I wonder who/what will provide the $300 million. If it will take an act of Congress, this promise could be illusory.

I'm working on a solution, but it's not a battery. Nor is it a way to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, except by preventing its formation.
It's also not a wondrous new commercially viable ideal automobile, ala X-prize.

What's with these so-called offers?

Yeah more or less. I suppose you don't "require" 'hydrocarbon-dependent agricultural techniques'; but yeah. I forget the nitty gritty details about the biochemical pathways involved (somewhat more complicated than EtOH (4 carbons vs. 2)), but any alcohol biofuel that I am aware of essentially involves using a sugar feed to a microbial (e.g. yeast or e. coli).

Long story short, some people think it will be a more viable alternative fuel than ethanol.  I don't know a good way of getting alcohols without using a sugar feed from cellulose or simpler plant-produced sugars.  In the scope of 'biofuels', however, I suppose algae-produced biodiesel does not necessitate typical farming practices--just CO2, sunlight, water and some nutrients.

First they torture society by raising gas prices.  Then they offer a "prize".

The carrot and the stick.

But you know what?  Chaaaaaaaa...it don't work that way.  

Innovation and invention are what change economics...not the other way around.   We engineers proceed by the inherent pace of technology and discovery.

By other alcohols I think he means
-Coal to ethanol
-Gas to ethanol

What advice would you give Barack on a response to McCain's dopey idea, if you were his energy advisor?

I would tell him to take the example McCain gives, 300 million, and use it in a better way.  

Order 100 million dollars worth of plugin hybrid vehicles, to replace government fleet vehicles, from each of the 3 remaining US automakers.  Have them use a battery/electric drivetrain consortium to standardize the design.

And get US corporations to join in those mass orders to replace their vehicle fleets.  

We have the batteries and all the technology, so let's get with it.  Get that price down with mass orders and mass production so consumers can afford them.  No great majical breakthrough contest is needed.  Just do it.

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog

Get the 300 million from cuts in subsidies for oil companies.  

Specify a plugin hybrid conversion of existing front wheel drive economy models, with the rear axle battery plugin electric drive.

This design allows car makers to produce plugin hybrids with the least changes in production lines and capital investment.  It also has the added benefit of being useful to convert used cars, saving time, money, and resources in converting the nation's cars to run mainly on plugin power.

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog

How much of the problem is "cars" and how much of the problem will be solved with a battery?  I guess his energy policy is gonna be prize money?

Shu pas a vende.

What we REALLY need is to replace the energy we get from fossil fuels.  A better use of that money would be a prize for advances in sustainable energy production, such as solar or wind. But I guess we shouldn't expect a politician to know that.

Solar John