Texting while driving: Just the beginning of the distractions. (Flickr/Jason Weaver)

What high-tech feature would you want to see in your car (that’s not there now)? Autobytel.com asked that question as part of its “What’s Hot Now?” report, and the results indicate that people must get lost a lot-30 percent, by far the largest number, would like to have an in-dash GPS navigation device. Me, I can live without one.

In fact, just as cars are connecting big time, we’re electrifying them, and many of the early EVs will be kind of skimpy on personal tech, trying to increase battery life and increase range.

Days ago, I was surrounded by a pod of Spinner dolphins off the coast of Maui, Hawaii. There must’ve been at least fifty of them, including babies that looked like silver nerf balls skimming the surface as they bounced up and down, budding their small heads.

The dolphins were not in any hurry, so they flipped and dived around us in almost choreographed repetition, some flipping airborne at least three feet above water. Our small eco tour group cheered at each leap and delighted as they swam close enough to our raft to touch them.

The once-crowded field at the Auto X Prize is narrowing. (Credit: Auto X Prize)

I have to say that the $10 million Progressive Insurance Auto X Prize is a bit of a soap opera. What a movie it would make. The Alternative Class came down to a photo finish for $2.5 million, with frontrunner Edison2 and its Very Light Car disqualified at the very last minute because of a software glitch.

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program is one of the most coveted certifications in the world — homes and commercial buildings emblazon their LEED credentials right on the front door. It is, after all, good business to go green these days.

But what is LEED and how does it work? Or, does it work at all?

Source:LEED a House to Water Conservation

The nationwide search America’s Greenest School, sponsored by IC Bus, invites students and teachers to explain what their school has done to go green. The winning student will be awarded a plug-in hybrid bus for his or her school.

Source:America's Greenest School 2009