As with any new technology, innovation and improvement will sprout from the original concept, ultimately resulting in a better product. Electric cars are in a similar process of evolution, but they have a long way to go to live up to promises.

Electric hybrid technology has come a long way in the past few years and car companies have now joined the movement. The Toyota Prius has been a staple for the hybrid car industry, but recent competition from other car companies may push this innovative technology along even faster.

In 2011, Chevrolet was the first major American auto manufacturer to release a plug-in hybrid called the Chevrolet Volt. This car features a 16-kilowatt lithium-ion battery that can be full charged in eight hours from a standard 120-volt outlet.

The 2912 Ford Escape uses a lithium-ion 10-kWh battery, while Hyundai, Audi and Mercedes also plan to release lithium-ion plug-in hybrids next year. It’s been estimated that it costs roughly a dollar a day to charge these cars.

The 2011 Nissan Leaf is one of the first 100% electric cars on the market. This car features a timer the owner can set to stop the car from drawing electricity at a certain hour or when it is fully charged.

So a lot is happening in the electric car world. Charge times are being reduced, while driving ranges are increasing. In a few years it’s anticipated that we will see charging stations along major highways. At present, plug-in hybrids may be the most practical option. The Volt gets 60 mpg on the gas mode and, of course, much high equivalent mileage on the electrical charge.

Battery replacement is always a concern and a significant expense with hybrid vehicles. For example, the battery replacement cost for a Prius is roughly $2,500.

There are pros and cons to the electric car industry and many un-answered questions. One such question may be the degree to which turning to batteries is beneficial to the environment. The depletion of limited minerals required for building the batteries and disposal issues are a couple of questions that are on the table. However more attention is being paid to this new industry and improvements will continue to be made on the final product.

Speaking of electric cars and automotive innovation, Google has been considering a move into the automotive market. This has not been publicized, but Google is researching the possibility of “driverless cars.” This is not new. Research on this concept has gone on in the auto industry for years, but Google is moving forward and has approached the Nevada legislature to allow driver-less cars on Nevada roads.

The car system would use video cameras, radar sensors and a laser range finder to drive you home after a night out. According to Fortune Magazine, Google doesn’t plan to enter the auto market as a manufacturer or supplier, but is interested in providing the software necessary for system implementation.

Many companies are doing their best to go green, with innovations designed to move their companies forward financially, while replacing environmentally destructive practices with new technologies that are beneficial to the environment. A major problem has been that individual companies may be duplicating efforts made by others and, in essence, re-inventing the wheel.

Recognizing this problem, a few companies have begun to share their innovations with other firms, including competitors. Unfortunately there has been no means to monitor the progress of these innovations.

Spearheaded by Nike, a small group of companies have partnered with the nonprofit Creative Commons to try to solve the problem. Their novel initiative, called GreenXchange, aims to allow companies to share intellectual property for green product design, packaging, manufacturing, and other uses. If it succeeds, this budding coalition could accelerate innovation across companies and sectors. At minimum, it stands to rewrite the rules about how companies share.

The project was incubated at Nike, which for years has been developing materials and processes to reduce the environmental impacts of its own products -- things like water-based adhesives, solvent-reduced synthetic leather, and "green rubber," which cuts the use of harmful chemicals used in traditional formulas by 97 percent, according to the company.

(From GreenBiz.com)

According to “strategic metals expert” Jack Lifton, hybrids such as the Prius use more rare earth elements than any object in the world. Neodymium and lanthanum, used in hybrid’s batteries and electric motor magnet, could become scarce or even disappear altogether within the next several years. These cars are “sucking up rare earth metals at a disturbing rate.”

Each Prius uses 2.2 pounds of neodymium in its electric motor magnets, and 20 to 30 pounds of lanthanum in the batteries. As the Prius powertrain continues to evolve for more efficiency, these amounts will go up.

Wind turbines also utilize rare earth metals, and when combined with increased consumption for hybrid cars, total future demand could exceed current supplies by up to 40,000 tons. (Reuters)

Whether this information, as presented in an article by Adrian Cover in Popsci, is accurate or not, it’s a reminder that for an authentic “green” and truly environmentally friendly product, a complete analysis of innovations designed to improve the environment is imperative. Sometimes what passes for a "cure" is worse than the desease. The terrible consequences of burning corn for fuel is a case in point.

Fifty years ago Silicon Valley in California was known as the “Valley of the Hearts Delight.” That may be hard to imagine, but when I was a boy the valley floor was covered by miles of orchards, with wheat fields and food production of unlimited varieties. The land was one of the most fertile in the world and the climate was perfect for growing everything from grapes to granola. The valley was known world-wide as a food basket.

Sadly, we buried that productive land under endless miles of concrete and asphalt. Today, instead of producing 1/3 of the world’s prunes and continuing to be a primary source for food and produce for our country and the world; Silicon Valley produces computer chips and computers. But you can’t eat computer chips.

These hi-tech products could have been produced in the desert, but we chose to bury the fertile land that once provided the ingredients for life itself under concrete. There is evidently more money in technology and housing than prunes or grapes.

Now, for the first time in our history, we import more food than we export. I guess being dependent on foreign countries for our food isn’t much different than depending on foreign countries for the products we require and the energy we need for mobility.

For a variety of reasons, many people are beginning to grow their own food, to the extent that this is feasible. There are seeded plant trays that can fit on a small balcony and some folks have designed rooftop gardens. These may be a source of pride and an interesting hobby, but unless your balcony can handle a small orchard and a wheat field, your farming enterprise will be limited to a couple of tomatoes and some cilantro.

Despite urban limitations, a green business that focuses on encouraging people to grow their own food may have potential. We’re told there is very little inflation, but the cost of food belies that assertion. Food costs, tomatoes that taste like plastic and questionable foreign farming techniques are enough motivation for some folks to build a greenhouse and grow their own tomatoes and zucchini.

Greenhouses that can be adapted to residential areas might have potential. There are a number of innovative ideas on how to grow food in a limited space and under conditions that might be considered impossible for food production - possibly even year around. This is an area worth researching as a business opportunity.