Canadian drivers will likely burn an extra 643 million litres of fuel in 2008 because one or more of their tires are under-inflated, according to data from Natural Resources Canada, which is working with the Rubber Association of Canada, to educate motorists about proper tire care. That is enough squandered fuel to fill 257 Olympic size swimming pools.

Unless drivers take action, this wasted fuel will release an additional one million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and cost drivers an estimated $772 million in unnecessary fuel bills.

With fuel prices climbing ever higher, it is easy to see why tire maintenance is so important. A tire that is substantially under-inflated does not roll as smoothly or as easily as it was intended. This diminishes fuel efficiency because increased rolling resistance causes the vehicle to burn more fuel, which increases both emissions and fuel costs.

GreenandMore.com recently launched their iPod recycling program for up to a $150 store credit towards anything in their online store.

"This is the ultimate opportunity to recycle an old iPod that would either collect dust or add to landfill waste -- and receive a store credit for doing a green deed." says Mercia Tapping, President.

Using an online iPod value calculator, a visitor will know the estimated value of an iPod before choosing to recycle it. If a visitor chooses to accept the deal, an envelope will arrive at a door several days later for convenient mailing of the iPod. The store credit of up to $150 will be sent to the recipient for use, and can go towards the purchase of any eco-friendly items at GreenandMore.com. It's that simple.

Link for details about the iPod recycling program and the online iPod value calculator: http://www.greenandmore.com/ipod-trade-in.html

Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry has created a functioning, three-story modular and sustainable "green" home in its own backyard to showcase the ways that people can make eco-friendly living a part of their lives.

The home -- which was designed by Michelle Kaufmann Designs and built by All American Homes -- is the basis for the original Museum of Science and Industry exhibit Smart Home: Green + Wired, Powered by ComEd and Warmed by Peoples Gas, which is open from May 8, 2008, through Jan. 4, 2009.

Many schools in the US and Canada are boycotting bottled water in hopes of making a point about green living. To them, there’s no reason to sacrifice the Earth’s health for something that can be acquired through a faucet.

Yet, bottled water is often a more palatable choice than tap, since it doesn’t contain as many impurities. But this benefit should not come at the expense of the environment, a fact few bottled water manufacturers realize… except for Water Vend.

Water Vend is the only company in North America that has created an eco-friendly water vending machine. Known as the Azure, this vending machine doesn’t even store water in bottles or cans. Instead, it pours cold water into a sports bottle, (which is supplied by the customer).

In terms of the water itself, the Azure works by filtering tap water. Everything undesirable, such as chlorine, unusual odors or tastes gets removed instantaneously. From there the customer is given the option to add flavoring and/or carbonation. This means that through Azure, customers can get freshly-made club soda, sports drinks or iced tea.

The Azure also offers other eco-friendly advantages. The machine uses LED lighting and flash water chilling technology, which help conserve electricity. Additionally, the Azure operates without releasing CO2 byproducts or waste water into the environment.

eBay announces the opening of an environmentally friendly building on its North Campus in San Jose. It is the first building in San Jose to be built to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold standards for new construction, which is the second-highest LEED rating a building can receive. The building sits on a campus with the largest commercial solar installation in the city.

The campus has 3,248 solar panels covering 60,000 square feet - more than a football field - of roof supplying 18 percent of the campus’s power with a 650 kW system. With the largest commercial solar installation that is operational in San Jose, and because of its proximity to public transportation, eBay’s new building and campus reflect the close collaboration between the city and eBay to reduce its environmental footprint. City staff was instrumental in facilitating eBay’s move to this campus and ensuring flexibility to expand as the needs for the building and campus evolved.

Jill Buck, Founder and Executive Director of the world's largest and fastest growing environmental education plan - the Go Green Initiative - was a featured speaker at the Inaugural Annual Summit of China Green Companies in Beijing on Earth Day. She praised the China Entrepreneur Club and the Daonong Enterprise Institute for their outstanding work to develop and reward aggressive standards for China Green Companies.

