What happens if alternative power is not as green as we hope?

We grill on a weekly basis. But is our favorite cooking method damaging the environment?

Here’s a tip for the week ahead: Take a kid for a walk in the woods, and explain to her why forests are so important. They absorb CO2 and release oxygen. They guard against erosion. They provide food and shelter to zillions of the planet’s creatures. Teach a child about forests, and encourage her to help these ecosystems thrive.

So suggests 365 Ways to Save the Earth (Abrams, 2005), for the day of August 16. This relatively compact coffee-table book, with an introduction by Elizabeth Kolbert, features stunning photos of nature around the world – from Greenland’s glaciers to Kenya’s flamingos to Uganda’s mountains to the deserts of Egypt and the treasures of Australia’s oceans. But the tantalizing pictures, from French photographer Philippe Bourseiller, are just one half of the book – the motivation for the accompanying messages. 365 Ways is a how-to guide, a daily manual for living a more Earth-friendly existence.

The IMF and World Bank wrapped up spring meetings in Washington, D.C. yesterday; among the outcomes was a declaration of "broad support" for investments to expand energy access in developing countries, where, according to World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz, around 1.6 billion people lack access to electricity. The good news: renewable sources like solar, wind and water are slated for increased investment - 20 percent per year. The bad news, according to the Sierra Club, the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) and other critics of the proposal: Nuclear power, dams and so-called clean coal are a big part of the same package.

The automotive world is adding a splash of Miami Vice to the ecomobile: Saab this week unveiled a concept car powered by 100-percent ethanol that gets 400 horsepower and has wing-like doors that open skyward – think Lamborghini circa 1985. Yes, folks, it looks cool. And if it could actually find its way to an ethanol station, it might actually BE cool from an environmental standpoint. Unfortunately, only about 600 out of the 170,000 fueling station in America offer ethanol-blend fuels.