The Rolex Awards for Enterprise are given to five Laureates who "embody the spirit of enterprise to benefit their communities and the wider world." The winners each get $100,000 to continue projects already under way and a Rolex Oyster, the world's first waterproof watch (not bad for a little extra treat). Offered in five categories: science, technology, exploration, environment and culture, they represent a range of visionary projects.

Elsa Zaldivar's houses made of recycled plastic, cotton netting, corn husks and loofah sponges are particularly ingenious. She works in the poor regions of Paraguay encouraging rural women to grow loofahs, a plant that had once flourished but had fallen out of style. First she organised the women into a co-operative; starting with a group of 16, now there are 200 growing and selling the sponges.

Guim Valls Teruel is almost ready to go. His goal: Travel all 5 continents on an electric bike. The project is called the Electric Bicycle World Tour. Guim decided to choose this alternative form of personal transportation to promote the use of cleaner energy and the non-reliance on fossil fuel. According to him, one person has never done this before. However, many people can participate in this “one kilometre – one hope” sponsorship program set up by an NGO, by showing solidarity and hence become part of the tour. So why go electric?

Honda just announced that they will no longer participate in F1 car racing. The global economic downturn means Honda is trying to save money, just like other car makers, and British driver Jenson Button will have to find a new team. I liked Honda's Earth Car initiative, but the announcement today is a clear sign of how tough the times really are. Meanwhile, in Washington, General Motors Chief Executive Rick Wagoner yesterday told the Senate Banking Committee that “Forces beyond our control have pushed us to the brink.”

There are no plans here in Japan to ask for a bailout for any of the six Japanese car makers, but the huge drop in sales could easily translate into a major crisis very soon. Honda's move may be too little, too late, and all eyes are on how events will unfold in the hearings in the US:

Having spent two days atop the 400-foot chimney stack of the Pątnów power plant to highlight the catastrophic impact that coal-fired power stations are having on the climate, the 11 Greenpeace climbers have come down and are heading for the UN climate talks in Posnan to continue their campaign to save the climate.

Washington, DC, which consistently scores high in sustainability rankings for its excellent public transportation, walkability, and green space, has few accolades in the area of green building. While the majority of the nation's biggest environmental organizations are headquartered here, some of them with LEED-certified buildings, the private sector has been slow to follow their lead. But Starwood, the hotel multinational, and its partner Perseus Realty, LLC, hope to change that with plans for the city's "first green hotel" called 1 Hotel and Residences, scheduled for completion in 2010.

:: Look uber-stylish in sustainable clothing made out of discarded umbrella fabric.

:: Serve these bite-sized pieces of puff pastry bliss at your holiday party.

:: Are you an aspiring craft-master living in NYC? Head over to Eyebeam's Holiday Hackshop party.

Welcome to our new "TreeHugger Deals" column, which offers discounts and specials exclusively for TreeHugger readers.

This week’s TreeHugger Deals comes to you from Guayakí Organic Yerba Mate. Guayakí sells organic, fair trade yerba mate in mate tea bags, loose mate, mate latte concentrates, mate gourds and bombillas, and bottled iced mate drinks. And not only do they offset their CO2 locally, they also take great pride in honoring the locals called the Aché Guayakí people. The Ache live in the sub-tropical rainforests of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil, home of the yerba mate tree. Like high quality coffee, high quality mate is shade-grown, in the rich ecosystem of the rainforest; delivering more flavor and nutritional value. Crafted like a fine wine, it is grown, harvested, and dried according to time and by honoring traditions.

Kodak has put out the world's first OLED digital photo frame, proving two things. First, that this technology is still waaaaaaay out of Joe the Plumber's price range. And second, digital photo frames, even with OLED displays, are so not green.

Read on for more about OLED displays.

Recent Comment by JSDreyer : "@ MKI, I was trying to be ridiculous. I forgot that you can actually use LCD op..." [read]