But there are other things going on?other tests being conducted?that you might not know about unless you keep up with the Technology News on your local TV news station or on the internet.

There?s money in green technology, no doubt about it, and company after company is getting on the bandwagon. No problem with that ? it?s the entrepreneurs in this country that have accomplished the most in this country.

Whenever I hear of a new technological breakthrough, I make note of it in a notebook I keep for the purpose. Such news items pop up in newspapers every now and again, but of course the web is the main place to find out about this material

If you?re interested in living green, and in the green movement, you?ll want to bookmark various sites that spread the news about such technological developments. Or should I say, possible technology.

For example, there?s a company called New Energy Technologies, Inc., which intends to try to harness the kinetic energy that is produced by the 250 million vehicles traveling U.S. roads every day.

The company is developing what it calls MotionPower? technology. This is similar to what is used to power hybrid cars. The technology is installed in the roadways themselves, however (and look like speed bumps). There, it will capture the friction energy of car tires rolling over the device. Tests are ongoing even now in certain high traffic areas (fast food restaurants and hotels) in a few cities, to see if the technology is viable.

In today?s world, it only makes sense to generate energy from as many resources as possible. However with all this rush for greening going on, I hope that the technology used will actually give more value. Sometimes, the benefits of a new energy are offset by how much energy it took to produce. (For example, it takes more effort to produce ethanol from corn than from sugar cane, but because the United States has a corn industry?that?s the kind of ethanol we?ll be producing. And if it drives up the prices of corn?well?that?s just too bad.)

Technology tradeoffs always have to be considered.

Fortunately, more and more motels and hotels are embracing the green movement.

Don?t assume that they all are, however. As you plan your trip ? so simple now that practically every motel and hotel, and every tourist spot now has its own website to tell you everything you need to know ? simply check to make sure that your lodgings will be as green as you want them to be.

What kinds of things do motels and hotels do to be green?

1. Towel Program and Sheet Program
It used to be that lodgings would change towels and sheets every day. At green hotels, they do this only if the guest asks. Otherwise, guests reuse towels for a couple of days, and sleep on the same sheets, before replacement. (Obviously, once a guest checks out, new sheets and towels are provided for the next visitor.)

By doing this, hotels save on labor costs, as well as water and detergent costs. Towels and sheets last longer, too, by not having to be washed quite so often.

2. Alternative Energy
Does the hotel use alternative energy sources and practice energy conservation?

3. Newspaper Program
Instead of delivering a newspaper to every single room, typically a few copies are for use in the lobby.

4. Organic food served
More and more hotels are adding organic food in their menus.

5. Non-Smoking Rooms
More and more hotels and motels are going totally non-smokeless, which helps out a great deal when it comes to having fresh sheets to sleep on, and no draperies with that tobacco smell absorbed within. Those hotels that aren?t non-smokeless will nevertheless have non-smoking rooms ? and charge hefty fines if someone is found to have smoked in there.

6. Environmental Cleaning
Does the hotel or motel use environmentally safe cleaning products?

7. Recycling
Does the hotel practice an extensive recycling campaign? Are there guest room recycling bins?

8. Durable Service Items
Does the hotel provide dishes, cups, glasses, mugs, tableware and serving pieces that are long-lasting, rather than disposable?

9. Pets
Many people like to travel with pets. Unfortunately, many other people are allergic to pet dander. So many green hotels won?t allow them ? not to be mean to the pet owner, but rather to keep their future guests safe from possible allergic reactions.

The first thing to do is take your car in for a thorough inspection, to make sure it will be able to safely make the trip you want to make. Have the oil changed, all fluids topped off, and so on. Don?t just look at your tires with a critical eye and decide that they?re fine ? check them with a tire gauge and be absolutely sure. And if they?re the least bit underinflated, top them off as well.

Quite simply, underinflated tires waste gasoline. And by extension, money.

The faster you go in your car, the more gasoline you burn. This can be a tradeoff. The faster you go, the sooner you arrive at your destination, and the more time you have to spend on vacation. But really, how much time do you save? A couple of hours?

It?s certainly hard to be the only car on the road going 60 when everyone and their brother is passing you going 70, but in the long run it saves on money and gasoline.

