The most abundant source of energy, the sun, is being placed out of reach and behind the red tape of bureaucracy. With all the fuss about the November election, the time isn’t being spent working out the tax breaks for solar projects which will end this year. Without those tax breaks, the research and development for solar energy will be hindered. To add another layer of red tape, just to make sure the sun is safely out of reach, the Bureau of Land Management has put a hold on all new applications for solar collectors on federal land. They want to do an in-depth study on the environmental effects of placing solar collectors and it will take 22 months to complete. With Nevada being mostly a desert wasteland, baked daily by the sun, it could power the whole country if given the opportunity, but now the solar development will be slowed to a tortoise’s pace, which is what they are concerned the solar collectors will endanger: tortoises. This abrupt concern for the environment is a red flag for most: why be concerned about this energy source’s effects on the landscape when oil drilling and gas has not been studied as such. While it is important to protect the wildlife of our nation, there must be a way to continue building solar collectors while researching the effects. What better opportunity to observe how they affect a habitat then by observing the wildlife surrounding the solar collector that is already in place?

http://www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11637342

Quest Minerals and Mining Corp. (OTCBB: QMNM) has gained 4431.25% on roughly 643,000,000 shares traded since market close last Wednesday and made some very happy risk tolerant investors along the way. The stock wrapped up trading on 6/18 at a price of $.0016 before surging all the way to Monday’s closing price of $.0725.

There has to be a correction coming soon after QMNM’s run up of more than 4,000% over 3 days on record shattering volume. Doesn’t there? I”ll be watching closely for another positive operational update in the coming days. The way that Quest has been trading, I’d gamble that another could having the stock moving northwards rapidly once again.

Quantum Technologies (NASDAQ: QTWW) continues to gain notoriety in the market as a potential hedge against soaring fuel prices and a diversified investment into the alt-energy space.

The stock has been in for a wild ride since bouncing off of its 52-week low of $.37 and running all the way up to its 52-week high of $2.95 on 6/5. After retreating back into the $2.10 range last week, shares have rallied yet again and are now trading at around $2.55.

Despite having no earnings and being extremely tight on cash flow QTWW has inked a number of high potential deals in red hot industries including solar and hydrogen power. Quantum also recently disposed of its flailing Tecstar business segment, which was its only non-alt energy focus and would have buried the company in the not so distant future if operations continued.

I’m not sure if the market is betting on a future buyout from an auto industry giant or just simply enamored by Quantum’s diversified position in the sexy land of alternative energy. Either way, I still am not convinced at this point that the company is worthy of my $2.50.

Sequenom Inc (NasdaqGM: SQNM) hit is 6 year high of $15.25 on Friday and continues to thrive in the market on expectations that the company has developed what will soon become the standard test for Down syndrome.

I first mentioned this company at a price of $9.33 on 6/4. Since then we have seen shares run up nearly 65% on much higher volume than in the weeks prior.

SQNM pulled back a bit today to $14.40 on nearly 2 million shares traded after bouncing off of an intra-day low of $13.89.

Here is another good read on Down Syndrome testing:

With saving energy and protecting the environment first in the minds of consumers from Boston to Bangkok these days, demand for products capable of facilitating both efforts have reached paramount heights.

As the green movement continues to snowball, human innovation is gracing us all with solutions to a number of our biggest problems. In this edition I’ll give you the 411 on two emerging growth companies with products that are already making the world a better place.

Before I get into fan favorite DCFF, let’s first take a gander at Proton Laboratories (OTC Other: PLBI.PK)

Diet Coffee Inc. (OTCBB: DCFF) announced their financial results for the quarter ended 3/31 today and the results were actually a hair better than I had expected.

Revenues approached $350,000, just about the same as the corresponding quarter of ‘07 when the company was selling a completely different product, not yet the Ionic Bulb. This figure was higher than I expected.

One thing that becomes quite evident rather quickly while examining the recent Q is the need for the company to begin selling direct to consumer as it did in the past. The Walgreens and Amazon contracts are indeed invaluable for a company attempting to nationally launch a household consumer product. However, if the company can in fact begin airing its recently completed infomercial on t.v. and initiate some type of direct response marketing campaign, the higher margin direct sales could begin offsetting often lower retail margins.

All in all, I’m pleasantly surprised by the filing. The $350K in sales, although not monumental, is quite promising since the company’s marketing strategy has not yet come to fruition. The advertisement has been shot, it just needs to be aired on t.v. and the company needs to begin taking orders both online and through, I would guess, a toll-free sales hot line.

