Norway has been making a big push to go green over the last decade, and recently they made another huge jump for themselves. They are installing over 400 electric recharging stations all over the country, so you can take your hybrid car everywhere you need to go, even long distance trips.

They work much like a gas pump with a few big differences. First and most obvious, they don’t pump gas, but electricity into your car battery. Second and most important, they’re free for anybody to use.

They first started putting these pumps right next to freeway entrances and exits, but now they’re installing them on the side of their highways so you’re never too far from recharging your car. Not only is it easy to install new units almost anywhere they want, it’s also extremely cost effective. Each unit is estimated at $35 dollars to build and install. That’s less than the cost of one take of gas for one car, in exchange for a unit that will give energy to hundreds of thousands of cars.

Not only are they totally free to use, you get to park for free while your car is recharging. With all these perks, it’s (hopefully) only a matter of time until everybody is driving a nice electric car that costs nothing to fuel.

Volvo’s new Hybrid green buss is the first of its kind, and is expected to hit the market by 2010. What gas prices going through the roof and more people depending on public transportation, this could be a huge improvement for our environment.

The new bus uses a combo diesel and lithium ion battery, it decreases CO2 emissions by 30%, doesn’t idle at stop lights, reduces particle and nitrous oxide emissions by 40-50%, carries more passengers, and runs quieter than normal diesel buses.

The cost of the new 7700 Hybrid could add to profits for fuel savings over its diesel version after 6 years of operation. Even with the addition of their heavy rechargeable batteries, the new buses only weigh 100 kilograms. They can also fit seven extra people in the new hybrid bus.

Even cooler, but battery charges using the energy produced by the bus during breaking. Of course this doesn’t fully power the bus, but it keeps it charged throughout the day so buses don’t have to keep coming back to the station to recharge.

When the bus is stopped or in the idle position, the engine is completely off. When the bus driver accelerates, the electric motor pushes it to 30 mph before the diesel engine takes control. This means less pollution for passengers getting on and off the bus.
We can only hope that these buses are cost effective and efficient enough for companies to adopt them quickly, but by the sound of it, this is the first green bus that will meet those specifications.

Sunflowers are already used for oil production and to make biodiesel’ now scientists want to look into their viability as ethanol.

Over the next few years, University of Georgia scholar Steve Knapp will study silverleaf and Algodones dune sunflowers. The species have the ability to produce significant amounts of cellulosic biomass, which can be converted into ethanol.

But both the silverleaf and Algodones dune sunflowers are wild species, and domestication takes time. Knapp plans to tackle the problem by studying each of the sunflower’s 40,000 to 50,000 genes to determine what they control in the plant.

Whether or not the sunflowers emerges as a serious contender in the ethanol race remains to be seen, but its commercial use could easily provide some extra income to Georgia farmers. More.

Honda’s new fuel-cell hybrid is turning a lot of heads. It’s run by an electric motor that runs on electricity generated in a fuel cell, the vehicle’s only emission is water, and its fuel efficiency is three times that of a modern gasoline-powered automobile and two times that of a gasoline-powered hybrid vehicle.

The fuel cell combines hydrogen with oxygen to make electricity. The electricity then powers the electric motor, which in turn propels the vehicle. Water is the only byproduct the FCX Clarity leaves behind.

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“The FCX Clarity lease program is one more step toward meeting the societal goals of climate stability, renewable energy supplies and zero-emissions transportation,” said John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda. “With this key step, we are advancing toward the goal of broader commercialization”.

Visit the official Honda Clarity website here.

It’s back to school season again, and time to jump back into school and classes. But while you’re getting back into that schedule, try to do a few things to make your college (or at least your dorm) greener.

1. Skip the single serving snack-packs. Get a big bag and make your own single-serving portion in a small plastic bag when you’re on the go. Wash the bag out when you’re done and do it again the next time. It’s that easy.

2. Chill out with the AC. Tons of college students keep their AC’s running just because they can. That’s not cool! (Note: yes, the pun was intended.) Don’t act like a monkey when it comes to the environment. Leaving your AC running while you’re out hurts the planet regardless of whether or not you’re paying the bill.

3. Turn off your computer. I know, I know. It’s so tempting to leave your AIM on all day long so your friends can leave you little messages and see which classes you’re in, etc. BUT (there is always a “but”), it’s better for the planet and your computer if you just shut it off when you leave.

Read the entire list here.

Ford is pushing out a new car that gets a whopping 65 miles per gallon. A sporty subcompact that seats five, offers a navigation system and much more. This new car is made by American darling “Ford”, but it won’t be available to purchase in the Unitd States.

Ford’s 2009 Fiesta ECOnetic goes on sale in November. But here’s the catch: Despite the car’s potential to transform Ford’s image and help it compete with Toyota Motor (TM) and Honda Motor (HMC) in its home market, the company will sell the little fuel sipper only in Europe. “We know it’s an awesome vehicle,” says Ford America President Mark Fields. “But there are business reasons why we can’t sell it in the U.S.” The main one: The Fiesta ECOnetic runs on diesel.

Taxes aimed at commercial trucks mean diesel costs anywhere from 40 cents to $1 more per gallon than gasoline. Add to this the success of the Toyota Prius, and you can see why only 3% of cars in the U.S. use diesel.

Ford says they’re going to start making gas-powered versions of this car in Mexico, to sell to the United States. More.