Oil is on everyone's mind these days. Whether you're predicting $220 a barrel like Nomura Holding, or ignoring calls for an oil super-spike like fellow Fool Morgan Housel, it's time to put a little thought into how you're investing in energy.
Oil is already over $100 a barrel, and with a number of oil-producing countries on the verge of complete meltdown, now is the time to start thinking about alternatives to oil. If you're not ready to drink the solar/wind Kool-Aid, there are a few ways you can invest in fuel sources that wouldn't require a paradigm shift in power generation -- and one I would avoid at all cost.
Leveraging domestic natural gas
Clean Energy Fuels
Capstone Turbine
Betting on power storage
Electric vehicles have been a front-page topic with a relatively small customer base to this point. If gas hits $5 a gallon, a Nissan Leaf or Tesla Motors
I'm not calling for full-fledged adoption of electric vehicles, but even a modest boost in demand could help battery makers soak up extra supply. Both A123 Systems
Running from ethanol
Ethanol is one fuel I would avoid despite higher oil and gas prices. Corn prices have risen even faster than oil, and companies like Pacific Ethanol
I would love to say that ethanol could be a big part of our energy future, but if production increases, so do corn prices and profits go out the window. It just doesn't make any sense.
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