Have you ever done the math on commuting to work? Telecommuting saves money, it’s a fact. Yet most folks are fearful of stepping out of the in-person environment. Luckily the barriers have been broken by Adobe as their new Acrobat Connect Pro software has video, audio, and interactivity that create an almost in-person experience for meeting attendees.

In addition, Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro online meeting software is now offering a free trial and every time someone signs up they donate twenty-five dollars to help a school go green. In fact, Adobe has partnered with the U.S. Green Building Council and the mayors of Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco to help schools go green in their communities. Each city will receive up to $100,000 to create classrooms that foster learning alongside smart environmental practices.

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The demise of retail giant Filene’s Basement may have a positive effect on proponents of vertical urban farming and algae biofuels alike. Since 2007, the developers of a Filene’s site in downtown Boston have been unable to find funding to move the project forward. But now Höweler + Yoon Architecture and their partner Squared have put forth a proposal to erect a temporary vertical, modular, algae bioreactor high-rise in its place.

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No doubt many of you have read or heard about David Nichol’s woodgas F-150. I came across it during a media hailstorm a few months ago (which has since petered out). But while I was doing research on the One-Gallon Challenge, I saw that David’s truck was going to be participating. I gathered up my camera and notepad and my best friend (who I sort of tricked into coming) and took the drive to Greenfield Mass. last Wednesday night to get a look at this truck, and other fuel-sippers in person.

I learned a whole lot more than I bargained for.

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Garage-Built Car Gets 105 MPG, Cost $2,500 To Build

Frustrated with the price of filling up his Toyota, Jory Squibb built the Moonbeam. It has been to the Altwheels Festival in Boston twice and has traveled over 10,000 miles. It is powered by a 150 cc gas engine and carries two passengers “if they are on good terms,” he says.

15 Students Turn A ‘76 Porsche Into A Fully Electric Car

The car was converted into a electric vehicle using 18 U-Charge® XP Lithium Phosphate batteries…and 15 MIT students. The electric version has similar driving performance to the original vehicle, with the added advantage of regenerative braking. It has a range of about 100 miles on a full charge.

Hybrid Trike Uses Diesel, Electric, And Pedal-Power

The Tri-Hybrid Stealth is a two seat, 3-wheeled vehicle that is powered by a diesel engine, an electric motor and the driver’s legs. For reals. It’s also the first hybrid trike to offer exclusive hand controls and an automated extendable seat for handicapped drivers.

Biomass Powered Truck Runs On Wood And Cardboard

Dave Nichols , a 42-year-old home builder and auto shop owner from eastern Connecticut, modified his 1989 Ford F-150 pickup truck to run on wood, leaves, cardboard and other “biomass” with a fuel system that he says expels virtually no pollution. Dave’s entry was the only truck in the competition.

Diesel-Powered Trike Built Almost Entirely Of Aluminum

The super-light Roopod, built by an Industrial Designer from western Massachusetts, is powered by a 2-cylinder diesel engine. Inspiration for the car came when he realized his V-dub weighed 3,000 pounds. “For every gallon of gas that I put in, 90 percent of it is being used to drive the car, and 10 percent to drive me, and that’s just stupid,’’ he said.

Three-Wheeled Green Grand Prix Winner

Built by Bill Buchholz, the Dirigo is a three-wheeled diesel two passenger vehicle that has a top speed of 72mph and does 0-60 about 30 seconds. It recently won its class in the Green Grand Prix, averaging 90 MPG. Um, can you tell it was designed by boat builders?

Gaia, The 300 MPG Trike

Built by Ken Fry, he says the vehicle will deliver 300 mpge with an electric range of about 30 miles and a top-speed of 90 mph. How? Well the car only weighs 540 pounds.

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Global warming. Climate change. The greatest threat to continued human survival. The rhetoric these days can be awfully scary regarding new energy and oil. Sometimes it feels like we’ve all been doomed already by a hyper-active media always looking for the “next big story” to terrify us with. But I don’t really take anything seriously, so I am always on the lookout for a fun twist on a real problem.

What could be fun about climate change, you ask? Well, besides the fact that my home might end up as beach front property one day if we don’t mend our sins, how about a race? One that challenges contestants to go 100 miles on a single gallon of gas? That is the goal of the One-Gallon Challenge, where six contestants and their very different vehicles have to make the journey from Greenfield, MA to Boston in three hours using as little fuel as possible.

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Fireflies have always been one of nature’s most beautiful and intriguing miracles. I could still spend hours and hours on a hot, dark summer night tracing the paths taken by the fireflies in my parents’ backyard. The fun, of course, comes from tracing the path between “blinks”, when the firefly fades to black and you are left guessing as to where they’ll appear next.

