Green Daily

What energy-conscious ride is Jessica Alba driving these days? Which veggies are the most pesticidey? Who would win in a water conservation contest: You or your dishwasher? Today's Eco-Beat has all the latest and greatest green news and tips.

Hollywood Hotties and Their Green Rides Wanna know what all the gorgeous ladies of Hollywood drive? Here's a slide show. It's kinda like an old fashioned bikini babes car calendar with a green twist ... and without the bikinis. Or the calendar. Hmm, maybe that's not the best analogy.

Tesla Models S on Letterman Tonight Tesla CEO Elon Musk will show off the Model S sedan on the Late Show tonight. Will Letterman get to test drive the awesome seven-seater clean machine around the studio? Will he make a joke about Elon's name? We'll have to wait and see.

Which Veggies Should You Buy Organic? It's always a little creepy when you stop and think that the delicious bell peppers you're snacking on are covered in pesticides. To find out which veggies you should always buy organic, check out this list of the "12 Vegetables with the Most Pesticides."

Are You an Efficient Dishwasher? It's the classic dishwasher versus hand-washing debate, but there seems to be a hands-down winner (pun intended). Feel no eco-guilt next time you decide to kick back and let the machine do the work.

Disneynature Already Scheming for Earth Day 2010 So, you didn't get a chance to go see Earth this Earth Day? Maybe you're just not that into the beasts of the land. After the resounding success of Earth, it looks like Disney will release another documentary next Earth Day called Oceans.

Green in a Flash:

• The world's largest solar power tower went on line in Spain.
• Want to track the swine flu outbreak on a handy dandy Google map?
• Will Arlen Specter's party switch help bring a US climate bill?

Wanna live in a greener city, build a sustainable house, or pick your next set of green wheels? You can pretty much give your lifestyle a green makeover with some of today's eco news.

Are You Living in a Green Mecca? Living in a city that's obsessed with the environment sure makes it easier to live green. Where I live, houses on the real estate market are about to get a sustainability rating. Awesome! Did your city make the list?

Segway is Going to Make an Eco-Car, er, Buggy Thing We've all seen the hilarious pictures of George W. Bush wrecking out on a Segway. Since not everyone is as agile as the 43rd President, Segway designed a safer green machine. It's got a seat belt and a roll cage people! Sign me up for a joyride.

Wheel of Fortune Spins Greener Last week was 'green week' on Wheel of Fortune -- my favorite TV game show. Last I checked, Pat Sajak was a climate change denier. Was it all an elaborate April Fools prank? If so, Vanna wasn't in on it.

KB Home Now Offering Green Micro Houses Obsessed with efficiency and space-saving organizers? KB Home is now offering an 881 sq-ft Energy Star qualified floor plan in Houston (of all places). It could save you money, energy, resources ... and it's crazy affordable.

Tesla CEO Talks Trash About the Volt OK, so you've got two wicked green futuristic cars: one gets 100+mpg (but has the ability to run on gas), the other uses no gas at all (but has to plug in). Which one do you want to drive? My answer: I'll take one of each.

Green in a Flash:

• The Secretary of the Interior says that we can replace 3,000 coal plants with offshore wind (if money is no object).
• The Smashing Pumpkins join PETA's campaign against KFC.
• If you've got some serious time on your hands, you could make a sweet coffee table out of your outdated phone books.

It's finally here, Tesla's first foray into affordability and practicality -- and it looks/sounds pretty awesome. The annoying car cover from that teaser photo was thrown off today at Tesla's press event today in Hawthorne, CA, where the Model S -- which seats seven, charges in 45 minutes, and has a range of up to 300 miles -- made it's first public appearance.

Back in December, Tesla's SVP Darryl Siry announced rather abruptly that he would be leaving the senior executive position "due to some disagreements in strategy." Now, the plot thickens. According to Gawker, the true reason Siry tendered his resignation is that he disagreed with CEO Elon Musk that the company should start taking deposits on the Model S -- a super sexy-looking $50,000 electric sedan for which there is no factory or financing in place.

Considering all the circumstances surrounding Tesla (and most automakers) at the time -- and even more so now -- it seems pretty reasonable that Siry felt a little weird about taking money for a car with no real production plans. BTW, Tesla started taking deposits last week for $40,000. Some have already started comparing Musk with famous flop-miesters like Preston Tucker. Considering the relative success of the Roadster so far, I think it's a bit way-the-hell-too-early to call Tesla a flop. Granted, it appears that Musk is playing a little bit fast and loose for some people's tastes.

[via Gawker]

With financial forecasts in the gutter for at least the next few quarters, it would seem almost absurd for the CEO of any company to not initiate stage 5 freak-out mode, and it appears that Tesla Motors is no exception. After a couple weeks of financial bad news raining down on them, Tesla is making a few changes in its corporate lineup, laying off an undisclosed number of workers, and pushing back the release date of its Model S sedan. Ouch.

In a posting on the electric automaker's blog yesterday, Tesla's Elon Musk outlined a few of the changes that Tesla's going through. For one, the company has installed chairman Musk as the new CEO to guide the fledgling automaker through the tough times ahead, keeping the former chief Ze'ev Drori on the board as vice chairman. As far as the much anticipated Model S, Musk says that the crisis will set it back 6 months, but it should still launch in 2011. Phew.

Musk says the company's in a position to be cash flow positive in 6-9 months, and they also have a number of other things going for them -- like a low interest loan from the DOE in early 2009.

[via AutoBlogGreen]