Upstart synthetic biology company Solazyme has just signed a development deal with Chevron and plans to show off a car running on its algae-derived biodiesel at the Sundance Film Festival. The car will be using a completely stock diesel engine with no modifications needed to run on the fuel.

The company produces the fuel using standard industrial fermentation equipment and is already producing thousands of gallons of the wonder fuel.

Story from The Auto Channel

Whole Foods has announced plans to eliminate the use of plastic bags in each of its 270 stores by Earth Day. The move is projected to eliminate 100 million bags from circulation, a tiny percentage of the total but still a good start.

Customers will have several choices when it comes to lugging their groceries home. Opt for paper, buy a reusable bag made from plastic or canvas, or best of all, bring your own.

Story from USA Today

The (usually) good folks at the Sierra Club have come up with a plan to tax video games and televisions with the proceeds going to educate kids about the great outdoors. They cite the fact that these goods contribute to the rising rates of obesity and therefore make a good target for their tax-to-educate program. Why not also add a tax to computers, cars, fast food, soda, and every other modern convenience that also adds to the problem?

Here’s an idea, rather than going after the problem at its fringes, why not just levy a “fat tax” on parents who let their kids sit around all day? Of course, that will never happen but if the idea is to justify a tax by painting a good or service as part of the problem don’t beat around the bush…take a stand and get to the heart of the problem.

Raising a paltry $4 million, as the tax is projected to do, will do nothing to stop childhood obesity.

Story from KOB.com

The California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco is developing a new building and the green technology involved is pretty incredible. Visitors will surely awed by the variety of exhibits housed in the building, but eco-geeks are more likely to be enamored by the 60,000 photovoltaic cells on the roof, the nearly 200,000 square foot living roof (pictured), and the extensive list of recycled and eco-friendly building materials used in the development.

There are several videos on the Academy’s website and you can also watch a short piece from KRON (youtube) in the Bay Area.

California Academy of Sciences

Sonoma Mountain Village (there are mountains in Rohnert Park?) is a new development being built on the site of an old Agilent campus about 45 minutes north of San Francisco. The 200 acre project will feature a mix of housing, retail, and entertainment in what is supposed to resemble an urban center, though everyone who has visited the area knows that Rohnert Park is just a suburb.

The developers have committed to green practices and plan to include one of the largest solar installments in California, energy efficient housing, recycled building materials, and convenient access to public transit.

Sonoma Mountain Village

Judging by the looks of the new Jacuzzi Winery in Sonoma, the hot tub business has been pretty good to the Jacuzzi family. Situated on 190 acres, the 18,000 square foot winery is inspired by the family home in Italy.

The family has been in the wine business for some time, but starting in the year 2000, they have been completely organic. The operation uses no pesticides, petroleum-based fertilizers, or herbicides.

Jacuzzi Winery

Inspired by the yellow bracelet phenomenon that helped the Livestrong Foundation to raise tens of millions of dollars for Cancer, a few Internet geeks got together to create CareBadges. CareBadges are simple widgets that promote a particular cause and can be added to your website, blog, social networking profile, etc.

There are dozens of causes to choose from and you can even see how much has been raised through the use of the badges.

CareBadges website

Google.org, the do-gooder side of the massive search company has announced five new programs backed by more than $25 million in grants. The five initiatives include:

• Predict and Prevent: Develop early warning systems and response capabilities in areas prone to crisis.
• Improve Public Services: Enhance the flow of information to aid the poor in India and East Africa.
• Fuel Growth of Small/Medium Businesses: Improve access to capital for companies not served by micro-finance or large lenders.
• Develop Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal: Focuses on solar thermal power, wind, enhanced geothermal, and other breakthrough technologies.
• Accelerate Development of Plug-in Vehicles: Invest $500K-$2 million in companies with innovative ways to commercialize plug-in vehicles.

Story from Yahoo

As previously stated, Fisker Automotive designs the most beautiful hybrids in the world. Hands down. Evidently the crew at Kleiner feels the same way and has handed over some cash as part of a multi-million dollar second round of funding for the automaker.

Fisker created a ton of press for itself at the recent Detroit Auto Show and plans to begin manufacturing by the end of 2009 and selling units by 2010. The $80,000 Karma has been compared to the Maserati Quattroporte, but unlike the Maserati, it can go up to 50 miles on battery power before switching to hybrid mode.

Story from Automotive.com

The most famous provider of professional companionship to men (and tax evader) has now set her sights on a new endeavor, professional companionship for women. No, we haven’t changed the theme of this blog. Ms. Fleiss is looking to do things right this time (relatively speaking), locating her establishment in adult-entertainment-friendly Nevada and powering it with wind power.

Heidi is planning to build a wind farm on 60 acres of desert that she owns and will diversify her operations with a laundry mat by the name of Dirty Laundry.

Story from ecorazzi