This type of effort would also in theory create more of a “push” effect on consumers into affiliated stores such as Walgreens and perhaps create more allure for the Ionic Bulb in other retail organizations.

DCFF gave investors what they wanted with today’s filing: a benchmark to judge future progress. I’ll be watching closely to see how things progress here. The stock gained nearly 20% today after dipping lately potentially on investor concern regarding the late filing. I’ll be curious how much investors are willing to pay for shares in the morning after digesting the filing.

Sequenom Inc (NasdaqGM: SQNM) shares continue to surge on news that the company’s core product could soon become the standard process in the $1billion Down syndrome testing market.

The Street appears pretty confident that SQNM has an ace in the hole here with its Down’s test.

Oppenheimer and Co. analyst Kevin DeGeeter recently set a 17.50 price target on the stock and he could be right on if momentum continues to build.

Quantum Technologies (NASDAQ: QTWW) shares continue to drop from Friday’s open of $2.95. Currently trading at $2.15 on volume of roughly 1.7 million shares traded, the stock continues to give back recent gains.

The company made a rather interesting announcement on Tuesday regarding its contract win with EDAG Engineering + Design AG (EDAG) for a Future Steel Vehicle program sponsored by WorldAutoSteel, the automotive group of the International Iron and Steel Institute (IISI). Under the terms of the agreement, Quantum will be responsible for the development of advanced plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) and hydrogen fuel cell hybrid vehicles.

Speaking about the potential of the project, QTWW CEO Alan P. Niedzwiecki had this to say: “Demand for Quantum’s innovative hybrid electric powertrain designs and experience in taking alternative propulsion system concepts into production continues to grow worldwide. We look forward to working with EDAG and IISI-WorldAutoSteel on this exciting integration of advanced lightweight vehicle structures with our advanced hybrid powertrains.” “With oil prices above $130.00 a barrel and the national average of a gallon of gas exceeding $4.00 a gallon, there is growing demand worldwide for energy efficient transportation. IISI’s vision for the development of a Future Steel Vehicle clearly addresses this need.”

Despite shares losing value over the past few trading sessions, I will be watching the company closely as it does hold quite a bit of potential for future growth. With gas prices rising about $.10 per day in my neck of the woods, I’m quite aware of the need for alternative energy, particularly in the transportation and residential marketplaces. QTWW is playing in those very areas and making some major inroads in all three of the hydrogen, solar, and battery-power industries.

Friday’s gains of 130.77% ($0.03) demonstrate that Proton Laboratories, although well below its all-time high share price of $2.49, is building some momentum in the market. The company is currently seeking financing of $1 Million with an aggregate line of equity of $6 Million in order to facilitate bringing their mister product to market.

In recent weeks, PLBI has announced results from Hill Top Research backing the efficacy of its electrolyzed water and its effects on MRSA (Staph) along with its licensed and proprietary cooling tower process that utilizes the company’s advanced electrolysis technology. As we hope for more news in coming weeks lets take a look at why now may be a most beneficial time to consider taking an ownership position in PLBI.

The company began trading back on January 14, 2004 at a price of $0.85. Within just a little over nine weeks, PLBI saw gains of 188%, hitting $2.45, just four cents below its all- time high. Since then, stock price has fallen dramatically, hitting as low as $0.013 on June 6, 2008 on volume of a measly 6,000.

Friday’s gains are promising however, because although PLBI is trading at just $0.03, the market has taken notice of their technology and its benefits to our environment, a topic that is all over the news and on the top of presidential candidate’s agendas.

PLBI’s efforts now appear to be focused on securing financing for its mister product, which in return will give them the ability to expand operations and enter into additional markets of interest as their technology becomes recognized as a leading, affordable solution to a growing global problem.

If PLBI can’t secure critical funding for its mister product, share price will likely continue to hover in the low penny range and potentially force the company to take on unfavorable equity financing to fund operations.

With this in mind, Proton Laboratories has several key hurdles to overcome before achieving potential greatness, but management is determined to fix them and doing so will be a huge help to their overall success. This being said, my recommendation is to keep a close eye on PLBI over the next few weeks because history tends to repeat itself and any positive news should boost the stock after Friday’s surge.

Not a word out of Marmion Industries Corp. (OTCBB: MMIO) for nearly a month. Thankfully, the company’s recent 10Q shed some light on what has been transpiring at the emerging HVAC provider.