The thing is, despite being relatively unrepresented in both commodity and major stock markets, this commodity is everywhere. Odds are you have a few hundred grams of this stuff within 50 feet of you.

It’s in nearly every new laptop computer, cell phone, mp3 player, and dozens of other mobile devices. And increasingly, it’s making its way into automobiles.

I’m talking about lithium, in case you haven’t guessed.

And one of my favorite ways to play the lithium trend is to buy battery technology companies. I’ve long believed that lithium is a great battery technology - not necessarily a scarce energy resource. You’ll see lots of ads talking about lithium in terms of replacing oil, but it’s not an energy resource.

We might quietly scoff at the Toyota (NYSE: TM) Prius drivers - after all, the car only gets slightly better mileage than the average car in its class, so it's not all that special as far as environmentalism goes.

But don't scoff too hard, because it just might be that we'll all be driving hybrid cars in the not-so distant future.

You might be thinking that we simply don't have a model of fuel-source change for automobiles - so we really don't know what the future will hold - and whether our cars will be powered by natural gas, lithium-ion, or even solar power - or perhaps some combination.

And you're right - there's basically no model for automobile fuel conversion.

But there is a very robust model for home heating conversion.

Today there are at least as many heating technologies as there are fuel types, but 100 years ago, most people used coal and wood.

In yesterday's issue of Resource Prospector I talked about the idea of shorting new commodity ETFs. There's lots of evidence that new ETFs, especially commodity ETFs, are launched at the height of their popularity. They can only fall from those heights.

There are a few exceptions. I will be publishing a special report about my three favorite ETFs - funds that are actually designed to make money, not lose money - in sectors that I think have plenty of upside.

If you haven't read my commentary on ETFs before, and you're wondering why firms would launch funds that tend to underperform, all you have to do is look at this simple chart...

Right now, I'm bullish on many things - but lead might be the most contrarian commodity I'm bullish on.

That's why it pays to be a commodity investor, because we're still ahead of the crowds; we're contrarian.

Most, if not all investors, are heavily into broad index mutual funds. They've been buying the market, and hoping that it will turn around.

I'll keep my 'hope' for my favorite sports teams (go Philadelphia!), and instead use my brain to find investments that are forward looking. What has worked in the past might again work in the future - but not simply because it worked in the past.

And since we're coming up on 4^th of July weekend, I'm looking for patriotic investments, like lead.

Lithium! As a newsletter editor, I'm bound by law to type an exclamation point after lithium at least once anytime I talk about the topic.

That's because people are rabid about lithium and lithium stocks - and for very (seemingly) good reasons. With hybrid and zero emission vehicles in the news every day, it's hard to imagine that lithium stocks won't continue to experience fantastic growth forever and ever. Just take a look at this gorgeous new lithium powered car that hybrid car manufacturer Tesla motors is selling for $109,000.

I've seen one of these cars driving through Stowe, Vermont a few times, and when you see one zip by it's hard to argue against the idea that lithium is awesome.

Incidentally, Tesla is going public next Tuesday. It could be a huge sentiment-driven profit opportunity. I haven't done too much digging into the fundamentals of Tesla, but if you have any insight into this company, please send me an email at editorial@resourceprospector.com.