While most of us are still driving conventional gas-powered clunkers (like my Jeep Cherokee for example), car companies have started producing more alternatives to the internal combustion engine. If you are in the market for a new vehicle, consider buying a vehicle that is at least partially powered by an alternative fuel source.

1. Hybrids. The best known of the hybrids, the Toyota Prius starts at $21,1000 and boosts an impressive 48 miles per gallon (mpg) city driving, 45 mpg on the highway and 46 mpg combined (when the car switches between electric and gasoline power). The 2008 Nissan Altima Hybrid, is another attractive option, but has limited availability and can only be purchased in California, New York, New Jersey and throughout New England. The Altima gets about 35 mpg and can run for 600 miles on one tank. Starting at $25,070, the Altima is pricier than the Prius, but larger, more stylish and also ranked #1 among mid-size hybrids by Motor Trend Magazine.

2. E85 Ethanol. The Chevrolet Impala E85 is considered a flex-fuel vehicle and runs on a blend of 85% Ethanol and 15% gasoline, or a combination of the two. The fuel economy of the Impala is nowhere near as good as that of hybrids however. The Impala is listed at 18 mpg city driving and 29 mpg on the highway. Interestingly, while looking around the Chevrolet website, I found that their 2008 Aveo (which is built with a traditional gasoline engine), gets better gas mileage than their flex-fuel vehicles with 24 mpg city driving and 34 on the highway. If you’re in the market for a large truck, consider the Ford F150 E85. Starting at $17,520, the Ford F150 has all of the power and towing capacity (up to 11,000 pounds) of a Ford truck, but its fuel emissions are not where they could be. With a listing of approximately 14 mpg city and 19 mpg highway driving, its clear that Ford needs to step up its research and development into more fuel efficient heavy-duty trucks.

3. Diesel. Volkswagen is launching a line of new diesel-powered vehicles in the US this year, and according to their site, the cars will be legal in all 50 states. While the Volkswagen Sportwagen is not yet available in this country, it’s been rumored that the hatchback is coming early this year and will boost an impressive 50 mpg fuel economy. According to HybridCars.com, diesel versions of the Touareg and Jetta TDI will also be for sale in the US in the spring of 2008.

Even with these new technologies, it is clear that we must demand better options for powering our vehicles. Buying a car, truck or SUV with an alternative fuel source is a great start, but to really affect change we have to start demanding better technologies, more efficient fuels and higher fuel emission standards. A good place to start making demands is by voting in more environmentally-friendly (and less big auto/oil friendly) legislators or by writing your legislators in Congress.
You can find a comprehensive list of cars, SUVs and trucks powered by alternative fuels on HybridCars.com.

If you are shopping for a higher end vehicle you might notice a very expensive line item on the Window Sticker you have never seen before. The Gas Guzzler Tax was enacted in 1978 as part of the larger Energy Tax Act and it penalizes a buyer who chooses to purchase a vehicle knowing that it does not meet certain fuel efficiency standards. This is the opposite of the Electric Vehicles tax credit which gives you back up to 10% of your vehicle’s current value.

The Gas Guzzler calculation of efficiency changes from year to year based on EPA testing but a good rule of thumb is if your vehicle will be getting less than 22.5 MPG you will most likely be paying the tax. The actual amount of the tax also changes depending on how much below that 22.5 MPG value the cars is. If you are close to it, it can be as little as $1,000 but if you are at 12.5 MPG or lower, expect to pay an extra $7,700.

There are simple ways to avoid this tax and help the environment while you can purchase the vehicle you want. Take a look at the Chrysler 300 which comes in 6 different models. Only the SRT8 which comes with a 6.1 Liter engine is subject to the tax because of it’s 18 MPG rating. That is an extra $2,100 you are paying over the next lower model which has a 22 MPG rating and no Gas Guzzler Tax.

At this time, SUVs are not subject to this tax. So even though the Lexus GX-470 gets only 18 MPG you would not have to pay the additional $2,100 in the Gas Guzzler tax. However, legislation will be moving through congress to change the definition of an SUV from a light truck to a car which would then make it subject to the Gas Guzzler tax.

If you’ve ever perused the Forbes Fortune 500 (a list of the top 500 United States public corporations as measured by their gross revenue), you may have noticed that the list includes mammoth companies, most of which do not have great environmental track records. And because of their healthy stock prices and market domination, investing in these companies is often compulsory when participating in employer-based investment plans.