If this is a family trip, you?ll have, on average, your spouse and two kids with you in the car. And since two kids can?t sit still very long, you?ll be stopping at rest stops and perhaps at grocery stores, just to take the monotony out of the trip.

It?s at times like these that a lot of litter builds up in the car, which eventually has to be thrown out.

One way to prevent this is to pack lunches for the kids, so there?s no need to stop at restaurants. Glide in to a convenient rest-stop, take your food out of their glass containers, repack your glass containers for future use, walk around enjoying the sites of the rest-stop (there are usually signs pointing out sites of historic interest through which you?ll be passing), and then get back on your way.

Next you need to find some place to stay for the night. Make an effort to find an eco-friendly lodging at which to stay. There are several sites on the web where you can search for ?best green hotels? or ?green hotel bookings.? Typically these lodgings will have restaurants that serve organic food, use environmentally safe cleaners, use recycling bins, practice water conservation (with low flow toilets) and so on.

And as you go on your trip, be careful about acquiring too much ?stuff? or souvenirs that you will only throw away once you get home, as opposed to stuff you really want and will proudly display.

Your family vacations should be memorable for you? but your should leave as small a footprint behind as possible.

Pets breathe in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, just like humans. They consume food and they excrete waste, just like humans. And, just like with humans, all that does impact our environment.

Unfortunately, even though pets can provide unconditional love or companionship, they can, and are, frequently abandoned by their owners, who for some reason don?t want to take the time to bring them to shelters, or pay a vet to euthanize them. So they are abandoned into the wild where most die rather quickly, the victims of predators. Others, such as cats and dogs, simply become wild, and live miserable lives trying to survive. In addition, shelters are full of abandoned pets.

That?s why most advocates, not only for the environment but for the pets themselves, encourage people not to buy pets from breeders, but rather to adopt from shelters. There are thousands upon thousands of abandoned dogs and cats in the world?it?s really not necessary to breed new ones.

In addition, any pets should be spayed or neutered. Well?those pets that are fecund, such as dogs and cats, anyway! Otherwise, there?s the potentiality for more unwanted pets to be born. Of course it costs money, which is why most people don?t want to do it. Or, they feel it?s not right to interfere with their pet?s natural well-being. However, spayed and neutered pets can actually be happier and more healthy.

In addition, ways to practice ?birth control? on cats are being explored, so that they don?t have to be spayed or neutered. This will come with time.

If you’re thinking of purchasing a pet, for yourself or for a child, do a lot of research first to make sure your child can look after the pet properly. And if you do acquire a pet and then change your mind ? don?t abandon it into the wild. Bring it to a shelter. They are your responsibility ? they were willing to give you love, the least you can do is give them a safe place to live.

Children, much more than adults, are impacted by the commercials with which they are bombarded during every cartoon show or kid-safe show that they watch.

Kids also have a lot less discipline than adults, when it comes to seeing something that they want. They see something, they want it, it?s as simple as that, and they can mope and whine and have a fit until they get what they want, or they can have parents who buy them anything, just as a matter of course.

Either way, the things that have been bought for them are typically used for a day, then left on the floor gathering dust until mom (or dad) picks them up and shoves them in the closet. It?s a never ending cycle, though, as I can attest from experiences with my sister and brother-in-law and their eleven year old, who is always ?rewarded? with a toy from a gift shop for not having acted up too badly while going through a museum or store.

And while little kids may be impacted by their teacher?s urging them to ?save the environment,? unfortunately many of them, once they get to teen age, think nothing about throwing their trash on the ground as they walk from store or fast-food restaurant to car. It needs more than lessons at school to teach them about saving the environment by not littering, parents need to get into the act as well.

Simply, parents have to teach kids, from a young age, to give some thought to themselves and what they?re doing. Don?t pick up after your kid from the ages of five to ten, and then all of a sudden expect them at age ten to start picking up after themselves. It isn?t going to happen. ?That?s what mom?s for,? is their motto.

Saying ?no? to kids who ask for toys as you go through a store can be difficult for some parents, but it needs to be done. At least, should your children exhibit a pattern of asking for something, using it once, and then never using it again, don?t get into the habit of continuing to enable them to be so wasteful. It can set a precedent that will continue on even into adulthood.

