We’ve discussed recyclable shoes before; but at the same time, a worn pair of sneakers does not necessarily mean that they’re stylish.

Many men and women are looking for more refined, elegant (or dress) shoes that don’t use leather products and can pass as a classy article. It’s difficult to do that and be the real thing, but now there may be solutions to that stylistic faux pas.

The shoe company Georgette makes higher-end shoes that look like they’re made from real leather. In many cases, the shoes have very nice designs and more importantly, supposedly feel like real leather as well. While these are only sold for females, it at least indicates that it’s not too far off for viable dress shoes to be out on the market that are imitation leather. And soon enough, “imitation” won’t have to mean “tacky.” 

An article in Scientific American discusses green options when purchasing a new television. Though they point out that both LCD and plasma televisions suck out a bunch of energy, they state that were you to choose between the two, the LCD is the more environmentally friendly option. For those bemoaning the loss of big-screen vision, don’t fret: Of all the options, the most environmentally friendly is a projector! Gives you some incentive to shell out for a theater, doesn’t it?

Of course, the best option is always to hold on to your analog TV, and it gives you some punk cred as well.

Safe sex doesn’t just mean preventing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases or pregnancy anymore, it now also implies environmental safety. This isn’t as ridiculous as it sounds: Many condoms are made each year and the resulting plastic and latex involved in the production can be harmful to the environment. That doesn’t mean we should stop making condoms; an article describing eco-friendly protection shows that people should think more when thinking about sex, if they’re going to be thinking about sex more often.

Clubbing shouldn’t be considered a harmful act against the environment; unfortunately, the nightlife isn’t as green friendly as a Heineken bottle. At the same time, clubbers have always been liberal-minded and environmentally conscious, so what’s the solution to the electricity-draining lights and music of nightclubs?

This article points out a solution: In the UK, one nightclub owner has designed a hot spot wherein the electrical power of the club is generated by people on the dance floor. Using a wind turbine and solar energy system, the harder that people dance, the more power is pumped into the club through a mechanism built into the floor. While this may eliminate the prospect of solo dancing a la Saturday Night Fever, it means that dance-offs are going to have be that much harder. Serving has never been so righteous.

In more things from the future that we find to be pretty cool, now we have this plane, which looks like two leather chairs in a bubble. This new plane, once in the air, can fly without fuel the entire time its coasting, and when it needs an extra boost for takeoff, relies on a small motor run on solar panel. At night, it uses a tiny bit of fuel, and by that we mean thirty miles to the gallon, not a lot for a plane of that size.

With flying turtles, air bubbles, and various other contraptions, what might be next in the future of airplane design? Is the flying carpet even more possible than we may have imagined?

We’ll never figure out why environmentalists are obsessed with cows and their digestive systems. Whereas at one point in time they were studying cow poo to find out what the emission rate of methane was, now they need to take it a step further and attach tanks to cows so that they can analyze their burps. Maybe it’s time to move on from the cows and start analyzing something else, don’t you think? But who are we to talk? We’re pretty obsessed with cow gas ourselves.

Though the prospect of us switching to giant flying turtles sounds like an audacious prospect, this is really about flying airplanes that look like turtles. As seen here, plans are in the works to design airliners with alternate fueling. The current model being proposed does look a lot like a turtle, doesn’t it? And for airline snacks they’ll be serving little bags of chocolate covered turtles. Well, maybe not.