It is possible to invest in Green corporations however, all it takes is a little determination and research to find funds you can feel good about supporting. I’ve compiled a list of Green and eco-friendly investment options to consider when deciding where you want to invest your money:

1. The Sierra Club offers mutual funds that have been, “designed to invest only in companies that meet its social and environmental guidelines.” The Sierra Club Stock and fund meets the Sierra Club’s environmental and social guidelines, but according to the Motley Fool investment gurus, financially, it doesn’t perform all that well.

2. Portfolio 21 Investments is an investment company that specializes in investing in companies who “design environmentally friendly products, use renewable energy sources, and develop efficient production methods.” Based in Portland, Oregon, Portfolio 21 has a global outlook to its investing, and holds more than 65% of its stocks in international companies.

3. In addition to mutual funds, you can also invest responsibly in individual corporations, such as Whole Foods Market and Starbucks - both companies have a history of forward-thinking environmental policies, even as they’ve grown and come to dominate the US landscape.

Make sure you consult your financial adviser before investing in any of the products mentioned above. Additionally, the Motely Fool has a Green Investing series on their website from which much of this information was compiled and is a great starting point for research into Green Investing.

There are a lot of things in the home that produce waste water. Sinks, bathtubs, and laundry would normally have their waste water dumped back into sewer systems or septic tanks. However, if you own your own home, you can divert this type of water to a Greywater or sullage system for other uses.

Greywater is non-industrial wastewater generated from domestic processes and comprises 50-80% of all residential wastewater. Greywater is distinct from blackwater in the amount and composition of its chemical and biological contaminants. For example, flushed toilet water would be considered blackwater while drained water from a load of laundry is considered greywater. Greywater can be filtered locally to reduced number of contaminants and stored for other uses in the home where non-potable water is used.

Irrigation of lawns is one area where greywater can be effectively used. By directly recycling water into your lawn you will greatly reduce the amount of potable water you use per month and will significantly reduce your water bill. Indoor reuse is also a good place to look for greywater applications. Toilets can be filled with greywater because they do not become blackwater systems until after used. When using greywater in this manner it needs to be treated before it is put back into the home in order to reduce smell and wear on the toilet. However, it can greatly reduce the overall water usage of the home, especially if you do not have a more efficient 1.5 gallon per flush toilet installed.

One great example of greywater use is the Aqus Toilet System as shown in the image above. It uses greywater from the sink, treats and stores the water in the cabinet below, then directly feeds the water to the toilet as it’s primary supply. It is estimated that this system can reduce water use in a two-person home by approximately 5,000 gallons a year.

Greywater systems are becoming a new trend in recycling and are especially attractive to people who live in the Southwest US, where water supplies can be limited. Before installing a greywater system in your home, make sure you find out if there are any local or regional requirements for installation. You can find more information on sites such as Greywater Central, Greywater Saver, and Greywater.com on how to plan, install, and use your greywater system to it’s maximum potential

The basis for generating electricity has not changed in over 120 years, when it was first created for the purpose of powering inventions in 1881. In a traditional turbine based power plant, some force is used to turn turbines which are attached to electrical generators. The force that turns the turbines tends to be steam, but the how the water is boiled to create the steam varies. Generally, either fossil fuel (oil, coal, natural gas) or nuclear fusion is used, though geothermal and solar power towers have also been used as to turn water into steam.

There is another way to turn turbines - via the direct method - which is how hydroelectric plants are run. When using hydroelectricity, a river (or part of a river) is damned, and the flow is diverted over the fins of a turbine, which turn it, thus generating electricity. Wind power also works this way by turning the blades of windmill, which in turn spins the turbines to generate power. For both methods to work effectively, a minimum amount of power needs to be constantly generated by water or wind to keep the turbine spinning. For hydroelectricity this is pretty easy, but for wind it requires that the installation site have certain natural characteristics to maximize turbine performance.

When we talk about solar for the home, we are not talking about a turbine-based solution. Instead we are talking about photovoltaic panels (also known as PV). Unlike the hydroelectic towers mentioned above, these panels do not heat water to produce steam and turn a turbine. Instead, they directly convert solar energy to electrical current. This electrical current can be immediately used, stored for later use, or redistributed to the electrical grid for a fee.

In our next installment we will talk about how PV can work in your home and the options available to you.