Kids need their parents to be parents, not friends. And one way to be a parent is to ensure that you teach your kids how to be stewards of their environment. Don?t start when they are three or four ? that?s a bit too young! But once they are five or six, it?s time to start teaching them the things they?ll need to know to get on in life.

Driving a car also represents the ultimate freedom. All you need to do is get in that car and go for a drive and you feel free?you can drive anywhere you want for as long as you want? as long as the gasoline holds out, of course.

That?s a few of the reasons why Americans resist car pooling. Another reason is logistical?many people live so far from their jobs, or from their other co-workers, that there?s simply no way they can conveniently carpool together.

So, of course, the web has come to the rescue. Here?s a site that helps car poolers connect: http://www.carpoolconnect.com/. You simply input the zipcodes for your home, and for your destination, and the site will let you know if there are any other people in those areas who want to car pool. (Note that you have to create a free account before you can do any searches.) The site also has a message forum where people can discuss car pooling issues.

There are also plenty of Park and Drive lots, which are a boon to people who live in the suburbs but have to travel downtown. You park your car in a lot, and take a bus in, which saves a lot of space downtown, not to mention congestion and gasoline fumes.

No one?s stepped up yet to create a website that lists Park and Drive lots for all cities, so you?ll have to do some searching on your own. Ask at your Human Resources department if they know of any lots in your area, and so on.

Park and drive isn?t just for commuting to work, of course. It makes sense to use these lots if you do a lot of travelling via airplane as well.

Whenever you?re using this kind of transportation, you need to cultivate patience. Bring a book along to read on the ride, or play games on your Iphone, or whatever.

Using these alternate forms of transportation may seem frustrating at first, if you?re used to being able to just get in your car and go whenever you want, but once you get used to it you?ll find that in the long run you actually do save some time by carpooling or riding with others. And if you don?t save time?you?ll save the feeling of frustration you get by sitting in traffic! (You may still be sitting in traffic, but you?ll be able to read or play games or use your time productively as you do so.)

Well, there are some things you can do to reduce the heat inside your home.

First off, if you live in a house, consider planting some shade trees on the east and west sides of your home. As long as you?re planting deciduous trees (those that lose their leaves in winter) you can even shade the south side of your home as well. (Typically, people will heat their homes naturally during winter time by allowing the south sun to come in. With deciduous trees, you keep the sun out during the summer, and let it in during the winter.)

Plant shade trees or shrubs around your picnic table or porch, or, depending on how much land you have, plant a double row of trees to make a nice, cool soothing walkway, with perhaps a picnic table in the middle.

But if you don?t want to plant trees, there are other things you can do to let the sunlight into your home, but keep the heat out of it.

Window curtains may shade the light, but they do very little to keep the heat out of your home. If you can?t afford to purchase new windows that are treated to keep out the heat, consider applying solar screens. They?ll serve the same purpose, and they?re removable during winter (at least, if you install them so that they are!).

Solar screens should be applied to every window in your home that gets any amount of sun. They allow the light of the sun to enter, but keep the heat trapped outside, which of course keeps your home that much cooler, and thus necessitates less use of fan or air conditioner.

You can purchase solar screens commercially, or purchase the components and put them together yourself.
In addition to keeping out the heat, solar screens will also reduce fading of your interior furnishings and books. (Indeed, I wish I?d known about these long before I noticed that all the vibrant red book jackets on my first edition set of The Great Merlini mystery novels had faded to a soft pink!)

What had I known previously? That for several years, gasoline had been mandated to be mixed with 10% ethanol, because it was better for the environment. However, because of the law of unintended consequences, the use of ethanol was driving up the cost of corn (from which it was made), and causing the poorer people of the world even more misery as they were now unable to purchase it as their staple food.

So, today, as I said, I began doing some research.

To begin with, ethanol can be made from several substances. In Brazil ? the world?s largest ethanol producing country, they make ethanol out of sugar cane rather than corn. Sugar cane has a 30% greater concentration of sucrose than corn, and is also much easier to extract. In addition, the ?bagasse? (the fibrous residue remaining after the stalks are crushed to extract their juice) is then used for a variety of purposes ? nothing is wasted or dumped into landfills.

