Green Options

Japanese luxury car-maker Lexus has announced plans to launch a five-door compact hybrid hatchback. The new model looks set to be a major competitor to the BMW 1-Series and Audi A3 in the hot-hatch segment.

The new model will be showcased in September at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show and is due to go on sale in the UK by autumn 2010.

Nissan has announced plans to sell compact hybrid vehicles based on its own technology in Japan, starting from 2011.

The Japanese outfit intends to make a low-cost, compact powertrain featuring an integrated electric motor providing supplemental power to the main gasoline engine. Energy will be provided by high-performance lithium-ion batteries.

According to Nissan the hybrids should be more than twice as fuel efficient as the equivalent gas-powered offerings.

An article in the March 28 New York Times contained some pretty unflattering remarks about compact fluorescent light bulbs.  Since the bulbs were never given a chance to speak in their own defense, I guess it’s up to us fluorescent bulb-huggers to speak for them.  So, here goes.

Chrysler has announced plans to launch its PeaPod electric car worldwide in 2010. The compact city EV will be available as a one-seater, a two-seater or a utility van, at prices starting from around $20,000.

Developed by Chrysler-owned Green Eco Mobility (GEM), the PeaPod is capable of travelling 40 miles on a single charge. According to the company’s innovation chief, Peter Arnell, this is more than enough for most daily commutes.

Have you heard this one before? "A light bulb walks into a bar…" Wait, that's not right. Let's try it again, "What's bright and light and white all over?" Okay, we're not the best joke tellers in the world, but we do know the punchline: CFL.

Switching over to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) is one of those solutions that is so simple and so effective, we all just need to do it. Says

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