The survey group believes the products that consumers sill spend more on include those that are easiest to implement, such as environmentally-friendly lighting and energy-saving appliances.

Despite bipartisan differences on politics and religion, 90 percent of Americans agree that there are important green issues and problems, and 82 percent believe it is important for companies to implement environmentally-friendly practices.

So it seems like a good time for Wal-Mart to decide to sell only eco-friendly laundry detergents. The store sells a quarter of the liquid laundry detergent in the United States. Hopefully the results of this survey will convince other retailers to make huge changes as well.

The fuel tax would also apply to jet fuel, and would be phased in over five years and then adjusted for inflation. Diesel fuel, however, would be exempt from the tax due to its lower rate of emissions, as well as biofuels that do not contain petroleum. And a $50 tax would apply to each ton of carbon produced from coal, petroleum and natural gas.

Ironically, the money from the taxes would go to the federal highway trust to pay for roads. But it could also help fund mass transit, which is what the tax should fund if the federal government really wants to encourage us to drive less.

Among many other activities, the NC State Solar Center maintains a database of state and federal incentives on sustainable incentive and grant programs. The comprehensive database, which is funded by the DOE, provides a description of the laws that created the incentives, the maximum amounts available from the incentives, and links to the agencies where you apply for grants or rebates. This is incredibly useful for businesses and homeowners who are considering new energy purchases and what to calculate the financial impact.

Stephen Kalland, the executive director of the Solar Center, told me at the Solar Power 2007 conference that the university is also involved in many clean energy programs, including capturing the methane from hog and poultry waste. Farmers who must pay to dispose of the waste are concerned about higher costs as more laws target greenhouse gas emissions. Instead of a liability, Kalland says the waste can be turned into an asset as energy companies must buy some of that power because of a requirement from the state's renewable portfolio standard law.

Kalland says North Carolina is also working on research for creating biofuel from sweet potatoes and switchgrass, as well as wind and green building initiatives. He said the state government is using renewable energy projects to spur the economy and help farmers who previously were growing tobacco.

An Ipsos Reid study conducted last spring on behalf of Icynene, an insulation manufacturer, found that seven out of 10 Americans believe labeling a home building product green is merely a marketing tactic. While 75 percent of men believe something labeled green is a clear example of greenwashing, only 65 percent of women believe so. And the south is the region in the United States in which most people – 72 percent - are most likely to discredit green labels.

As for building green, 44 percent of Americans either completely or somewhat agree that they are unwilling to pay more upfront for green building products even though they know it's better for the environment and that it could save them money in the long run. Only 10 percent of Americans said they would be willing to pay more, with 46 percent on the fence about the decision.

More of our northern Canadian neighbors said that they clearly understand the benefits of building green, and less Canadians than Americans believe that calling a home building product green is a marketing tactic.

This study focused on the industry of green building, but I wouldn't be surprised if results were similar to how the American public feels about cleaning products, organic bedding and clothing, or hybrid cars.

Could this be because the green industry has for a long time targeted a very small portion of the United States – the portion that already recycles and shops at Whole Foods, instead of the majority that shops at Wal-Mart? How can the building industry overcome this stigma and convince more homeowners to go green? Does it depend on proving the cost savings rather than proving environmental benefits?

James Lovelock, the author of Gaia, and Chris Rapley, director of the Science Museum in London, adhere to the belief that the 200-meter tubes would help offset our consumerist culture's carbon dioxide emissions. The two men wrote a letter to the journal Nature saying the Earth was becoming hotter much faster than we could limit our carbon emissions, suggesting that our small attempts at doing so have little impact.

A Santa Fe, New Mexico-based company, Atmocean, has created a similar, if not opposite, idea called "upwelling." The company is developing pipes (shown in photo) that would bring carbon dioxide down to the ocean's floor, which the University of Hawaii at Manoa plans to test next year. You can watch a video demonstrating Atmocean's technologies here.

But the folks at Greenpeace still think limiting our own emissions and changing the way we produce energy is the way to go, instead of turning to fancy geo-engineering.

The Washington, D.C.-based organization just updated its standard for household cleaners from the original requirements created in 1993. Since then, more tests have shown that products' ingredients and packaging can include carcinogens and toxins that affect water quality, biodegradability, air pollution and even skin and eye irritation.

Because the seal may instill an additional level of trust with consumers, companies that bare the seal may sell products faster than those that don't. The vice president of Green Seal stated that female consumers make more than 80 percent of the consumer purchasing decisions, and have shown a noticeable increase in interest for green and non-toxic products.

To find out whether your cleaning products meet the Green Seal standard, or to suggest that a product be certified, click here.

By meeting with community members and encouraging word of mouth marketing, SolarCity can reduce the cost of buying a solar array by up to 30 percent, according to spokesman Brad Sullivan. The neighborhood by neighborhood approach reduces the number of installers in the field, he said. As more homeowners and businesses agree to add solar and a goal of installed PV in an area is met, the price for everyone goes down, Sullivan says.

The company also has a school program where for every 15 kilowatts of solar panels are installed in a neighborhood, 1 kw is donated to the school. The sign-up period for receiving the discount lasts between 2-3 months.

