Concerns about climate change and greenhouse gas emissions are instilling a new dynamism —and fueling something of a renaissance - in alternative energy research and development. It’s increasingly apparent even to lay observers like myself that there’s potential energy — in widely varying degrees and at widely varying scales — in natural processes all around us.

Both Toyota and Honda make excellent cars. The motors, the bodywork, the interiors, the transmissions, the electrical bits, all first rate. Sure, there are occasional problems, some expensive to fix, and sure, items wear out and have to be replaced, but both companies build cars that can be driven 150,000; 200,000 perhaps as much as 300,000 miles with a little love and care.