Huh?

"Knut" Gingrich is attempting to convince people that his current vision of "green conservatism" is any other than the same old rhetoric--no big government, no taxes--packaged in a happy green smiley face:

Green Conservatism aims to take advantage of this coming explosion in scientific knowledge and innovation by offering incentives that will direct this scientific progress toward our shared environment goals. One way to do this is to significantly invest in prizes as a competitive alternative to the current peer-reviewed process of scientific research. We should, for example, offer prizes for the development of high-gas- mileage cars and other carbon reduction challenges. Finding common- sense, pro-market ways to reduce our carbon emissions is the right thing to do.

A "competitive alternative" to the current peer-reviewed process? AKA a marketable patent?