As long as I can squeeze 400 miles out of a tank of gas I am pretty happy with my mileage. Evidently, some folks take their mileage tracking a bit more serious, almost to hobby level. If you are one of the diehard MPG trackers, Fuel Frog may be the best thing to happen to you since detailed receipts starting coming out of gas pumps.

The service provides a nice list of features enabling you to track trends relating to mileage, fuel costs, and how your mileage changes over time. That’s great and all, but the best part is that they have integrated with Twitter so that you can update your account on the fly. No more reconciling printed receipts, it’s all automated now.

While you are on Twitter, don’t forget to follow Pangaya.

Fuel Frog website

As previously reported, CurrentTV is hoping to pull off a $100 million IPO but if the recent quarter is a sign of things to come, an IPO may be a bit tough to swing. The company reported that advertising revenues dropped from $2.64 million to $2.5 million and the loss for the quarter was $7.5 million, up substantially from the $2.9 million loss in the same quarter last year.

Currently the company has just $6.1 million in the piggy bank and a rather unsightly $41 million in debt.

Story from paidContent

The two companies have been working together for some time and this summer plan to roll out a full-fledged Fair Trade marketplace focused on “social change consumers”. In addition to the new marketplace, eBay also operates Giving Works, a site that has raised more than $120 million for charities.

Story from CNET

Honda jumped out to a fast start in 1999 by launching the first hybrid in the U.S. However, shortly thereafter, Toyota took Honda out behind the woodshed for a good whoopin’ and shows no signs of letting up. Ever the scrappy competitor, Honda isn’t handing over all its lunch money just yet and has now stated publically that it plans to sell 500,000 hybrids per year by early next decade.

Having EOL’d (end of life) the Insight and Accord Hybrid, the remaining hybrid in the Honda stable is the Civic Hybrid. In order to meet the aggressive sales targets, the company plans to add a Fit (pictured above) hybrid and a dedicated hybrid model to be launched for the 2009 model year. Finally, Honda will also add the CRZ and a revamped Civic to round out the response to Toyota.

Story from Business Week

P&G is making major changes to its business practices to lessen the environmental impact of selling millions of Pampers, Duracell batteries, disposable Gilette razors, and more. However, unlike everyone else in the space, they haven’t been pounding their chest about it in the press. At least, not quite as loudly.

Len Sauers, VP of Sustainability, recently engaged with a little email exchange with Brand Week about the company’s plan for going green. A few of the nuggets:

*50-75% of consumers feel environmental issues are important, but aren’t willing to compromise on the price/performance value proposition.

*P&G plans to sell $20 billion in sustainable innovation products in the next five years.

*If everyone used cold water in their washing machines, it would eliminate 34 million tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.

*P&G plans to reduce its carbon footprint 40% by 2012

Complete interview from Brand Week

Buy low. Sell high. A very simple concept but exceedingly hard to execute, especially in a volatile market. If you would have purchased shares of Pacific Ethanol (PEIX) two years ago you would probably be a very bitter person since the shares are now trading at just $5.60. However, if you purchased the same shares last week, you have now doubled your money and look like a genius. It’s all about timing.

Pacific Ethanol released earnings yesterday and the results have the stock, and those of its competitors, making nice gains. Company sales were up 63% from the same quarter last year and volume was up 58% to 59 million gallons sold.

Story from Forbes

As we reported this weekend, the National Restaurant Association launched its previously announced Conserve initiative today. The program is a mix of educational content, best practices, and resources to help the owners of the nearly one million restaurants in the U.S. make their operations more sustainable.

Conserve website

Nothing gets the parents in the ‘burbs revved up like throwing the annual birthday bash for their prized little one(s). Ranging from the basic Costco pizza and white cake to over-the-top parties to one-up the neighbors, these glutinous affairs are rarely more than a party for the adults with a few kids thrown in for excitement. And the thought of actually learning something at a birthday party, that’s just crazy talk.

Let us introduce Inspired Birthdays, a customized birthday party service built around five themes: Wild Child, Planet Party, Happy Healthy Hoopla, Unwrapping Your Community, and Colors of My World. Regardless of the theme you choose, you can rest assured that the little ones will be in for a good time and be introduced to educational themes in a fun and interactive setting.

The only downside to the service is the cost. A get together for ten kids will set you back at least $1,250, so make sure the invite list is nice and tight.

Inspired Birthdays website

We just covered Mercedes-Benz of Arrowhead, the first LEED certified luxury auto dealership, and now comes along Toyota of Rockwall, the first LEED Gold certified dealership. The Texas outlet is the first of several Toyota dealerships being built to meet LEED standards.

• Key elements of the Rockwall dealership include:
• 38% of the construction materials came from recycled sources
• Reflective roof sends 90% of heat back into the atmosphere
• Water cisterns store 63,500 gallons of water
• Condensation from the air conditioning system is used to irrigate landscaping

Press release from Reuters

Gazillionaire Ted Turner is teaming up with the National Restaurant Association (NRA) to launch a green initiative at the organization’s annual conference on Monday. Walking the walk, Turner has turned his Ted’s Montana Grills decidedly green through the use of paper straws, cups made of cornstarch, and menus printed on 100% recycled paper.

The restaurant industry is the largest retail user of energy, using up to five times as much per square foot than other commercial buildings.

Story from the USA Today