I’ve been meaning to calculate my carbon footprint for several months, but have held off until now because I knew I would be ashamed once I entered my information into the calculators. My shame comes from the 1996 Jeep Cherokee that I was given, and the 70 miles I drive each day back and forth to work. I knew that the combination of an older, gas-guzzling SUV and daily treks up and down the highway would make my carbon emissions high. For the purposes of this blog however, I put my shame and guilt aside and took a few carbon quizzes that let me see where my personal carbon emissions rank compared to the rest of the nation.

The Nature Conservancy Carbon Footprint Calculator was the most in-depth of all the quizzes I tried. They asked questions about my home (energy usage & conservation efforts), my travels (driving & flying), my food choices (meat vs. vegetarian, organic food use), and my recycling efforts. The Nature Conservancy calculator also lets you take the quiz based on the habits of all the people in your house or on just your answers. Once I’d answered all of the questions, my total was calculated with a comparison against the national average. Let’s just say I exceeded that number.

On the Conservation International site, their Carbon Calculator let me decide if I wanted to do a simple calculation or a more detailed analysis of my carbon usage. In addition to asking me basic questions about my lifestyle, this calculator has a feature that tells you how much it will cost if you want to offset your carbon emissions. You can also calculate the carbon footprint of events you plan on throwing (such as weddings) and your vacation plans.

The Environmental Protection Agency has their own Greenhouse Gas Emissions Quiz that asks you questions about your lifestyle, but also provides solutions for how to lower your emissions. First you find out how many pounds of carbon dioxide you produce in a year. Once you’ve completed that section of the quiz, you can fill in boxes that indicate how many fewer pounds of carbon will be produced if you do things like replace incandescent light bulbs with energy-efficient bulbs or cut-down on how much you drive. Once you’ve finished the second portion of the quiz, it recalculates your score and lets you know what your overall score would be if you changed your habits.

Filling out these calculators is a good way to gauge your personal carbon use and think of ways to reduce your overall carbon footprint through conservation. And while it’s going to take large-scale change from the government and corporations, any little bit you can do will help bring about greater overall change.

Whether you own or rent your home, changing your shower head to a low-flow aerator can save money and the environment at the same time. The average shower head delivers 5 gallons of water per minute (gpm) while a low flow model will typically deliver 2.5 gpm. Low-flow shower heads work by constricting the flow of water out of the nozzle and mixing more air into the water stream which results in the lower water usage. That means your water usage and bill will both be lower.

You can find low-flow shower heads at any major hardware store like Ace Hardware, Home Depot or Lowes. Custom models can be found online and typically cost from $10 to $100 depending on the manufacturer and style.

While many people out there have been moving toward a Greener lifestyle for years, the mainstream is finally starting to catch the “Green Wave.” One indicator of how mainstream Green is becoming was apparent on New Year’s Eve in Times Square. To ring in 2008, the organizers of the annual ball drop - Time Square Alliance and Countdown Entertainment debuted a new and improved crystal ball.

Crafted by Waterford Crystal, Phillips Lighting and Focus Lighting, this new Times Square Ball has 9,576 energy-efficient LED lights that replace the old ball’s 600+ incandescent and halogen bulbs. Even with such a huge increase in the number of lights affixed to the ball, the new Times Square Ball can be powered with a fraction of the electricity used to power the old ball - yet emits twice as much light.

While the fact of the Times Square Ball going Green is not fully newsworthy on its own, it does represent a shift towards a more sustainable attitude in and around this country. When the largest American city makes a conscious (and highly publicized) decision to re-work the most prominent New Year’s icon in the world - and do so using energy-efficient technology, those with an eye toward the Green take notice.

Click here to view a video of the new Times Square Ball and learn about its new Greener technology.

Using solar energy to generate electricity in your home is always a great step for people with the desire to go green. Solar is a freely available and renewable resource that is available anywhere in the world. With recent technical advances in solar cells, the amount of light needed to generate large amounts of power has decreased–which makes solar energy applicable for use in almost any home with normal electrical usage. With the rising costs of natural gas and oil, solar also serves as a great investment for your home.

Over the following weeks we will try to tackle all these questions and provide you with a how-to guide on how to choose, install, and pay for a solar array for your home. There are many ways to go about this and new options exist for the home (and in some cases, apartments). If you are curious about how to add solar energy to your home and have specific questions, feel free to leave a comment and we will try to answer as many as we can over the course of the series.