While the viability of the electric car is still heavily debated, the other attempt to reduce our dependency on foreign oil is making news again. And the news is not good.

Just a few years ago Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM) was riding high on the back of the agriculture AND ethanol boom. But as soon as the credit crunch struck, both of those bull markets died and ADM’s stock tanked.

The hype around the ethanol industry may have subsided, but its future as an alternative energy source is not dead. That’s why Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM) is using this bust to strengthen its position as industry leader. Andrew Snyder says this long-term strategy puts ADM in a great position for a future, greener America.

Most of us Americans are so accustomed to a world of plenty; we have a hard time imagining a world of scarcity — much less making investments based upon this idea. But the energy markets provide a very powerful example of what happens when resources become less plentiful.

Has there been a better time to consider alternative energy investments? Today, crude oil prices jumped $6 to reach $134 after the Israeli transport minister said an attack on Iranian nuclear sites looked “unavoidable.”

Thomson Reuters reports that, according to the National Venture Capital Association, the alternative energy investments sector boasts the highest growth in venture capital investments in the last five years.

Big bucks are also flowing in from US pension funds into an array of alternative energy investments, stoking concerns of a possible bubble.

There will never be a better commodities buying opportunity than there is right now… read on to discover where I think your money should be.

The United Nations announced yesterday (Wednesday) that an additional $20 billion would be needed each year to combat global hunger.

The world keeps turning and the resources get used up. It’s really quite simple.

Sky-high crude oil prices are threatening global growth for the first time in decades, according to Thomson Reuters, and are “spurring a desperate surge in interest in energy alternatives and new technology to keep conventional oil flowing.”

“The richest investment opportunities can be found in the fast-emerging alternative energy sector,” says Mike Burnick in The Offshore A-Letter.

The risk of owning Brazilian government bonds fell to its lowest level since May 9, as ratings agency Fitch raised the emerging market’s credit rating to investment grade. This from Bloomberg:

Fitch raised Brazil’s foreign-currency debt rating to BBB-, the lowest investment-grade level, from BB+, matching a move made by S&P on April 30. The increase will give the South American country better access to capital markets because some institutional investors can only buy securities issued by countries with at least two investment-grade ratings.