Perhaps this nostalgia explains why, when I saw the “Firefly Watch” site from the Museum of Science, Boston, I was both transported and transfixed.

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Last year, 300 folks across North America turned in their car keys for a month as part of the 2008 Zipcar Low-Car Diet. And, in addition to cutting congestion, they also walked 85% more, biked 136% more and decreased their miles driven by 71%. Pretty impressive, eh? Starting July 15, a new crop of participants from all Zipcar cities worldwide* will begin the 2009 Low-Car Diet: one full month of living without a primary car.

Zipcar will be selecting 30 participants in each Zipcar metro to take part in the 2009 Low-Car Diet. Zipcar and its partners are committed to providing all participants with the necessary tools for creating transportation nirvana, including:

• Bike rentals
• Transit passes
• Complimentary meals at participating restaurants
• Discounts at local retailers
• And, of course, a 1-year Zipcar membership with some driving credit to get started

There will be a number of applicants for only 30 spaces, and Zipcar would like to make sure they’re the best. If you think you’d like to try an unconventional diet just fill out this short survey.

*Zipcar cities include Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, London, New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, and Washington, DC.

Photo Courtesy tvol via Flickr under Creative Commons license.

Disclaimer: Gas2.0 parent company Virgance is participating in the Low-Car Diet.

15 Students Turn A ‘76 Porsche Into A Fully Electric Car

The car was converted into a electric vehicle using 18 U-Charge® XP Lithium Phosphate batteries…and 15 MIT students. The electric version has similar driving performance to the original vehicle, with the added advantage of regenerative braking. It has a range of about 100 miles on a full charge.

Hybrid Trike Uses Diesel, Electric, And Pedal-Power

The Tri-Hybrid Stealth is a two seat, 3-wheeled vehicle that is powered by a diesel engine, an electric motor and the driver’s legs. For reals. It’s also the first hybrid trike to offer exclusive hand controls and an automated extendable seat for handicapped drivers.

Biomass Powered Truck Runs On Wood And Cardboard

Dave Nichols , a 42-year-old home builder and auto shop owner from eastern Connecticut, modified his 1989 Ford F-150 pickup truck to run on wood, leaves, cardboard and other “biomass” with a fuel system that he says expels virtually no pollution. Dave’s entry was the only truck in the competition.

Diesel-Powered Trike Built Almost Entirely Of Aluminum

The super-light Roopod, built by an Industrial Designer from western Massachusetts, is powered by a 2-cylinder diesel engine. Inspiration for the car came when he realized his V-dub weighed 3,000 pounds. “For every gallon of gas that I put in, 90 percent of it is being used to drive the car, and 10 percent to drive me, and that’s just stupid,’’ he said.

Three-Wheeled Green Grand Prix Winner

Built by Bill Buchholz, the Dirigo is a three-wheeled diesel two passenger vehicle that has a top speed of 72mph and does 0-60 about 30 seconds. It recently won its class in the Green Grand Prix, averaging 90 MPG. Um, can you tell it was designed by boat builders?

Gaia, The 300 MPG Trike

Built by Ken Fry, he says the vehicle will deliver 300 mpge with an electric range of about 30 miles and a top-speed of 90 mph. How? Well the car only weighs 540 pounds.

Like this article? Follow me on Twitter or friend me on Facebook.

Changents is a truly innovative online platform where individuals and grass roots organizations can grow, nurture and expand their own mission for change and is uniquely suited to the task.

I first spoke with Changents co-founder Deron Triff last July for a post in TriplePundit.com called How to Be a Rock Star Agent of Change.

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Choice Camps, a Boston-based summer camp and youth travel referral service, has just launched a great resource for parents - ChoiceCamps.com.  It’s a website designed to improve the way families find summer camps and teen travel programs online.

Says Nick Riotto, co-founder of Choice Camps:

“Until now, there has been no comprehensive, trusted resource for families to find safe, reliable, and top-rated summer camp and teen travel programs online. Through our online and phone components, it is our goal to inspire families to send their kids to camp, help them make informed decisions, and guide them in selecting an appropriate summer experience.”

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Fifteen-year-old Bostonian Jordan Star has emerged as the surprise driving force behind a bill to ban the cruel practice of ’surgically silencing’ cats and dogs by removing their vocal cords.

Star, a freshman at Needham High, decided to take action after coming across a dog that had been debarked and abandoned. “It was just horrible,” he said of the dog’s struggle to get his attention. “It was just like a hoarse, wheezy cough. In a shelter, all they are is a mutilated animal, which makes them harder to adopt.”