Peer pressure is aiding SolarCity's success as neighbors ask each other to join together for the good of the environment and in the hopes that solar will be cheaper than coal or natural gas powered electricity in the long run. Some have criticized the tactic, but it is no different than the "keeping up with the Joneses" mentality that has neighbors buying new cars or spending on their lawns for appearence's sake.

The GridPoint Connect is an appliance that monitors the energy draw in the building so that you can reduce your peak power demand. GridPoint's Sandra Lee told me at Solar Power 2007 that by carefully tracking the energy to your HVAC and appliances, and using off-peak instead of peak power, consumers can drastically lower their utility bills. The "Prius" effect will have consumers saving money by running appliances at night or lowering their thermostats just to see how much they can save.

The appliance also includes a battery backup system so if the power goes out, you can keep the house functioning.

Homeowners/businesses can volunteer to share the information with their utilities, who would be able to remotely turn off non-essential functions (dishwashers, etc.) when the grid is under stress.

In the future, the company will manage the allocation of power to electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles so that they can be charged at the cheapest times of the day. Utilities would also be able to block these vehicles from recharging at inopportune times.

If many GridPoint appliances are deployed, they would help utilities use cleaner power production (avoiding the dirtiest coal plants used at peak times) or even prevent new plants from being built.

For end users, the benefits aren't as obvious. Utilities should offer discounts for buying GridPoint appliances as even conscientious consumers will probably take a long time to pay back the cost of the appliances. Privacy issues will come up, and some people who own rechargeable vehicles won't want their utility to dictate when they "fuel" up.

GridPoint is filling an important need as the power grid is antiquated in its lack of two-way communications and highly energy inefficient.

Wal-Mart is working with the Carbon Disclosure Project, a group of investors that push companies to disclose their greenhouse-gas emissions because they think those facts financially impact the businesses.

The National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) criticized the big-box store for pressuring its suppliers to combat the "unproven global warming threat" by asking them to report their carbon dioxide emissions. The center fears that Wal-Mart officials will give preferential treatment to suppliers who provide the statistics and ignore those that don't.

John Carlisle, the NLPC policy director, insists that the retailer's push to reduce its environmental impact is merely a political agenda to make up for bad press, and that it will only hurt the store in the end by negatively impact the store's small business suppliers. I didn't think Wal-Mart sold much made by small businesses – it's not exactly a boutique.

Perhaps he hasn't heard that many stores are finding profits in environmental consciousness because the people are finally waking up. Almost two thirds of Americans are seriously concerned about the environment and only 29 percent believe that companies are doing their part to protect the environment.

Carlisle's report can be downloaded here.

The store already cut carbon dioxide emissions by 10 percent in its North America stores and made use of daylight in its Greenboro, North Carolina store, which saves about 250,000 pounds of greenhouse gases each year.

Now it plans to build its first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)-certified store in Austin, Texas.

Not only is it a good move for the environment, but these initiatives have profited the company, too. It claims to have saved more than $6 million in electricity costs due to energy efficiency and conservation efforts in its stores.

Here's the rundown on the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from cars burning fuels made from various forms of ethanol rather than gasoline:

Corn ethanol only reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 0 to 3 percent, compared to gasoline. Sugar cane ethanol provides a 50 to 70 percent reduction while cellulosic ethanol provides at least a 90 percent reduction.

These biofuels emit significant amounts of nitrous oxide, which is 206 times more dangerous than carbon dioxide.

But which of these crops does the United States subsidize? Corn. And which one of these crops does the United States charge an import tariff on? Sugar cane.

SunRun's Nat Kreamer told me at West Coast Green that consumer pay about half of the normal upfront cost and sign a 20-year contract for the power. Homeowners pay month to month for electricity at a set rate of 13.5 cents per kilowatt hour. This guards against future rate hikes in electricity prices, which are bound to happen in grid-impaired California.

If insufficient energy is generated by the panels, SunRun will make up the difference in additional payments to your utility. Any surplus of electricity sent to the power company on sunny days is refunded to the homeowner, Kreamer said.

Cautious homeowners might prefer to have a third party maintain the panels and warranty their operation. However, SunRun and not the homeowners receive the tax credits from the state. Also, the solar system is not grid independent as all power is directly fed into the grid. So if there's a blackout, SunRun's customers will also be in the dark.

SunRun will be one of many companies developing innovative ways to make solar power more accessible to homeowners. Perhaps we'll see some utilities themselves get into this business.

OpenEco.org may help companies and organizations more easily calculate their emissions and make improvements with the site's free online tools. Similar analysis often requires expensive consulting services or significant internal resources.

An organization can register, input its energy habits and data regarding fleet and personnel, import energy data, and calculate and compare itself against others by location, size, purpose, etc. Organizations can choose to share this data publicly or anonymously.

Sun introduced the site today at an event with the Carbon Disclosure Project, an independent nonprofit organization that connects shareholders and corporations around the issue of climate change. The event featured President Bill Clinton, whose speech should be available in webcast or for download