it will become the largest seller of corn-based fuel additives on the US West Coast.

Vinod Khosla, founder of Sun Microsystems, the world's fourth-largest maker of computer servers for networks, is financing ethanol research.

And Robert Metcalfe, co-founder of 3Com of Massachusetts, who helped invent Ethernet, the protocol for connecting computers, is testing a system to convert smokestack emissions into power-plant fuels.

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"Ethanol is a huge market," Khosla said. "I think it can replace all of our petroleum needs, or at least a majority. That creates a very creates a big opportunity that's very susceptible to technology."

Khosla Ventures, backed by his own money, plans to invest about 40 percent of its capital in alternative energy, though he declined to detail how much he is investing or the size of his fund.

Khosla is co-chairing a proposed ballot initiative in California that would tax oil extraction and use some of the proceeds for alternate energy.

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James Clark, founder of Netscape Communications and Silicon Graphics, said the US government, not venture capitalists, should be spending more to develop new energy sources.

"Give me US$35 billion and 10 years," Clark said March 21 at Stanford University, where he used to be an associate professor.

"I will guarantee that we have some viable alternatives. That seems a small expenditure to guarantee a future source of energy." BLOOMBERG

INteresting note. I couledn't get this Bloomberg story off any sites in the U.S. Whenever I went tothe site the story jsut didn't show up on the screen. I had to go to China to get it (© 2005 The Standard, Sing Tao Media Corporation.)!

[phantom power]

1. Bill Gates also invested in DOS and Windows.

So, I don't consider old Bill to be much of an authority on good technology choices :-)

[greenman3610]

4. well, he didn't do to badly for himself

[phantom power]

5. He did extremely well. But it wasn't because he chose the best tech.

[JohnWxy]

8. He didnt' have any time. IBM descended on him with an offer and he knew he

better give them an affirmative answer right then. IBM's reps asked: "Can you supply us an operating system for our PC?". After he said "Surrrre I can." He and Ballmer had to rush around fast and find one! They bought it from a Computer Science professor for (I think, $200,000!). That's what they call "entrepreneurial spirit", ... or chutzpah.

One has to wonder, does he see a great opportunity just waiting for someone to grab it, again? (actually, I don't wonder at all.)

Also, from the article (I guess you missed it):

"Vinod Khosla, founder of Sun Microsystems, the world's fourth-largest maker of computer servers for networks, is financing ethanol research."
~~
"Ethanol is a huge market," Khosla said. "I think it can replace all of our petroleum needs, or at least a majority. That creates a very creates a big opportunity that's very susceptible to technology."

"Khosla Ventures, backed by his own money, plans to invest about 40 percent of its capital in alternative energy, though he declined to detail how much he is investing or the size of his fund."

...and:

James Clark, founder of Netscape Communications and Silicon Graphics, said the US government, not venture capitalists, should be spending more to develop new energy sources.

"Give me US$35 billion and 10 years," Clark said March 21 at Stanford University, where he used to be an associate professor.

"I will guarantee that we have some viable alternatives. That seems a small expenditure to guarantee a future source of energy."

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Gates, Vinod Khosla, James Clark, all in all, a pretty bright group of guys.

[Massacure]

9. $50,000 not $200,000

[JohnWxy]

13. $50,000? Jesus!!

BTW, Loved the bumber sticker!

[Dead_Parrot]

2. Damn...

I'm sticking to regular gas, then. I don't want my car crashing every 3 days, locks springing open when you kick them and an engine that need a an upgrade every 6 weeks...

[Oerdin]

3. California phased out MTBE

And now requires all gasoline to use ethanol as an oxygenating agent. That's likely why he's investing in California and not in Washington. BTW I recall when MTBE was forced through by the Sierra Club in California that most scientists all said ethanol would be better since a tiny amount of MTBE can turn vast amounts of ground water completely and utterly unusable. But the "environmentalists" at the Sierra Club wouldn't listen and rammed MTBE down everyones throats telling them it will clean the air in LA. Any oxygenating substance would have work and we do now have cleaner air, however, as the scientists predicted MTBE has fouled vast stretches of groundwater and made it entirely unusable.

I wish we'd let sound science dictate these things instead of uninformed people who haven't a clue what they're doing.

[Kolesar]

6. I'd like to see a reference on your MTBE tale of woe

don't want bullshit becoming common knowledge, now do we?

[Oerdin]

11. By and large...

I like the Sierra Club since they aren't nearly as extremist as groups like Green Peace. Their hearts were in the right place to work towards getting an oxyginating agent in gasoline as that helps to reduce unburned hydrocarbons thus reducing smog. The problem was they ignored the scientists and instead pushed for MTBE as the only solution. They had a point that MTBE was cheaper then ethanol and thus easier to get ramped up but unlike ethanol MTBE is water soluable and and highly persistant. If they knew anything about chemistry then they would have know to stay away from most things which have a methyl group attached to them.

There hearts were in the right place but they had to many ideologues and not enough chemists & scientists making their lobbying choices. I hope we can learn from this and in the future we let real scientists decide these things based upon merit instead of just political expediancy.

[hunter]

7. I took my kids to school this morning...

... and all the cars smelled like they'd been drinking.

[Oerdin]

10. Eh?

Hard to smell rubbing alcohol after it has been burned in a car's engine.

[hunter]

12. High school kids, leaky hand-me-down cars...

...mostly driven short distances.

You really can smell it.