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In honor of our 42nd year printing the news and raising hell, the Guardian imagines a sustainable future for San Francisco, with visions for energy, land use, food, transportation, culture, and the economy. A city transformed:Fighting the power structure, and building a sustainable community, for 42 amazing years People's power:A sustainable energy system is well within San Francisco's reach First, do no harm:A sustainable land use plan is about what we don't allow as well as what we do Beyond the automobile:The road to sustainability has lanes for more than just cars Just Food Nation:Transforming how we eat will address poverty, public health, and environmental sustainability Culture isn't convenient:Sustaining entertainment and nightlife in San Francisco requires awareness and a policy shift The money at home:A sustainable local economy starts with small business - and the public sector

Inhabitat has a post on Toyota's latest hybrid vehicle design - Toyota's New Hybrid MR2 Revealed!. The Toyota MR2 sportscar is hitting the road, remade from its older version into a Prius-inspired hybrid vehicle. The new MR2 will draw inspiration (and technology) from the iconic Toyota Prius, with the goal of creating a mass market hybrid sportscar that is as fun to drive as it is green. Toyota's development of the MR2 is not to one-up the Tesla Roadster, but rather to create a car that can do a reasonable 0-60mph in seven seconds and get an incredible 60mpg. We are all familiar with Toyota's efforts to create a mass market electric vehicle. The Prius, after all, is the best known green car on the market. So looking to capitalize on such technology while creating a sportier, much more dynamic looking vehicle has great implications for both a consumer market and the corporation's innovation.

Is it Possible to Increase Your Vehicle Gas Mileage Today, To Convert Your Car To Run On Water And Save Over 40% Of Fuel Cost Every Month? The real Truth: Water can be used as a supplement to gasoline that will extend your gas millage 40% or more. In fact, using water and gas together can not only increase your vehicle's fuel efficiently it can improve emissions quality, and save you money. Check out the video below to see how you can run your car on water.

Understanding wind energy can be a challenge. But it is no more complicated than the choices we are making on transportation. And just like those choices, wind is great for Pennsylvania's economy as well as our environment. Pennsylvania wind farms generate power about 70 percent of the time. But the amount of power is variable. That's why it is rated at 30 percent of capacity. It's like having a car that can go 100 mph but your average speed is much less.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Tuesday blocked debate of a bill to offer about $17.7 billion in tax incentives for consumers to build renewable energy sources like windmills and solar arrays, and buy plug-in cars that run on electricity rather than gasoline.

Technology Review has an article on a startup that says its "solid polymer electrolytes will mean cheaper, more-reliable batteries" - Better Lithium-ion Batteries. A new incarnation of lithium-ion batteries based on solid polymers is in the works. Berkeley, CA-based startup Seeo, Inc. says its lithium-ion cells will be safer, longer-lasting, lighter, and cheaper than current batteries. Seeo's batteries use thin films of polymer as the electrolyte and high-energy-density, light-weight electrodes. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is now making and testing cells designed by the University of California, Berkeley spinoff. Lithium-ion batteries are used in cell phones and laptops because they are smaller and lighter than other types of batteries. They are also promising for electric and hybrid vehicles. However, conventional materials and chemistries have stopped them from being used extensively in cars.

Largest Grassroots Solar Event in America: Register Now! Imagine 140,000 people participating in a national tour of solar-powered homes and institutions - all in one day. That's what happened last year at the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) National Solar Tour - and this year looks set to be even bigger. Whether it's DIY solar homes and solar cars, new homes with solar as standard, or utility-scale multi-megawatt solar installations, TreeHugger is not short of stories about how solar power is leading us away from fossil fuel dependence and helping to stem climate change. But while change is beginning to happen, it's not happening anywhere near fast enough. That's why the ASES tour is so important - getting people in front of real, live solar installations, showing them how they work, and encouraging folks to go solar themselves. Read on to find out how you can participate.

