As China's huge population graduates from bicycles, what is going to happen to oil prices? China -- still lacking in domestic oil infrastructure -- is going to compete against the United States to buy oil on the international market. The new destination of the oil tankers leaving the gulf could be China, not the U.S.

Americans usually move from a bicycle to a car around the age of 16 when they get a driver's license and money to buy their first car. And as China's middle class grows, so will the desire to move beyond bicycles. Whether it's a scooter, motorcycle or a car -- it is going to use gasoline.

Or will it?

Okay, last week I mocked the government because of the assertion that the recent blizzards were a reason that we saw a larger-than-expected increase in jobless claims. I thought that perhaps this was the blame game going overboard, but that isn't the case.

White House economic adviser Larry Summers reiterated yesterday that "winter blizzards were likely to distort U.S. February jobless figures." Seriously. Yes, I know that some companies have weather-related issues and that could have some impact on the jobless picture, but this is just a bit much.

With the failed global warming submit; leaked emails, faked numbers, suppressed data and major snow storms hitting both Europe and America global warning aka "climategate" seems to have taken a major hit recently. Some are even going as far as predicting the demise of global warming.

This could be a big turning point for global warming. Having been caught in a lie; they have lost massive amount of creditability and now face an uphill battle to convince a skeptical public. Certainly, global warming may regain public credibility, but it will face a lot of scrutiny as it tries.

James Altucher is a financial journalist for The Wall Street Journal and founder of Stockpickr.com. His articles cover every angle of the market; he also stars in feature videos with other financial luminaries. He is the author of Trade Like a Hedge Fund, Trade Like Warren Buffett, SuperCa$h, and The Forever Portfolio.

He has taken a controversial path lately with numerous articles in the New York Post and Huffington Post. Some articles include: "Global Warming Is a Myth," "Should Insider Trading Be Made Legal?" "School of Hard Cash," "The Internet Is Dead (as an Investment)," and "5 Myths the Recession Taught Us."

Rumors of a new addition to the James Altucher library have entered the blogosphere, so I met with James to discuss a possible new book and the response from his recent aggressive views on finance and the stock market.

Google, Inc. (GOOG) is one of the tech leaders when it comes to operating one of the largest technology companies on the planet while at the same time being one of the greenest companies, ecologically speaking.

So, it comes as no surprise that the company and its home state, California, are teaming up to try and raise awareness of climate change using Google Earth as the teaching medium.

Climate change isn't going to be free. A report by Point Carbon, an independent consulting company that tracks global carbon and energy markets, estimates that U.S. climate legislation could push the price at the pump 13 cents a gallon higher. The increase would result from the cost to oil companies for carbon permits, which they can pass along to consumers.

This is a much rosier view than that of the oil industry, however, which believes a U.S. cap-and-trade system would thrash demand for gasoline and lead to the shuttering of many refineries.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is fighting back. The organization has filed a civil lawsuit against the Yes Men, an activist group that announced that the chamber had changed its position on climate change.

The Yes Men told the National Press Club on October 19, 2009 that the Chamber of Commerce would give up lobbying against the Senate's 800-page climate change bill. Reuters, CNBC and Fox Business Network all reported on the story, with the anchors correcting themselves midstream, when they learned that it was false.

The clean technology wave just got a little bigger. This tends to be a side-effect of interest from billionaire investor George Soros. And, as usual, it's more than just money; it's more than just a return. Soros, yet again, is trying to save the world. Interestingly, the bold move was announced at a meeting on climate change sponsored by Project Syndicate – an international association consisting of 430 newspapers from 150 countries (and thus with clear ties to the past, rather than future).

The investor and founder of Soros Fund Management LLC is planning to put $1 billion into clean-tech opportunities using what he calls "rather stringent criteria," which involves being "profitable but should also actually make a contribution to solving the problem [i.e., of clean technology adoption and proliferation]." Soros didn't provide any other details on the nature or scope of his investments.

Apple just bailed on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, citing the business organization's view on climate change. The Chamber of Commerce doesn't accept the notion that people are the force behind global warming and has called for public hearings to question the evidence that many accept. But, this has led several companies to leave the group, with Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) only the latest.

