A prize for Freedom?

How do we define freedom?  

In the face of $140+ barrel oil (and heading higher), Peak Oil, and Global Warming, an ever-growing definition:  Freedom from Oil!  

For those fighting to achieve that freedom, was another tool just added to the arsenal?  The The Freedom Prize is in the tradition of the X-Prize:  

An X PRIZE is a $10 million+ award given to the first team to achieve a specific goal, set by the X PRIZE Foundation, which has the potential to benefit humanity. Rather than awarding money to honor past achievements or directly funding research, an X PRIZE incites innovation by tapping into our competitive and entrepreneurial spirits.

The  The Freedom Prizes  will address the challenge of oil dependence using American ingenuity and the spirit of competition.

Okay, this is one of the key challenges facing the nation, as anyone who just went to fill up their Expedition at $4.299/gallon knows all too well. (And, as do the rest of us with rising prices, more money sent overseas for oil, and ever weaker economy with the leadership of George the W.)

Ingenuity and competition as tools to help end our oil addiction.  

Okay.

We will be awarding over $4 Million in Freedom Prizes to inspire Industry, Schools, Government, Military, and Communities to significantly reduce their use of oil, thereby promoting America’s national security, economic prosperity and health. Learn more about the problem of oil dependence and what can be done today to start getting our country off oil.

Wow!  $4 million dollars. In five different sectors. (In case the math gets you, that is $800,000 for each sector. Hmmm...)  

Okay, just how far will this go?  How meaningful are the prizes?  Will the attention given to the prize concept help find some Silver BBs?  I don't know ...

At the moment, The Freedom Prize is just emerging as the rule set for actual prizes won't come until fall 2008. And, $4 million spread across five categories (Industry, Schools, Government, Military and Community) won't necessarily take us that far. But, the X-Prize has not necessarily been about guaranteeing financing but in providing visibility and motivation for a challenge, whether private enterprise putting someone into space or commercializing 100+ mile per gallon cars.  And, the visibility provides education and knowledge for the rest of society.

The five sectors targeted for prizes are quite meaningful for focus. Let's take a look at one description:

Industry: The US economy is highly dependent on oil, with 69 percent of oil consumption used for transportation alone. 1 Our transport-dependent industries are held hostage to oil price spikes, with even small increases in costs sending a chilling effect on our national wealth and our commercial competiveness. The Freedom Prize Foundation will award prizes to commercial endeavors that dramatically alter the private sector's reliance on oil, including fleet change-outs, supply chain management and employee incentive programs.

Okay, absolutely right. These are all real issues and good ideas of arenas to pursue. Bravo!  Okay, how far with a million dollars go to achieving this?  Unlike other X-Prizes, with one very clear target with rather straightforward criteria for judging success, the standards for Freedom Prize are likely to be far more complicated.

While $4 million won't end America's addiction to oil, this looks like it could be $4 million very well spent.  For the moment, The Freedom Prize is something to keep an eye on, who knows whether they'll prompt attention to some Silver BBs to help change the game for America's and the globe's energy challenges.

H/T to bengoshi for the tip.