Biggie said:

“Anyone see the recent TED talk from Craig Venter where he spoke of being 18 months away from a prototype bacteria that metabolized CO2 into any sort of alcohol, even the beefy butanol IIRC.”

This Craig Venter is probably a con artist or a con artist’s sucker. You would be wise NOT to invest any money with him or the guy suckering him.

Turning CO2 into alcohol is like turning excement into filet mignon (it requires energy). The way you turn CO2 into alcohol is through some variation of the old fashioned way, i.e. shine light (energy) on a plant (or bacteria) that produces a sugar through photosynthesis, then ferment the surgar with yeast or some other microorganism (like bacteria) into alcohol.

Always be suspicious when someone proposes something that produces energy (or anything) for free. Guard your wallet when someone appeals to your greed.