By Rick Glaze

Remember, “Brave New World” or “The Times They Are A-Changin’” or even “The Next Big Thing?” What about a red-haired Annie belting, “Tomorrow, You’re Always a Day Away”?

Well, if tomorrow ever does get here, it will likely bring some radical changes in the energy and transportation arenas. If your preferred method of travel is to have Scotty beam you up to the Starship Enterprise, you may be singing “If Tomorrow Never Comes,” but for the rest of us, alternate sources of energy may play a key role in transportation and energy production overall.

What’s the big deal, you ask? We’ve known about this stuff for years. The big deal at this moment is that oil and gas prices have gone to a level that encourages more investment in development of solar power, hydrogen and other types of fuel cells, plant-based ethanol and yes safer, better nuclear power. President Bush encouraged this development of “renewable and emission-free technologies” in his State of the Union address, which had a positive effect on selected stocks in this area.

Ethanol is an alcohol derived from corn, sugar or other crops that can be mixed with gasoline to run cars and trucks. It is not inexpensive to make and it is not completely free of air pollution, but it is an alternate energy source and reduces the country’s dependence on oil.

Advanced lithium batteries, like those in your laptop computer, could run your car for up to 40 miles on one charge and the automobile could have a gas tank for longer distances. The battery could be charged in the garage next to the cordless drill.

Hydrogen fuel cells may have great potential, but the consensus is that this idea has 20 more years before it is fully practical.

Solar power is a reality but the upfront cost is still quite high. Generally, it is thought that it takes 10 years to recover initial costs. The good news is the cost is predictable and once paid for, the ongoing expense is nearly nothing.

Wind turbine production is soaring. Last year, one major manufacturer saw revenues blow in at a 200 percent increase.

Investment opportunities may be more volatile in the small, one-product companies, but plenty of larger companies are in on the development and manufacture of promising technologies.

Rick Glaze is the president of Glaze Capital Management of Los Altos and a registered representative of and offers securities through First Allied Securities Inc.

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