So why does the United States make its ethanol out of corn, I wondered. (One doesn?t really need to research that. Farmers already had corn crops in place, probably, and want to make money out of that, and our politicians want to keep our farmers happy. That?s why the US adds a tariff to ethanol produced outside the United States. Brazil ethanol is much cheaper than that produced in the US, because it does not need to be converted into sucrose ? it already is sucrose. (In addition, Brazilian producers don?t have to pay their workers near as much as American farmers have to pay theirs.)

CNN Money reported on August 7, 2007: “The reason we use corn and grains in this country to make ethanol is that’s what we produce best. It’s the easier thing for us to do at the moment,” said Matt Hartwig, spokesman for the Renewable Fuels Association. “The likelihood that cane will become a huge ethanol foodstock isn’t high, though you may see it in the future.”

This despite the fact that ethanol made from sugar cane is: ?about six times more economical to produce than corn ethanol and has the potential to help the environment because it requires few chemicals to grow.?

It?s the Corn Lobby in the US government that is producing a shift over to sugar cane?the government simply has too much invested in its corn-into-ethanol programs.

And, the ironic thing of course is that the water in most of these bottles doesn?t come from fresh mountain streams, but from the same water supply you?re drinking from. (Of course, it probably isn?t being siphoned through decades-old pipes and picking up contaminants that way, which is what bottled water drinkers are worried about when it comes to their tap water.)

The solution is to simply install a purifier on your tap, or your refrigerator, should it have that function. (Indeed, fridges that have receptacles for getting cold water and ice without having to open the fridge door are great energy savers!)

But my question is this. Do you know, personally, from where your tap water comes? Where is your local reservoir, and how old are the pipes that serve it? Where is the aquifer (underground water) from which that reservoir water comes.

As the population of the United States increases, both by births here and by immigration from abroad, more and more of our water supplier is being used up, faster than it is replenished by natural forces such as rainy days.

What is the definition of an aquifer? Lousiana?s Office of Conservation page has a thorough definition:

?An aquifer is a geologic formation that can store and transmit water to wells, springs and some streams. An aquifer is more like a sponge than an underground river: geologic materials have connected pores that allow water to move from one space to another, but unless the rock is fractured, water does not move through large, hollow tunnels at rapid rates.?

But let?s say you have a well, so you don?t even have to worry about city water at all?

Well, here?s what the definition of an aquifer has to say about wells:

?Wells can be drilled into aquifers and water can be pumped out. Precipitation adds water (this is recharge) into the porous rock of the aquifer. The rate of recharge is not the same for all aquifers, though, and that must be considered when pumping water from a well. Pumping too much water too fast draws down the water in the aquifer and might eventually cause a well to yield less water or run dry. Pumping your well too fast or too often might also cause your neighbor’s well to run dry if you both are pumping from the same aquifer. Aquifers can be quite extensive, possibly stretching for tens of miles, feeding hundreds of ground water wells and streams. This is why usage of your well can influence other people miles away.?

It behooves you, therefore, to keep up-to-date as to how water is managed in your locality.

Why not? There?s a wide variety of foods kept in glass bottles and jars, and glass is recyclable. And glass doesn?t have the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) as part of its makeup ? which may keep you, and your loved ones, a whole lot healthier.

Nearly all can liners contain BPA, and this chemical leaches into the foods contained within. BPA can leach out of polycarbonate plastic water bottles, as well.

The can and bottle industry insist that BPA is perfectly safe ? in the levels that are present in these leached out foods. Tests were conducted in the 1980s, on lab rats, to verify toxicity levels, and found them to be safe.

However, some scientists disagree. According to Frederick vom Saal, Ph.D., a developmental biologist at the University of Missouri, for example, BPA mimics naturally occurring estrogen, a hormone that is part of the endocrine system, the body’s finely tuned messaging service. “These hormones control the development of the brain, the reproductive system and many other systems in the developing fetus.? Endocrine-disrupting chemicals can duplicate, block or exaggerate hormonal responses. “The most harm is to the unborn or newborn child.?

Vom Saal points out that hormone disruption can occur with low doses of BPA, which is why the tests conducted in the 1980s don?t tell the whole story.

BPA is omnipresent. Indeed, ninety-five percent of Americans (who were tested) were found to have this chemical in their urine in a 2004 biomonitoring study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

While tests are continuing to attempt to settle the controversy once and for all, the fact remains that BPA could be harmful to newborns. Why take that chance? Switch over to glass containers today.