“What we’re going to have to do at a global scale is create a new system,  so we need energy miracles. We have to drive full speed and get a miracle in a pretty tight timeline.”

-Bill Gates speaking about energy technology at the 2010 TED Conference. Gates said that climate change is the most dangerous issue facing our society, and added that finding a cheap and clean energy source is more important than creating new vaccines and improving farming techniques. Whoa!

Bill Gates has more money than God. It’s true — otherwise, God would have tried developing a project to tame nasty hurricanes years ago. Unfortunately, God missed out on the whole “operating system” boom (though word is, he’s behind Google’s newest OS) and now Gates is in a position to one up the Almighty.

The Huffington Post is reporting that Gates is working with “several other scientists and engineers” on a device that would effectively break up hurricanes before they have a chance to slap places like New Orleans. The basic gist is that barge-like contraptions would be released into brewing offshore hurricanes, which would pump cold water up from the bottom of the ocean, thus calming the rough weather that’s caused by warm ocean temperatures.

Currently, there are five patents pending on this weather-controlling tech — but besides the environmental side-effects of such a scheme, many wonder if it would even be worth the cost. “From a scientific and political standpoint, (the Gates plan) looks fanciful,” patent expert Gene Quinn told USA Today . “But the physics is real and like a lot of things, the question is whether the damage you prevent is worth the money you would spend to develop something so massive.”

To the surprise of many, Gates appears as a principal applicant on a patent published last week for an electromagnetic  combusion engine.

What the hell is an electromagnetic combusion blah, blah, blah? According to fastcompany.com the engine works like this:

“An engine’s mechanical force, created by traditional combustion, could be converted into electrical or electromagnetic energy–which, in turn, could be used to help drive the pistons or for some other application. The benefit: an hybrid engine without the need for two discrete drivetrains, as with today’s hybrids.”

DUH!

So what do you think? Is Bill’s next big venture Hybrid technology? Chime in below and tell us how you feel about all this electromagnetic awesomeness!

Counting down…

8. Bill Gates- While this guy does a lot for charity (which we love), it’s estimated that his global impact is 10,000 greater than the average person. WTF?

7. David and Victoria Beckham- We totally called this one! Last year, David flew more than 250,000 miles, is the owner of 15 cars and owns several homes. Add that all together, and he created about 18 times more carbon dioxide than the average person.

6. Madonna- Jeez! We called this one as well! Water bottles aside, in the past year she has created more than 1,000 tons of carbon dioxide!

5. John Travolta- John Travolta owns five planes, including a Boeing 707 complete with multiple dining rooms, and it’s estimated he has an annual carbon footprint that’s about 100 times more than the average person.

Hungry for more? To see the rest of the list scoot on over to chicagotribune.com. The remaining four might surprise you. I’ll give one clue — we DEFINITELY predicted number one!

If you could have your morning cup of coffee with either Angelina Jolie, Oprah Winfrey, Laura Bush, Bill Gates, Al Gore or Brad Pitt who would you choose?

If you picked Oprah you got it right! Well at least that’s what the majority of America said when asked by the Opinion Research Corporation on behalf of Millstone Fair Trade Coffee. In fact, out of the 746 adult coffee drinkers polled, 20 percent picked Oprah while Bill Gates came in second with 16 percent and Laura Bush third with 15 percent. Brad Pitt on the other hand only got a shabby 7 percent. Umm..I think maybe the coffee drinkers had other activities in mind for Brad.

Millstone also found that while 52 percent of people said they were aware of Fair Trade certification, only about half of those (44 percent) were able to really explain it.

How would you do on the Fair Trade test? If you think you’re missing a few genius points, visit TransFairUsa.com and bone up. And when you’re done, hit Millstone Fair Trade Coffee and reward yourself for all that hard work.

Plenty of Ecorazzi’s favorite celebs make an appearance in the video, and eco-messaging can be seen in t-shirts and posters throughout the vid. My fave is his personal trainer…

Do you loathe Wal-Mart as much as I do? Because I’m not going to lie to you here, I am an avid Wal-Mart hater! Maybe it’s the smell of pale, salty corndogs covered in high-fructose corn syrup infused dollar store condiments bouncing off the windowless industrial walls that turns me off. Or am I simply offended by that damn patronizing yellow smiley face circle that’s plastered on the back of every hand-me-down, cigarette-stained, dark blue vest that each union-less employee is forced to wear like tattoos at Auschwitz so as to add to my “shopping experience?” Or maybe it’s just a combo platter of both. Anyway, as you can imagine, I am always as shocked as you are when I hear the Wal-Gods are doing something precious for the environment.

Just this month, Wal-Mart held a meeting with U.S. mayors in Seattle and announced its plan to partner with former president Bill Clinton (my main man), and his Clinton Climate Initiative. In the past, The Clinton Climate Initiative has been praised by the likes of Barbara Streisand, Bill and Melinda Gates and Tony Blair. And now you can add Wal-Mart to that roster of good-doers (which is actually the step-cousin of evil-doers). In Seattle, Wal-Mart announced a commitment to help identify new green technology and to bring down the price of eco-friendly products such as lighting systems and energy-efficient building supplies so that more people can afford to go “green.” Moreover, they plan on using their new found enlightenment to take advantage of future eco-friendly alternatives in the lighting of their stores.

Oh great!! Do I have to change my stance on Wal-Mart now? I mean I have to give them a little sugar for at least stepping up to the plate and TRYING to make a difference, but even so, Wal-Mart could plant 5 billion trees, invent a magic car that runs only on positive thoughts and strap Dick Cheney on a spaceship to the moon and I STILL wouldn’t touch those corndogs!