List Of Greenest Vehicles Led By Natural Gas Civic, Leaf.

The Los Angeles Times (2/16, Hsu) reports that American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy released its list of the "greenest 2011 model-year vehicles," and it has "a lot of traditional gasoline engines among the top 12 cars," including "the Smart Fortwo, the Ford Fiesta and the Hyundai Elantra." Number one was "the natural gas-powered Honda Civic GX...followed by the new all-electric Nissan Leaf." Also on the list were "the hybrid Toyota Prius and the hybrid electric Chevrolet Volt." EVs suffered from "'upstream' emissions" based on "US power generation" and on "the battery manufacturing and disposal processes."

Machine Converts Plastic To Fuel, Designed For Home Use.

The msnbc (2/15, Roach) "Cosmic Log" blog reports on a machine designed by Japanese inventor Akinori Ito "that can turn plastic waste into fuel." The machine "heats up the plastic, traps the vapors in a system of pipes and water chambers that cool the vapors and condense them back into crude oil," and "can convert a kilogram of plastic waste into a liter of oil using a kilowatt-hour of energy," although Ito hopes that "the price will fall as demand and production rise." The article notes, "Ito's machine isn't the first to convert waste plastic into fuel, but is gaining kudos for its size: It's built for home use."

Stimulus Funds Used To Turn Federal Buildings Green.

The Chicago Tribune (2/1, Kamin) reports that $4.5 billion of President Obama's $787 billion stimulus package is being used to make federal buildings more energy efficient. Some of this money is going to fund a modern retrofit of Cleveland's 32-story Celebrezze Federal Building. "Bringing a building up to 21st-century energy standards...can amount to something more than architectural drudgery. It might even transform a humdrum federal building into a civic icon," according to the Tribune. The article concludes, "All these efforts promise to confer enduring benefits: better energy efficiency, work environments and architecture."

Large Solar Plant Begins Operating At Colorado State University.

The AP (2/1) reports, "Colorado State University says a 5.3-megawatt solar plant on its Foothills Campus in Fort Collins has started producing electricity." The plant is owned and operated by Fotowatio Renewable Ventures, "and CSU is buying power produced by it at a fixed rate for 20 years. Xcel Energy is buying renewable energy credits from the plant, which CSU says helped offset construction costs." The university says "the project is one of the largest at a US university."\

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