Whether you're purchasing lumber to construct a home, add a room, build a deck, or just...

While the totally electric car might not be within reach for the average consumer quite yet, more and more of these stylish crossbreeds are popping up all over. The term hybrid is used to refer to automobiles that run on two or more different power sources-typically gasoline and electricity. Hybrid vehicles have much better fuel economy than average conventional cars, and have lower emissions levels.

Most hybrids work by combining a small combustion engine (gas-powered) with a battery and electric motor; the battery captures energy that would be lost during braking and stores it for a power boost when needed-when accelerating, passing, and so on. The result, in well-designed hybrids, is high gas mileage, (as high as 70 mpg) along with reduced air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. These cars are priced somewhat higher than comparable conventional models, but energy savings provides a return on the investment. It's like driving a little bit of the future.

Mold isn't just a patch of blue to indicate your bread's gone bad. There are molds that grow on...