This week at TreeHugger: At the close of the Shell Eco-Marathon, the winners were French high-school students running their craft on ethanol, getting almost 2,900 km out of a liter of the stuff (presumably from corn—but there are much better ways to go about it). The Pan-American Pro Biodiesel Team, in a different take on biofuel showmanship, earned itself a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records by winding their biodiesel convoy from Alaska to the southern end of Argentina. Proving that we aren't lamer than the Europeans, after all, 30% of Americans proclaim they'd consider commuting on a scooter.
Honda has developed a carbon neutral bio-fabric for auto seats and interiors. The Sierra Club has released an MPG calculator that shows us what our cars' mileage would look like (and how much cash we'd each save) if we started getting serious with federal CAFE standards. But GM has its own simple and direct solution: buy an SUV in sunny Florida or California and they'll lock in your cost of gas at $1.99 a gallon for a year. (Dust hands together) Problem solved! That was close, boys.
[TreeHugger's Perspective Shift roundup appears every Wednesday]