"When I first began working with DEI in early 2007, I was impressed with their determination to help Chinese and multinational companies achieve remarkably high standards in sustainable business practices. In just a few months, they have garnered support from the largest and most influential companies in China, and have demonstrated tremendous success," says Buck. She told the crowd of nearly one hundred journalists and several hundred business leaders that she "hoped to return to Beijing many times to continuously support and encourage their outstanding work, and maintain strong relationships between the U.S. and China."

Clear Skies Solar will provide solar power to a Riverside County, CA, dairy farm, Scott Brothers Dairy Farms. Under the $1,700,000 agreement, Clear Skies Solar will provide approximately 240 kilowatts of solar power to the dairy farm, helping it to offset its carbon footprint, reduce energy usage and save on utility costs.

Construction, anticipated to commence this summer, will consist of two systems. The first will include construction of a 63.86kW installation and the second will install an additional 74.93kWs. Clear Skies Solar will install the solar panels on shade structures and an existing barn on Scott Brothers’ San Jacinto, CA-based dairy farm.

High oil prices and an array of government incentives are leading to soaring rates of investment in renewable energy, according to the United Nations' annual "Global Trends in Sustainable Energy Investment" report.

The UN report calculates global investment capital flows into renewable energy companies reached $100 billion for the first time in history last year. More than $30 billion of the total was the result of mergers and acquisitions led by investment banks such as JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs.

The huge investment flows mean that IPO's, largely dormant since the heady days of the technology boom nearly a decade ago, are now re-emerging. A trio of solar companies went public with impressive returns in 2007, including JA Solar, Trina Solar and Solarfun Power Holdings.

PC users love the visual realism that high-performance graphics processors give their PCs, but would rather do without the noise and power consumption typical of modern entertainment and gaming PCs. Starting today, however, they can have the best of both worlds, thanks to the new NVIDIA platforms based on the company's Hybrid SLI technology. These new platforms are the foundation for a new breed of PCs that deliver a richer visual experience while reducing energy consumption and costs, fan noise, and even heat. The new technology is available immediately with new NVIDIA nForce 780a SLI and GeForce 8 Series based motherboards.

The visual capabilities of typical PCs are driven by either integrated graphics on the motherboard or by higher performance, discrete graphics cards, like NVIDIA GeForce GPUs. Unfortunately, the most common integrated graphics chips lack the performance and features needed by many popular modern 3D applications, games, and movies. Discrete graphics cards deliver a far superior visual experience, but consume more energy.

With the growing concern about the ways in which our behaviors are effecting our environment, many people are being proactive when it comes to changing their lifestyle in order to alleviate these growing problems. The focus on ‘going green’ is steadily increasing and more and more individuals are taking a green approach to their life. Here, Carl Seville, owner, Seville Consulting explains what ‘going green’ really means.

• What was the motivation behind your becoming interested in green building?
• What are some of the features that make a home green?
• What are some of the advantages to having a green home over a traditional home?
• What do you see in the future of green building?

Find out the answers to these questions after the jump.

Online Market World just released its latest report, “How Green is eCommerce?” and found that both B2B and B2C online sellers are increasingly adopting environmentally friendly business practices.

The survey, which ran from January 15, 2008 to March 15, 2008, attracted feedback from 379 respondents representing virtually every industry type. The bulk of respondents came from retailers, technology companies, and advertising/PR/marketing agencies. Company sizes ranged from under $5 million to more than $500 million with the bulk of respondents representing companies selling $50 million or less per year.

The results of the survey show that a number of companies are not only selling green products but buying them as well. Some are going so far as to cooperatively design products or packaging with suppliers.

Green Media Enterprises unveiled the initial renderings produced by sustainable architect Eric Lloyd Wright for the upcoming installation – “Sustainable Living Spaces Inspired by Eric Lloyd Wright” – which will hold center stage at the upcoming Green West Expo. This interactive display of green rooms will be located on the show floor at Green West scheduled May 20-22, 2008 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Collaborating on the project are Mr. Lloyd Wright’s associates Hannah Wear and Kevin Parkhurst, also principles of Design Integration Group, along with a list of other vendors including Bradco Kitchen & Baths, Eco- Partners, Cisco Brothers Furniture, Whole Foods, Sub Zero, Discover Flooring, Go Green Construction, Michael Levy Plumbing, Pixcel Organics, Nana Walls, and more.