I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend

A quick post with a link to a recent article about *swoon* plug-in hybrids. Click here to learn all about this attractive automobile option. Now that's dreamy!

I'm beginning to worry that my imaginary "boyfriend" (my future car that will run on waste oil) is going to get jealous of my infatuation with the plug-in hybrid technology. Oh, well! A girl has to have options and I reserve the right to change my mind.

More Than a Feeling

I've visited the Cambridge headquarters of Genzyme and their building is amazing (and located not far from MIT, where Boston frontman Tom Scholz studied engineering...so talented!) The building features 18 indoor gardens and mirrors on the roof that reflect sun into the atrium.

Bllinds on the windows move on their own to block the sun - or let in the sun - to help manage the the building's temperature. It can take some getting used to when you're in a meeting and the blinds start clicking on their own, but how cool is that??

The building received a Platinum Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating from the USGBC, which is the highest LEED rating.

Now comes the news that city officials in nearby Boston are going to request that green building standards be incorporated into municipal zoning. The new standards are expected to be officially adopted next month.

Hooray for Beantown! Let's hope that similar standards will be coming to a city near you (and me) soon.

Electric Funeral

I don't want to get too excited prematurely. Yes, I know that General Motors is the same company that created and then killed the EV1. However, in the corporate race to get a plug-in hybrid on the road, I'm willing to support all the teams.

GM recently announced plans to produce a plug-in hybrid SUV and have it on the market in model year. . . 2009! No photos or illustrations widely distributed yet. (The pic above is just a tiny green car in China.)

It's possible, then, that in a mere two years the plug-in hybrid will be a mainstream option. I've begged and pleaded, and begged some more, to be part of the testing group. Barring a career switch to academia, it doesn't look good.

But, two years??!! I think I can handle that wait. Now, if I could just swing a real biodiesel vehicle. . . the vegetable oil kind.