I rented a Prius on a recent trip to Maryland and spent nearly 30 minutes on the phone explaining to friends how cool it was (and trust me, I’m not a phone person). Stepping into the driver’s seat feels more like stepping into a cockpit—one with lots of cool graphic screens. Admittedly, it took me about 5 minutes to figure out how to start the car (a push button that looks like the power button on your computer). And even when it was “cranked,” I kept pressing the button, because I never heard the engine whir (it’s that silent). Once I was rolling, I loved flipping back and forth between screens that showed average fuel usage, miles per gallon, power flows from the electric source versus from the fuel tank. A bit technical, yes, but with uber-cool graphics. And when I was coasting and it said I was getting 99.9 mpg (!!!), I felt like I was well on my way to saving the world.

For more pointers on how to reduce your impact on the environment, see http://talesfromtheroad.southernliving.com/tales_from_the_road/green_travel/index.html. And don’t miss the October 2008 issue of Southern Living, which offers a range of eco-friendly advice on everything from buying local food and home maintenance to beauty care and commuting.