The technology company stated through Catherine Novelli, a vice president of government affairs, that it would "prefer that the chamber take a more progressive stance on this critical issue and play a constructive role in addressing the climate crisis." Apple resigned its membership "effective immediately."

Rajendra Pachauri, U.N. climate scientist, has good news and bad news. I'll give you the latter first: eat less meat. Doing so will help slow global warming. The good news, also related to climate change, is that Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for the United Nations, investing in green technologies now is a smart move. So, by following Pachauri's advice, you cut down on your meat but reward yourself with a decent investment return.

If you take his advice as a whole (pretending you don't know you can do one part without the other), it's like getting paid to eat your veggies. Everyone who's been five years old at some point knows that being given green to eat green is ample motivation. The fun part, here, is that you're financing it by investing in green. It all matches!

He discovered global warming; he created the Internet; and his wife shielded my young ears from curse words when I was growing up. Now Al Gore has decided it is time to single-handedly rescue the automotive world. Okay, not really, but Al Gore is a major backer of California-based Fisker Automotive, which has just secured a $529 million government loan to build a hybrid sports car in Finland.

Couple of problems here, but let's start with the idea of the car. I am so glad that Fisker is going to help the earth. I mean, who doesn't want to conserve fuel and reduce air pollution while cruising around in their four-door sports car? I mean, who doesn't have an extra $89,000 lying around to spend on transportation? Seriously, it is now at the point that only celebrities can afford a hybrid car that doesn't look like it was built of Lego.

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) has to wonder if Al Gore knows exactly what he is talking about when it comes to global warming.

This morning, the power company announced that its second-quarter profit fell to 21 cents per share from 28 cents per share a year ago. Excluding items, the company would have earned 26 cents per share, which is a penny better than the consensus estimate. Revenue for the quarter fell to $2.91 billion from $3.22 billion a year ago and far short of the consensus estimate. The blame for the year-over-year profit decline falls squarely on the shoulders of mark-to-market losses on economic hedges.

Last night it was reported by Reuters, following up on an interview in the Financial Times (subscription required) that James Hackett, chairman and chief executive of independent oil and gas company Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) said, "Washington's energy and environmental policy risks plunging the United States into an economic tailspin that could make it the world's cleanest third world country."

Seems he is not partial to the global warming crowd as indicated by his statement that "The histrionic and maniacal focus on carbon dioxide is intellectually repugnant to me," but how does he really feel?

Despite the onset of the latest high energy price era, it goes without saying that the car will remain the main mode of transportation in the United States as the 21st century progresses.

First mass-produced on a national scale by Henry Ford, subsidized by the construction and expansion of the public interstate highway system after World War II, and immortalized by such films as George Lucas's American Graffiti (1973), the car and car culture is intrinsic to modern American life.

The car fuel alternatives

Cheap oil is not intrinsic, however, and that's a major reason why the nation is exploring car / vehicle fuel alternatives. Many options exist, each with strengths / weaknesses, and currently there's no clear winner.

Hence, in a very real sense, your say in the matter will play an important role in determining what fuel most Americans will use for car transportation in the decades ahead.

Leaders of the G-8 (group of 8 wealthy nations) basically did nothing in their talks to cut global greenhouse emissions. They agreed to cut emissions in half by the year 2050. How many of them will even be alive by then? I've heard of five year economic plans but 42 year plans? Something tells me it just won't work. The U.S. also was victorious in not setting any actual numerical targets.

According to a MarketWatch report: "The U.S. and several other developed countries have said they will not enter an agreement to reduce future greenhouse gas emissions which does not include binding commitments by growing industrial powers such as China and India to cut carbon."

And rightly so. Why should the U.S. bear the brunt of the economic costs of this initiative and growing economies, which are much bigger polluters, get off without having to accept any responsibility? It seems like a case of just trying to redistribute wealth from the west to emerging economies.

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. DISCLOSURE: Writer's fund has no position in any stock mentioned, as of 7/8/08.