green

Biodiesel never ceases to amaze me. Colombian farmers are growing plants for biodiesel on old coca plantations. Mercedes, Honda and others are going to bring high-performance diesels to this country that will be able to run the clean-burning fuel over the next few years.

And now I discover, you can drink it.

Randall von Wedel, a biochemist who has become one of the staunch advocates for biodiesel, points out that it's just vegetable oil with a few molecules removed. It smells a bit like old olive oil and might give you a stomach ache, but it won't kill … Read more

You can hardly walk by a newsstand, Web site or TV station these days without getting the message that going green can save greenbacks and the Earth at the same time.

For Earth Day, big metro newspapers featured green specials, while MTV's Pimp My Ride converted a muscle car to run on biofuel. Magazines as varied as Outside, Vanity Fair and Knit.1 printed green issues this spring (whether they used recycled paper is another matter).

Over the weekend, two more big-media outlets released green offshoots designed to show a mainstream audience that every day can be like Earth … Read more

There have been more than a few boats running on solar power that have made headlines, but we shouldn't forget that some plain-old electric vessels are plying the waters as well. And one in particular bears a name that's legendary in the world of private transportation, albeit not aquatic.

The "Lear 204" is the product of a partnership between boat builder Terry Baylor and his wife, Shanda Lear, whose father happens to be the founder of Learjet. Their 20.4-foot vessel, which runs on an electric motor, can do about 6 miles per hour and last … Read more

Those friendly Russians want to bring more energy directly to your doorstep if you live in North America. That means digging the world's longest tunnel. The proposed project would dig a tunnel over 60 miles long beneath the Bering Sea, surfacing at two islands en route.

Next week a coalition of Russian businesses will present this plan to Canada and the U.S. If it moves ahead, the tunnel would be twice as long as the one now connecting Britain and France.

The tunnel would connect major highways and pipelines yet to be constructed. The hope is to deliver … Read more

Move over, "Power Purse." There's a new bag in town.

Alternative energy continues to make inroads in the fashion world with the "Solar" series from Picard. Like other accessories with built-in solar panels, this line of leather computer bags, backpacks and luggage uses the sun's rays to charge all manner of electronic gadgets, including mobile phones, media players and laptops.

Of course, it wouldn't be a designer item without a designer price: Slashphone says the "Solar Bag" will go for about $670. What did you expect, a DIY backpack?

I should start off with a disclaimer: The title of this post may be biased. I am inclined to perceive just about any dishwasher as a dishwasher of awesomeness, since (like many New Yorkers) I don't have one. Consequently, I see the dishwasher as some sort of magical mystery device. Take that as you will.

But this one, the Fisher & Paykel Double DishDrawer, is still cooler than most, in my opinion. Why? Because it tackles both energy efficiency and space efficiency in one clever design move. Instead of being one big, water-guzzling machine that doesn't always fill … Read more

I won't even bother making the requisite jokes about how it's well past 2000 and we should all be behind the wheels of flying cars by now--that humor is so 2006. But I'm really digging the design of the SmartFish, a Swiss prototype for a hydrogen fuel-cell mini-aircraft that will optimally be more efficient than a car and will be able to travel at 560 miles per hour. Ooh, speedy. It'll be about 20 feet long and will hold two people, though the designers hope to work on a 20-seater version yet. (Perfect for your kid'… Read more

It just had to come out of the Netherlands. These contraptions, called the "Light Wind," are manufactured by Dutch design firm Demakersvan, and they're outdoor lights powered by wind. They might look like design-savvy variations on those little propeller beanie hats that I'm sure a few people over at the Googleplex have been known to accessorize with, but I personally think these are a cool "green" idea. They even have the capacity to store up energy when it's windy so that the light will keep shining all night long. (For size comparisons, the … Read more

Being of a blatantly superficial nature, we're fond of gadgets that come in a variety of colors. Even laser pointers, as we noted with a recent one in green.

But there is a limit to our chromatic fetish, especially where our wallet is concerned--even if it does involve a blue laser. China's Vavolo says its "PowerMaster 5mw Blue Beam Laser Pointer" is much brighter than green counterparts with the same power output.

That's great, but wait till you see the price: $600. (And that's discounted from the original $800.) For that kind of money, … Read more