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School buses in St. Louis, Missouri, are being retrofitted with crankcase ventilation filters to capture diesel emissions and keep pollution out of passenger cabins.

In South Dakota and Mississippi, older buses are being replaced with cleaner models, while others are being fitted with new heaters to reduce toxic emissions and conserve fuel.

Growing up in India, one of the highlights of my summer vacations was the annual trip from the capital New Delhi to my grandparents' home in Kerala located at the southernmost tip of the peninsula.

The family home, which is more than 300 years old, was seen by my sisters and cousins as the ultimate holiday destination with its many rooms, corridors, cellars and attic. What we didn't realize then was that it was also the ultimate in environmentally friendly construction, energy efficiency, self-sustainability and promoting recycling habits.

The Environmental Protection Agency agrees with critics who contend that if the agency applies the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases it would vastly expand the universe of regulated entities.

This is particularly true, the agency notes, if it applies the same emission standards under the act that apply to conventional pollutants. In fact, doing so would lead to "absurd results," EPA said. So, last week the agency a proposed rule that would tailor provisions of the act to better fit major sources of greenhouse gas emissions.

They won't all make the playoffs this year, but there's one thing a growing list of big leaguers have come together on: promoting recycling and reducing the use of oil to blunt the environmental impact of pro ballparks and stadiums across the US.

From educational campaigns about alternative energy and making biodiesel from concession grease, to powering ballpark tractors and mowers with biodiesel blends and composting the clippings, going green is a rising trend in professional sports.

Grabbing a propane-run taxi is nothing unusual in Tokyo, but you need to be lucky to catch a hybrid taxi. Soon, you may have a much better chance of grabbing hybrids anywhere in Tokyo, and other major cities in Japan.

Recently, I was one of the fortunate few to catch a ride in Toyota's best-selling hybrid, the Prius. My driver excitedly told me about his three-month long experience with the new vehicle. Hybrid cars are no longer part of tomorrow's world here, and they are already helping slash demand for gasoline across Japan.

For doubting Thomases of Cash for Clunkers handouts, here's more fodder for skepticism in the face of what proved blowout media coverage: according to a University of California-Davis study, the federal government's Cash for Clunkers program is expected to have paid "at least 10 times the 'sticker price' to reduce emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide."

"While carbon credits are projected to sell in the U.S. for about $28 per ton (today's price in Europe was $20), even the best-case calculation of the cost of the clunkers rebate is $237 per ton," the university said, citing a report by UC Davis transportation economist Christopher Knittel.

US President Barack Obama's 6-hour trip to Ottawa on Thursday, while brief and lacking in the pomp and circumstance normally associated with presidential trips abroad, will arguably be one of the most important of the early period of his presidency.

Canada is the largest trading partner of the US, particularly in the energy and transportation industries. So how the two countries work out some particularly difficult issues running the gamut from the so-called "smart grid" technology in the power sector to carbon sequestration and cap-and-trade will have dramatic impacts in both countries for years to come.

They say bad things come in three, so here's the third installment of a triumvirate of discouraging news items.

Cap and trade has been the focus of all of the climate legislation given serious consideration by Congress, and will be at the heart of the major climate bills Congress is expected to consider this year. However, critics contend that despite politicians' traditional antipathy to taxes, Congress ultimately will impose a carbon tax rather than enact a cap-and-trade program.

"Cap and trade will fall flat on its face," in part, as a consequence of the Wall Street meltdown, said Charles Komanoff. "The last thing the public will want to see is a new trillion dollar market in some esoteric financial instruments that is going to be conducted behind closed doors with no transparency."