Saturn Aura is going to be the first hybrid GM is launching on the US market, as a direct competitor for Toyota Prius. Only in 2006, Toyota sold 107,000 Prius units, creating a big popularity of the hybrid.

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Now that we are all in danger of losing our homes, and the young are so burdened by their unthinkably immense college loans, perhaps we need to find out how to build with absolutely nothing down.

Who better to show us how to DIY on a budget of zilch, than the homeless builders of Berkeley who created the innovative squatters park made famous by the documentary movie Bums Paradise.

Here’s another way to build with no money down, no mortgage, no credit, and —no cash.

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As part of its well-publicized 2030 plan (reducing the fossil fuel use of buildings by 50% in 2010 and carbon neutrality by 2030), the American Institute of Architects is offering a wonderful guide to 50 strategies for greening up buildings.  The strategies provided in the “50to50″ book range from “Active Solar Thermal Systems” to “Windows and Openings.”

 As stated in the introduction:

The 50 strategies … have been selected to provide readily available and effective tools and techniques that will have an effective and immediate impact on architects’ ability to achieve significant carbon reduction. The strategies span a spectrum from broad-based site and planning objectives to specific, building-based concepts.

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Right now, it does look like something that would have come out of a science fiction movie. But there is more to just how it looks. The newest solar race car that the MIT has created has got the goods that will make most owners of alternative energy vehicles drool.
The Solar Electric Vehicle Team of [...]

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The Wilson family moved into a new home last summer. Within days, they were feeling ill. Their eyes were burning, they had sore throats, and they were chronically tired.

Many chemicals in new homes can cause respiratory and skin irritation. Formaldehyde, a common chemical in new wood products and finishes, is an asthma trigger. New construction materials emit the largest amounts of these chemicals, with emission decreasing over time.

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