Last week's summit of the greatest 8+5 participants went by. A bit of serious talk, show off and threatening, but mostly, a lot of inefficient discussion results on global warming issues: it was announced that the G-8 nations would aim to at least halve global CO2 emissions by 2050 (?!) Even if this alone sounds horrible enough already, the following statement makes it much worse: the agreement is said to be a "non-binding" one.

Even though the French president Sarkozy would have preferred a binding figure for emissions reduction to have been set, the British PM Blair would have welcomed it as "a major, major step forward". (Excuse me? To me it would rather sound like "a huge, huge step backward"!)
The figure process was blocked by the paramount chief, G.W. Bush, according to whom we should first wait for the other major gas emitting countries (China, India) to make similar commitments. (A breath-taking and jaw-breaking statement. I mean, are you serious??…That's the guy that rules our planet???!!! I want my red pill now, please!!)

Now, the most important thing is to forget this fiasco as soon as possible and concentrate on latest innovations and news on Science and Technology: there is a lot going on and one really gets some hope while reading about the first zero-emission house unveiled in UK or about a company that decided to make shoes of sustainable materials like bamboo, cork, recycled car tires and jute .

Given that our cars are the culprits for major gas emissions, they represent an important issue: while people are mostly acquainted with (the most polluting) gasoline powered vehicles, some of the car manufacturers have already come so far to implement environmental-friendly ideas into their cars. I'll take an example of Toyota's electric car.

The next type of vehicle you can already find on roads is called a hybrid. It uses advanced technology combining a small gas engine with an electric motor which does not need an external power supply for recharging. Its batteries are recharged by regenerative braking. At very slow speeds, the car runs on its electric motor and while driving at higher speeds, it shifts to both the gasoline motor and the electric motor (while also recharging the battery). Now, THIS is what I'd call a huge, huge step forward – imagine the gas emission reduction if the hybrid cars spread around the world!

Other alternatives would be biodiesel which is made from renewable resources, it is biodegradable and therefore much less harmful to the environment if spilled. On the other hand it is, however, considered as a threat to forests and wildlife. In some cities in the world you can see biodiesel used for public transport, like this bus from Nebraska:

Then, recently we have been introduced to the first compressed air powered car, the product of French motor company MDI . They are about to initiate the production of a series of enginees and vehicles outside the automotive sector as well. The CAT vehicles could become one of the biggest technological advances of the century.

Probably the most promising alternative transportation fuel nowadays is hydrogen. Being the first number of the periodic chart of elements, it is the lightest of all elements. It is easy to produce (you have to split water into oxygen and hydrogen simply by using electricity). More on hydrogen power here .

For more interesting reads about green news and solutions click on this link.