There will probably be not be one cure-all solution to reliance on foreign energy and carbon emissions. Luckily, there are numerous people thinking creatively to harness energy from unlikely sources. Syngas is a process in which heat is used to convert a solid material such as coal or municipal waste into a gas. “Gasification” of biomass can reduce waste and carbon emissions since the source material is renewable and organic.

The Boston Globe did a story about one company, Ze-Gen, that heats scrap metal and captures the gases for combustion. Like many of the “new” energy propositions being developed these days, this idea is not new at all. A similar process was used to extract gasses from coal in order to light street lamps in the pre-electric days. (Via Nigel)

If you’re like me, you receive a white pages and yellow pages at least once a year and never use them. I think the last time I used the yellow pages, I was 6 years old and I tried to steal my mom’s car by sitting on a stack of them. These days, I’m too internet-connected to be bothered to flip through these huge books. For better or for worse, I’m much more likely to use Yelp or Google when trying to find a business or service in my community. Now there is an organization that gives you the option to discontinue your Yellow Page delivery. Yellow Pages Goes Green has a sign-up section that allows you to stop getting these deliveries. I haven’t heard any feedback on how well this works, but it’s definitely a good idea.

Proquo is a new service that claims it can remove you from unwanted mailing lists and let you opt in to those you want to receive. I would be a little weary that signing up for such a service might lead to more junk mail. Nothing in the world is free and for Proquo to be a viable business, they must have partnered with marketing companies in order to make the service work. That being said, they do have a very explicit privacy promise that agrees to hold your personal data sacred.