If ever there was a car made for the times, this would seem to be it: a sporty subcompact that seats five, offers a navigation system, and gets a whopping 65 miles to the gallon. Oh yes, and the car is made by Ford Motor (F), known widely for lumbering gas hogs.

James Dyson is working on a solar-powered car to match the success of his bagless vacuum cleaner. Engineers at the entrepreneur's Wiltshire HQ are developing a lightweight electric motor that could power a family saloon for hundreds of miles.

Traffic was piling up going from West Seattle to Interstate 5 - and that meant Rich Feldman had to drive a few feet and stop, over and over, all the way up the access ramp. As they looked out at the line of cars ahead of their plug-in Toyota Prius, Feldman and the business executive sitting beside him, John Clark, couldn't have been happier.

Chemists claim that by mimicking photosynthesis in the lab, they could revolutionize fuel production within five years. Katharine Sanderson reports. Dan Nocera, a chemist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, made a bold statement at the American Chemical Society's fall meeting in Philadelphia last month. He claimed that within five years he could build a device capable of producing locally sourced hydrogen gas, which could power all the world's houses, fill people's car batteries and revolutionize energy supply in the developing world. "I guarantee, in under five years, you'll see this," he said.

The San Diego Union Tribune blogs about the new plan for Fuel Cell Cars & hydrogen fueling stations in California. The plan, which was released last month by the California Fuel Cell Partnership, anticipates by 2017 almost 50,000 fuel cell vehicles in California, supported by 36 fueling stations which are slated to cost $180 million. Check out the UT's blog post here, and follow it to the summary and the full report on the California Fuel Cell Partnership Web site.

A $1 billion network of electric car recharging stations will dot San Francisco Bay area highways under a plan unveiled Thursday that aims to greatly expand the number of electric vehicles on the road. Palo Alto-based Better Place along with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed announced the deal, which sets out to install charging stations in homes, businesses, parking lots and government buildings by 2012.

CBR gets expert opinion on smart cars as the industry goes through a wave of partnerships. In last few days car manufacturers have unveiled several partnership ventures with software, chip, and security companies to develop the smart car of tomorrow.

Is the double-nickel speed limit ready for a comeback? Congress thus far has shown no movement toward resurrecting the 55-mph speed limit, but one of the Senate's senior members - Republican John Warner of Virginia - says it's time to start the conversation about an energy-saving national speed limit to help spare Americans from usurious fuel costs.

VW has been talking for a long time about its L1 concept, so called because it uses a measly 1 liter of gasoline to go 100 km. For us Americans, that translates to about 230 miles per gallon.

Shai Agassi looks up and down the massive rectangular table in the Ritz-Carlton ballroom and begins to worry. He knows he's out of his league here. For the last day and a half, he's been listening to an elite corps of Israeli and US politicians, businesspeople, and intellectuals debate the state of the world. Agassi is just one of 60 sequestered in a Washington, DC, hotel for a conference run by the Saban Center for Middle East Policy. Among the participants: Bill Clinton, former Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres, Supreme Court justice Stephen Breyer, and two past directors of the CIA.

So far, CNG vehicles haven't made a blip on my radar screen, even though the group Natural Gas Vehicles for America (NGVA) estimates there are 150,000 NGVs on U.S. roads today and over 5 million worldwide. It took a phone call from sunny Southern Utah to clue me in to recent developments, which include a local refueling station overflowing with CNG-hungry vehicles. There are about 1500 CNG refueling stations in the US, which is about the same number of commercial stations offering E85 ethanol blends. Utah has a total of 91 CNG filling stations, most of which are reserved for commercial fleet use, but there are 20 open to the public. According to an article by the Associated Press, you could drive Utah from top to bottom and hit 22 different stations offering compressed natural gas.

With gas prices so high, the media is awash with lists of gas-saving tips. Well how's this for a tip? If you listen to us, you can see hybrid-type savings without having to buy a new car. By changing your driving habits you can improve fuel economy up to 37 percent right away (depending on how you drive). Combine several tips and perform routine maintenance and you will save real dollars, not just pennies.