Just in time for Earth Day, AOL has released a "Green Toolbar and PC Utility." If you're like me the computer basically has a sort of 'diplomatic immunity' when it comes to energy consumption issues. However, this new utility from AOL looks like a great way to "greenify" your computer.

The utility, which is free to download, reduces your computer's energy consumption by adjusting both monitor and power settings. These adjustments can result in using up to 100 kilowatts less per year which, according to energystar.gov,

LED holiday lights are sweeping the nation. There's a good reason why they are showing up on Christmas trees and houses faster than you can say light-emitting diode. They pay for themselves.

A typical string of lights may cost around 30 percent more at the store, but take them home and plug them in. Your power bill for the LED lights will be up to 98 percent less. Not only will they immediately save electricity, LEDs are unbreakable and can last up to 20 years.

You can read as much as you want about driving methods that will result in better fuel efficiency, but putting them into practice is next to impossible without proper feedback. The ScanGauge II effectively solves that problem by giving the driver real-time data as well as post-trip data, letting the driver adjust his or her driving methods on the fly to maximize fuel efficiency.

The ScanGauge II is an energy monitoring device that will mount on the dashboard of most vehicles. As you can see in the picture (which must be in a car involved in a high speed chase), the ScanGauge II shows you your fuel economy (MPG), vehicle speed, engine speed (RPM) and battery voltage. It also shows

If it looks like a jet engine that's because it uses the same principles. However, this turbine is not expending energy, it's generating energy. Most wind turbines max out at 60 percent efficiency.

The problem is that 40 percent of the wind passes around the blades of the windmill without actually turning the generator and making power. Here comes the FloDesign Wind Turbine to change all of that. By focusing the wind over the blades, it improves efficiency dramatically.

The ecobee Smart Thermostat is a programmable thermostat that will help you not only reduce your footprint and conserve energy, but save money as well. Using it is simple.

The unit is equipped with a touch screen display that makes programming quick and easy. You can change the temperature simply by touching and dragging the temperature reading along a thermostat diagram. You can also program the ecobee to have different settings for each day of the week and even each hour of

Although it may save energy, most of the time a compact florescent lamp (CFL) doesn't win awards for aesthetics. They last for years, but breakage and disposal are usually problematic due to the presence of mercury and lead, both dangerous substances. Enter the Marexim Safety Bulb.

Not only do these bulbs look like regular light bulbs, they are enclosed to prevent breakage. Not only are they enclosed to prevent breakage, they stay cool to the touch when on, the glass and solder inside is lead-free, and the bulb contains no liquid mercury. An RoHS compliant, energy efficient CFL for the masses? Wait, this gets even better.

These green car designs never cease to surprise me! This one from British auto maker Axon Automotive weighs in at a mere 426 kg or about 940 lbs. Despite the large movement toward electric motors, Axon's as yet unnamed vehicle will run on gasoline only. This is fine as long as the car lives up to Axon's claim that it will get up to 100 miles per gallon.

The chassis and body panels are made entirely of carbon-fiber and weighs about 400 kg. The 500cc two cylinder engine, amazingly, only weighs 26 kg. In fact, because of its size, if you have engine trouble you can send it in to have its black box

The latest concept incarnation of Volkswagen's Golf TDI achieves an impressive 62 mpg. In addition, carbon dioxide emissions are limited to just 99 g/km, less than a Toyota Prius. The vehicle will likely be sold in the UK starting in the middle of 2009. This level of efficiency is achieved with a 1.6-liter TDI diesel engine.

The engine generates 105 horsepower and brings the car from 0 to 60 in 11 seconds. In addition to the smaller engine, mileage in this model has been increased with changes to the transmission, low rolling resistance tires, and improved aerodynamics.

The Texas city of San Antonio today announced that it would become the first major U.S. city to harvest methane gas from human waste and produce a clean burning fuel from it.

The city of 1.3 million people produces about 140,000 tons of a substance euphemistically called "biosolids" per year. The main byproduct of this substance is methane, which can easily be converted into natural gas to burn in power plants. The city made a deal in which Massachusetts based Ameresco Inc. will convert

Last year Google filed for a patent for a "floating data center" that would use wave motion to generate electricity to power on board computers. It would also use ocean water to cool the computers. Submitted in February last year, it was just spotted by Slashdot this past Saturday in the U.S. Patent and Trademark office's electronic filings.

Google engineers imagine their self powered data centers floating anywhere from three to seven miles off the coast and operating completely off the grid. The center would be powered by machines developed by British company Pelamis Wave Power that consist of pumps suspended in the water by pontoons. The engineers calculated that 30 megawatts of electricity, enough to power one center, could be generated by an array of pontoons spread across a square kilometer. Pelamis already has a