The number of websites claiming to cover the green investment arena has seemingly grown as fast as the sector itself.

Green Chip Stocks, of course was the first online advisory to focus exclusively on cleantech and organics—long before the bandwagon got rolling.

Now though, a Google search of anything cleantech-related will offer hundreds of articles from so-called 'experts'.

But beware, in this market phenomenon known as the Cleantech Revolution, posers abound.  And so do misinformation and outright lies.

Be warned.  When it comes to cleantech market information, Green Chip was the first on the scene, and continues to offer credible market information to hundreds of thousands of investors week after week.

Others, however, many times do not.

Green Energy Posers: A Case Study

Consider this recent example I discovered.  In an effort to alleviate their embarrassment, I'll call this site greenx.com—a supposed online green investment advisory that boasts as its tagline: "Your guide to clean technology investment opportunities in America."

Nice try, guys.  But this one's a hack job.

I browsed their site and, from what I can find, there's been only one issue.  And they tout only one stock.  

If it sounds shady, it probably is... 

Their homepage boasts UBRG as their top cleantech stock pick, without even stating the full name of the company or what it does.  Allow me to fill you in.

UBRG, better known as Universal Bioenergy, is in fact a cleantech stock.  What the site doesn't tell you, however, is that UBRG is listed on the pink sheets and has limited business operations.  More of a company with a cleantech name than a cleantech company.

The website goes on to tell you that UBRG is involved in the biodiesel industry.  An industry, they say, that could "free America from its dependence on foreign oil."

To do that, we'd have to produce about 199.29 billion gallons of biodiesel annually.  That's a conservative 13,000 thousand (13 million) barrel-per day import rate times 365 days.

We haven't even crossed the 1 billion gallon per year threshold here in the U.S.  In fact, we produced about 784.6 million gallons of biodiesel last year, according to the most recent numbers.

What's more, UBRG didn't produce one gallon of it!

UBRG's own website says the company "plan[s] to manufacture biodiesel starting in 2009 using our unique compact plant design."

Yet, the site in question (greenx.com) claims Universal Bioenergy is "at the forefront of the green technology revolution."

If by 'forefront' they meant 'doghouse', then they nailed it.

In case you're interested, here is a chart of this website's "top pick" over the past year:

It's gone from five months of no volume and stagnant price to spikes in volume amid a rampant sell-off.  I won't say it outright, but I bet somebody had a nice short interest in the stock around the time the 'publicity' began.  The term 'pump and dump' comes to mind.

To summarize their view: This must-own stock is at the forefront of the green technology revolution and is involved in an industry that could free American from foreign oil.

But the company produced no biodiesel in 2008 and its price has fallen from $5.00 to below $1.00 in the past four months.

Stay away!

Even the company in question, Universal Bioenergy, has released a statement questioning the "accuracy of information and quality of information" being published by third parties.  

Here's an excerpt of the company's release:

After reviewing these materials, the company has found errors in statements concerning the company's status and capabilities. . . Universal recommends investors disregard any information published by third-parties.

Universal is a developmental stage company with limited operating history. To date it has not generated any revenue. Anyone considering purchasing securities of this company should review its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Stick With the Best - Green Chip Stocks

I guess the point here is to be careful.  Anyone with a computer can throw up a website and dish out cleantech investment 'advice,' but only Green Chip has been doing it since the beginning.

So whether it's keeping up with the latest cleantech policy in Washington or learning about the most recent solar technology breakthrough, stick with us.

We'll continue to deliver the facts as we see them, so you can have the best advantage when green investment time comes.

Check out the site.  Explore the archives and, by all means, take a look at the product page.

We're confident you'll find everything you need to turn a tidy profit in the cleantech market.

Just be weary of poser sites and misinformation.  They seem to multiply by the day.

Call it like you see it,

Nick