Nerds for nature

In the spirit of Earth Day this Saturday, we've assembled a CNET guide to greener tech. Here, you'll see how eco-minded folks are using all sorts of everyday tech tools to address environmental woes--whether with energy- and money-saving hardware, solar-powered cell phone chargers, hybrid cars, or software.

"The soul selects her own society," wrote one nature-loving poet. And Web 2.0 tools make it a snap to put like-minded souls together. Green geeks, for instance, have mashed up Google Maps to chart ecological disasters and pollution, even to help you find discarded treasures on New York streets. Other tech-savvy observers of Earth Day are building Web-based micro start-ups that allow people to pay for their pollution or to help far-flung microentrepreneurs.

And just as editor Rafe Needleman describes social bookmarking tools, such as Digg, that help news junkies to vote on and find stories that appeal to them, the popular green blog Treehugger now adds its own social bookmarking service to the crowded field. Its Hugg allows you to locate and rate stories on all things green, even gadgets. You can also browse the green blogosphere via Squidoo's specialized directory and Rollyo's custom search. Catch up on cutting-edge green tech news at News.com.