We're honored that our role in promoting PHEVs
and the electrification of transportation has
just been recognized in a major new award for
environmental innovation. Thanks to all those
who've believed in us and helped since CalCars was founded six years ago!

We're in the most eminent company -- details
follow. (We're travelling, so it's hard to keep
up with the news -- we'll be fully back next
Monday, after we travel to Aspen to receive the award described below.)

Along with this news, we're happy to pass along
two private reports from insiders in two key
domains that confirm the impact we and our partners have been having:

AUTO INDUSTRY: My contacts have told me that
there is much interest and even excitement within
some top-level engineering teams at Toyota, in
response to the work that CalCars’ partner
companies have been doing to design and install
PHEV conversions for Prius vehicles.

CLEANTECH: You should know that at the
conferences we attend on Cleantech/Greentech,
people are very aware and up-to-date about what
CalCars and the plug-in hybrid campaign are doing.


PRESS RELEASE FOLLOWED BY THE ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION OF THE AWARDS PROGRAM

Aspen Institute Announces Winners of First Annual Energy and Environment Awards
http://www.aspeninstitute.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=huLWJeMRKpH&b=3818\
507&ct=5133855

Washington, DC, March 24, 2008––The Aspen
Institute proudly announces the winners of the
first annual Energy and Environment Awards, which
will be presented at a ceremony on March 29,
2008, during the inaugural Aspen Environment
Forum. Created by the Aspen Global Leadership
Network and Henry Crown Fellows, the Aspen
Institute Energy and Environment Awards recognize
and reward excellence for those making
significant contributions to innovation,
implementation, and communication of energy and
environmental solutions (visit
http://www.aspenenvironment.org/program/energy-and-environment-awards).

The winners—all organizations and people who are
making the biggest strides, acting as leaders,
catalysts, and educators, particularly at the
critical nexus between energy and environmental problems and solutions—are:

* Corporate Energy Generation – SolarCity
* Corporate Energy Conservation – Serious Materials
* Innovation in Government – State of
California Energy Office’s Million Solar Roofs Initiative
* Innovation in a Non-governmental
Organization – The California Cars Initiative
* Individual Thought Leadership – Amory Lovins, Rocky Mountain Institute

The Energy and Environment Awards, which are
meant to celebrate success and provoke
conversations about ways to emulate and expand
upon the success stories honored, are part of the
Aspen Environment Forum, a gathering of more than
300 thought leaders that will take place from
March 26-30, 2008, at the Aspen Meadows Resort
and Conference Center in Colorado (visit
http://www.aspenenvironment.org for more
information). Designed to stimulate open-minded
dialogue, the forum is an innovative festival for
thought and conversation about the environment
across a broad array of topics. Environmental
experts, scientists, economists, business
leaders, journalists, authors, and interested
consumers will examine the state of the planet
and share their ideas for the future.

The Forum will conclude with the debut of the
Aspen Energy and Environment Awards for
excellence in communications, contributions to
innovation, and environmental solutions. The
Awards are proudly sponsored by CH2M HILL and
will be presented on March 29, 2008, at the Hotel
Jerome ballroom. "CH2M HILL is proud to sponsor
the first Energy and Environment Awards. The
spirit of these awards are directly linked to
CH2M HILL's commitment to offer our clients
sustainable long-term solutions that respond to
critical global issues, and the values important
to our stakeholders," said Lee McIntire, CH2M
HILL President and Chief Operating Officer. CH2M
HILL is a global full-service engineering,
procurement, construction, and operations firm,
with more than 24,000 employees world-wide.

To register for the forum, contact Deborah Murphy
at (970) 544-7960 or
deborah.murphy@..., or go to the
forum's Web site at http://www.aspenenvironment.org.

Sponsors for the Aspen Environment Forum 2008,
presented by the Aspen Institute and National
Geographic magazine, include Camco, Duke Energy,
General Motors, Goldman Sachs, and Shell.

The Aspen Institute, founded in 1950, is an
international nonprofit organization dedicated to
fostering enlightened leadership and open-minded
dialogue. Through seminars, policy programs,
conferences and leadership development
initiatives, the Institute and its international
partners seek to promote nonpartisan inquiry and
an appreciation for timeless values. The
Institute is headquartered in Washington, DC, and
has campuses in Aspen, CO, and on the Wye River
near the shores of the Chesapeake Bay in
Maryland. Its international network includes
partner Aspen Institutes in Berlin, Rome, Lyon,
Tokyo, New Delhi, and Bucharest, and leadership
initiatives in Africa, Central America, and India.


The Aspen Institute Energy and Environment Awards
http://www.energyandenvironmentawards.com/

Created by the Aspen Institute Global Leadership
Network, the Aspen Institute Energy and
Environment Awards recognize and reward
excellence for those making a real and concrete
contribution to innovation, implementation, and
communication of energy and environmental solutions.

Six awards, to be presented at this first Annual
Event, are designed to draw attention to the
organizations and people who are making the
biggest strides, acting as leaders, catalysts,
and educators, particularly at the critical nexus
between energy and environmental problems and
solutions. The object is to celebrate success and
provoke intellectually stimulating and productive
thinking and conversations about ways to emulate
and expand upon the success stories honored.

Corporate Energy Generation Award:
For disruptive solutions in the generation and distribution of renewable energy

Corporate Energy Conservation Award:
For conservation-oriented projects, which may
encompass efficiency based technologies, or
consumer products and services that have lower energy and environmental impact

Individual Thought Leadership Award:
For leadership contributions in energy and
environmental problem solving, with special
emphasis on disruptive and scalable solutions.

NGO Award:
For contributions in increasing renewable energy
generation, increasing efficiency, achieving
radical price reductions, or developing new green
markets in developing countries.

Government Award:
For innovative government initiatives that result
in increasing renewable energy generation,
increasing efficiency, or developing significant
new policies that benefit energy and environmental objectives.

Photojournalism:
Presented by National Geographic for imagery that
best conveys innovative solutions to
environmental or energy problems, and symbolizes excellence in photography.

Awards Dinner:
The winners will honored at the awards dinner at
the Aspen Environment Forum presented by the
Aspen Institute and National Geographic on March 29, 2008.

Energy and Environment Awards Board:
Neil Jacobstein - Chairman, and CEO, Teknowledge Corporation
Lucy P. Marcus - CEO, Marcus Venture Consulting
Sonal Shah - Google.org
Vishal Vasishth- CEO, Clean Partners

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Felix Kramer fkramer@...
Founder California Cars Initiative
http://www.calcars.org
http://www.calcars.org/news-archive.html
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