You Are Here, the new book by Tom Kostigen, published by HarperCollins, is a trip through the world's worst environmental disasters. Kostigen brings home the force of our mistreatment of planet Earth in a vivid and gripping way. Kostigen stopped by to talk about his book recently:

BidForGreen: From reading your book, I was struck by the inequitable effect that the worst environmental problems have on the poorest people. They live the problems. Are some of the more heinous problems really civil rights questions?

Tom Kostigen: The poor get the raw of the stick, no question. But as the world "shrinks" because of travel and technology efficiencies, it's important to remember that what has happened and is happening to the poor can just as easily happen to the more fortunate. Natural resources do not discriminate. This should be a big wake-up call for the developed world.

BFG: Your style reminds me of Thomas Friedman in the way you see an issue from many different perspectives. Obviously, he has a very different opinion of globalization than you do. Is "You Are Here" the dark side of "The World Is Flat"?

TK: While I think there are benefits to globalization, there are downsides, sure. The transportation of goods, for example, all the way from China to the US. Certain exploitations occur. Take a look at the economic woes of today and you'll find no better example for buying local. We of course have to be mindful of the global community but that doesn't mean ignoring our own community close to home.

BFG: You visit many places, from Alaska to Brazil, on this book's journey. What surprised you most?

TK: I was heartened to find that pretty much every one around the world has a new consciousness of the environment. Being green isn't just a US phenomenon; it's worldwide.

BFG: Is there a contradiction in writing a book about pollution? How do you feel about the waste that your own book creates?

TK: First, the book is made with recycled paper. Second I carbon offset all the energy. And third I believe the tradeoff of educating people about the environment offsets the downside of its production. You can't live in a cave and hope to change the world outside.

BFG: What do you consider to be the most pressing environmental problem? Is there any solution in sight?

TK: Water scarcity is the biggest problem today. No question. We can solve this crisis tomorrow through education and preventing waste, pollution, and mismanagement.

BFG: Do our current economic woes scare you, considering the greater cost that additional environmental requirements and programs carry?

TK: Actually, I believe this is a time of opportunity -- to create better infrastructure, green collar jobs, and create incentives for alternative energy. I see a big silver lining in the dark clouds we are living under today..

BFG: In the end, do we solve these problems in the public or private sector?

TK: It is going to take three constituencies to solve the environmental problems of today: us, businesses, and the government. We have to take accountability and create demand to which businesses respond to with more sustainable products. Government then has to step in and provide incentives. No one sector can do it alone.

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., will showcase its environmental technologies at “The Science of Survival" exhibition during a four-month stay in the United States beginning Oct. 18 at Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, N.J. The public will be able to view the exhibition until Feb. 2, 2009.

“The Science of Survival” exhibition will move among various venues around the world through 2012. The exhibition is organized by “The Science of …” which is a partnership between The Science Museum in London and the Fleming Media of the United Kingdom.

The thought-provoking and interactive exhibition features seven areas: Briefing, Drinking, Eating, Enjoying, Moving, Building and Future City. Visitors have the opportunity to explore how their lives could be affected by environmental changes and resource availability. Set in 2050, visitors can design “green cars,” invent new “super foods” and develop unique neighborhoods.

In the “Moving” area of the exhibit, a quarter-scale Nissan Pivo and its lithium-ion battery will be on display. Visitors can learn about new vehicle fuels for the future including electricity, hydrogen and biofuels made from plants.

“The Science of Survival” concept aligns with the Nissan Green Program 2010, which is focused on three core areas related to the environment: reducing CO2 emissions from Nissan’s products and activities around the world, reducing other emissions and accelerating recycling efforts.

Aptera Motors, a California company, has announced that it is now taking orders for its Aptera vehicle, available as a pure electric or as a plug-in hybrid, for 2009 delivery.

Although the vehicle is technically classified as a motorcycle, the company claims it meets or exceeds many car safety standards. The plug-in hybrid model has tested at 120-plus miles per gallon.

The electric version will retail for $27,000, and the plug-in hybrid for $30,000. The vehicles are only available in California. And yes, they will have a cupholder.

For more information, visit www.aptera.com.

The World Wildlife Fund released its “Greenprint” agenda this week – a policy roadmap for the next administration to address global threats to environmental, social and political stability in four key areas: climate change, conservation of natural resources, food security and freshwater availability.

“In our conservation work around the world, WWF has long recognized the connection between political stability, regional security and natural resource use,” said Carter Roberts, president and CEO of WWF. “These issues are now taking center stage in the form of climate change, energy independence, and national security.”

The WWF Greenprint has been provided to Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and their campaign staffs. It outlines specific policy initiatives that would reduce threats to global peace and security by cutting greenhouse gas emissions and establishing preparedness measures for dealing with the impacts of climate change, ensuring plentiful food and clean water for people around the world, and retooling the U.S. government’s Cold War-era foreign assistance program to ensure more sustainable use of the world’s natural resources.

The WWF Greenprint, which is available here, is divided into four parts: climate change, food security, freshwater availability and natural resource protection and management. On climate change, it recommends that the next administration play a constructive role in international negotiations on a new climate treaty, curb deforestation which accounts for nearly 20 percent of global annual greenhouse gas emissions, propose domestic legislation to establish a cap and trade program for greenhouse gases and develop a preparedness strategy for confronting the impacts of climate change.

On food security, it recommends the development of performance-based standards for biofuels to ensure fuel supplies don’t diminish food supplies, and it urges an overhaul of management policies to restore the health of the world’s declining fisheries – a primary source of protein for more than 1 billion of the world’s poor. Further, it states that freshwater availability should be a strategic priority for the U.S. and urges the next administration to lay the scientific and policy groundwork for global water security.

To ensure sustainable management of natural resources, the WWF Greenprint states that America’s Cold War-era foreign assistance programs should be restructured to better integrate conservation and sustainability into the framework. It further urges renewed investment in natural assets and a stronger engagement with China, which is rapidly developing at a rate that is stressing the world’s natural resource capacity.

“There is still time to manage our way out of this crisis, but the clock is ticking,” said Roberts. “We need to start now, for decisions deferred today will be far harder and costlier for our children to make tomorrow.”

In September, Toyota and EDF Energy, a British subsidiary of French energy company EDF, began testing plug-in Prius hybrid vehicles on public roads in the United Kingdom.

Following Japan, the United States, France, and Belgium, the UK is the fifth nation in which Toyota has conducted tests of plug-in hybrid vehicles on public roads. Worldwide testing began in 2007.

The prototypes are designed to operate like the current Prius, yet distinguished by greater electric power via a second nickel-metal hydride hybrid battery pack. With increased electric power in reserve, the vehicle is capable of operating in pure-electric mode longer and faster than the current Prius. Toyota is also accelerating development of plug-in hybrid vehicles equipped with lithium-ion batteries, with sales to fleet customers planned for the end of 2009.