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Planners and volunteers met yesterday to brainstorm for this year’s annual Boston GreenFest, a celebration and education of all things environmental. The fair at City Hall Plaza, which will take place Friday and Saturday this August 21 and 22, includes hundreds of exhibitors and sponsors and promises to be the greenest and fullest showing yet for the Massachusetts festival.

Bright, abundant sunshine and strong winds pervaded the city during the late-morning meeting, natural resources that seemed good omens for the summer festival and that will undoubtedly be featured in solar and wind power exhibits there.

The informal Boston GreenFest committee, comprised of occupations and talents as varied as insurance professional, fundraiser, student and community activist, discussed the character and message of the event, as well as its participants.

“The broadest scope possible is the answer,” said Dr. Karen Weber. “We believe the message has to get out in the broadest sense possible.”

Weber heads Foundation for a Green Future, the organization hosting Boston GreenFest.

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Featured on the blog at Modern Eco Homes, the story describes how a young boy in the Boston area has become a one-kid recycling industry.

Ben, a fifth-grader, spends his post-school afternoons and weekends bicycling around his neighborhood in search of bottles and cans. He’s become such a regular sight in the area that some residents put out all their recyclables in their backyards until Ben can come and pick them up.

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Based in San Francisco, Project FROG plans to showcase the FROG Zero structure in Greenbuild’s “School of the Future” exhibit.

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Users can search for businesses by name, or they can search neighborhoods for businesses that are on IzzitGreen’s green list. One of the web site’s most helpful aspects is its “Guides” page. From pizza places to used bookstores, IzzitGreen posts information about the percentage of green businesses there are in each category, where you can find the ones that are green, and they go for the dirty details…or clean in this case.

For example, if you own a business in Boston, chances are that IzzitGreen has found out what kind of lightbulbs you use, whether or not you recycle any of the materials your business or your employers use and will have a comment on what working conditions are like. And that’s just the beginning of the list.

A lively discussion forum will soon be debuting on the site. For now, all registered users are listed under the People section with varying levels of contact information.

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The latter has long been a focus of the green development. One need only look at the mass of stories coming out of the Middle East and Asia to see that a green focus on design and architecture is now more important than ever.

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Whatever the cause (and there’s good reason to blame all three to some degree), most so-called experts these days aren’t expecting oil prices to drop anytime soon. In fact, Newsweek this week features a sobering article titled, “The Coming Energy Wars,” that predicts we’ll soon see oil prices top $200 a barrel. When that happens, the authors warn, we can expect everything about our daily lives to change.

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Two weeks ago Eylon Israely conducted an interview with King Corn’s Director and Producer, Aaron Woolf . Today we’ve got interesting updates on the film and its creators.

Firstly, If you haven’t seen this documentary yet, here’s your chance - King Corn airs on PBS on April 15! So mark it down in your calender.

And there’s also a new film from the creators of King Corn - The Greening of Southie. The film will have its world premiere on the Sundance Channel on Earth Day, April 22 at 9:40PM. This time, the filmmakers explore green building, and they’re focusing on the first green residential project in one of the favorite neighborhoods: South Boston, or Southie as everyone calls it. Here’s a little bit more about it:

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Atlanta: Arms Around Atlanta sounds like a blast. It's all going down at Grant Park on Saturday & Sunday.

Boston: Clean Up the Charles on Saturday, April 21!

Chicago: Check out Green Festival happening all weekend long! Green vendors & organizations galore!

Dallas: Run, don't walk to downtown today for EarthFest from 10am - 2pm.

Denver: Visit the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and enjoy yourself at their Earth Day Renewable Energy Expo April 21-22.

Houston: The Houston Zoo is celebrating Earth Day all weekend - family fun.

Los Angeles: Lots to choose from. Clean Rivers, go to a Conscious Living Fair, or Let Worms Eat Your Garbage!

Miami: Check out EarthFest:WaterFest Gone Green a full day of music, eco-village, food, and fun. (Organized by yours truly.)

New York: Choose from a variety of events, and don't forget the slideshow in Grand Central!

San Francisco: Get on over to East Bay on Saturday and have fun at the Berkeley Earth Day Festival.

Seattle: Do a little Earth Day tour and check out several events this weekend in Seattle.

Washington, D.C.: Go to GreenDC Week Earth Day Celebration or check out some other events.

I didn't mention your city? Search for local events at Earth Day Network or EnviroLink.

Rather not party it up? Do something green like a beach clean-up or planting a tree.

15 Students Turn A ‘76 Porsche Into A Fully Electric Car

The car was converted into a electric vehicle using 18 U-Charge® XP Lithium Phosphate batteries…and 15 MIT students. The electric version has similar driving performance to the original vehicle, with the added advantage of regenerative braking. It has a range of about 100 miles on a full charge.

