Green tech

Consumers and companies seeking both to save money and slow climate change are embracing "green" technologies. The trend includes efforts to make everyday products--including electronics, cars, and buildings--less polluting and more efficient.

Innovations range from new personal accessories, such as solar chargers for cell phones, to utility-scale solar plants being built to deliver clean energy to the masses. Options for shoppers are expanding. New PCs and gadgets include less-toxic materials and waste less electricity. An expanding assortment of hybrid, electric, or biofuel-ready cars appear on dealers' lots. And Web 2.0 tools put green thinkers on the same page.

Embraced first by hippies, the green movement is becoming mainstream. Some experts predict that someday, clean tech will not only overshadow the hardware and software sectors, but could even clean up pollution left behind by older industries.

Silicon Valley start-ups and venture capitalists alongside global corporations and governments are lavishing attention and greenbacks on green goods and services, which touch on nearly every industry. Businesses in this category often describe serving a "triple bottom line" of people, the planet, and profits.