Hybrid Trike Uses Diesel, Electric, And Pedal-Power

The Tri-Hybrid Stealth is a two seat, 3-wheeled vehicle that is powered by a diesel engine, an electric motor and the driver’s legs. For reals. It’s also the first hybrid trike to offer exclusive hand controls and an automated extendable seat for handicapped drivers.

Biomass Powered Truck Runs On Wood And Cardboard

Dave Nichols , a 42-year-old home builder and auto shop owner from eastern Connecticut, modified his 1989 Ford F-150 pickup truck to run on wood, leaves, cardboard and other “biomass” with a fuel system that he says expels virtually no pollution. Dave’s entry was the only truck in the competition.

Diesel-Powered Trike Built Almost Entirely Of Aluminum

The super-light Roopod, built by an Industrial Designer from western Massachusetts, is powered by a 2-cylinder diesel engine. Inspiration for the car came when he realized his V-dub weighed 3,000 pounds. “For every gallon of gas that I put in, 90 percent of it is being used to drive the car, and 10 percent to drive me, and that’s just stupid,’’ he said.

Three-Wheeled Green Grand Prix Winner

Built by Bill Buchholz, the Dirigo is a three-wheeled diesel two passenger vehicle that has a top speed of 72mph and does 0-60 about 30 seconds. It recently won its class in the Green Grand Prix, averaging 90 MPG. Um, can you tell it was designed by boat builders?

Gaia, The 300 MPG Trike

Built by Ken Fry, he says the vehicle will deliver 300 mpge with an electric range of about 30 miles and a top-speed of 90 mph. How? Well the car only weighs 540 pounds.

Like this article? Follow me on Twitter or friend me on Facebook.

LEED (which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the premiere certification for eco-friendly construction in the U.S. as determined by the U.S. Green Buildings Council. The Boston requirement of 26 points is the minimum for LEED certification in the U.S.

The new building codes will affect both private and public construction, a first for the U.S. They exist to reduce the negative impact of buildings on the environment and occupants in five areas: sustainable site planning, water savings, energy efficiency and renewable power, materials and resource conservation, and indoor environmental quality.

The article goes on to mention that Washington, D.C. is considering a similar mandate within the next couple years. Right now, it looks as if Boston might be a model for the rest of the country to mimic once the value of such moves is proven on such a large scale.

One interesting part of Boston's plan is that while builders are required to adhere to LEED standards, they do not have to apply for certification (a move that can be costly). Instead at least one person on the building team must be a LEED-certified professional; who can then make sure the project is abiding by the rules.

Way to go Boston! Here's to hoping more cities play 'follow the leader' and that the requirement dips below 50,000 sq. ft. to cover even more construction projects.

Hit the jump for more…

15 Students Turn A ‘76 Porsche Into A Fully Electric Car

The car was converted into a electric vehicle using 18 U-Charge® XP Lithium Phosphate batteries…and 15 MIT students. The electric version has similar driving performance to the original vehicle, with the added advantage of regenerative braking. It has a range of about 100 miles on a full charge.

Hybrid Trike Uses Diesel, Electric, And Pedal-Power

The Tri-Hybrid Stealth is a two seat, 3-wheeled vehicle that is powered by a diesel engine, an electric motor and the driver’s legs. For reals. It’s also the first hybrid trike to offer exclusive hand controls and an automated extendable seat for handicapped drivers.

Biomass Powered Truck Runs On Wood And Cardboard

Dave Nichols , a 42-year-old home builder and auto shop owner from eastern Connecticut, modified his 1989 Ford F-150 pickup truck to run on wood, leaves, cardboard and other “biomass” with a fuel system that he says expels virtually no pollution. Dave’s entry was the only truck in the competition.

Diesel-Powered Trike Built Almost Entirely Of Aluminum

The super-light Roopod, built by an Industrial Designer from western Massachusetts, is powered by a 2-cylinder diesel engine. Inspiration for the car came when he realized his V-dub weighed 3,000 pounds. “For every gallon of gas that I put in, 90 percent of it is being used to drive the car, and 10 percent to drive me, and that’s just stupid,’’ he said.

Three-Wheeled Green Grand Prix Winner

Built by Bill Buchholz, the Dirigo is a three-wheeled diesel two passenger vehicle that has a top speed of 72mph and does 0-60 about 30 seconds. It recently won its class in the Green Grand Prix, averaging 90 MPG. Um, can you tell it was designed by boat builders?

Gaia, The 300 MPG Trike

Built by Ken Fry, he says the vehicle will deliver 300 mpge with an electric range of about 30 miles and a top-speed of 90 mph. How? Well the car only weighs 540 pounds.

Like this article? Follow me on Twitter or friend me on Facebook.