With Earth Day 2010 roaring into town this month on April 22nd in case you don't really pay attention to such things, stores everywhere are gearing up to take advantage of you, err I mean to cash in on your devotion to being green, or to help you in your quest to be green (whether you think you need it or not).

One product that I'm adding to my "must buy" list isn't as greenly glamorous as a huge solar panel array or even as handy as green household cleaners, but it will make your car breathe a little easier, and your pocket book will feel a lot greener as well - K & N Air Filters.

I know you are thinking buy a green air filter - wow that's exciting! But K & N Engineering, Inc ("manufacturer of the world's best air filters" self proclaimed but many will back those claims wholeheartedly) make High Performance air filters that are washable so instead of throwing away your air filter every year you can re-use this one for the life of the car (they even back it with a one million mile warranty). Not only is the K & N air filter environmentally friendly it is far superior to regular air filters.

K & N filters are designed to increase horsepower and acceleration (K & N first developed air filters specifically for the motorcycle racing market) and while they don't claim a savings on fuel efficiency, after reading the efficiency gains reported by long term users of these air filters that certainly is the case for many - some seeing a 3-5 MPG increase.

A lot of exaggerated claims are made by automotive products claiming to improve gas mileage, which K & N won't do but they basically say, if you read between the lines "read what others are saying and you'll most likely get better gas mileage"

After reading the testimonials and reviews for K & N air filters and hearing people with all types of vehicles say they noticed improvements in power, acceleration and fuel efficiency I was sold. Not to mention that K & N recommends cleaning the air filter every 50,000 miles vs the 12,000 miles for replacing a standard air filter (for lazy car owners that is a huge benefit!)

And when you do need to clean your K & N air filter it isn't a big deal, just remove the air filter, soak it in warm soapy water, let 'er dry out and lube it up with a K & N Air Filter Cleaning Kit which will only set you back 10 bucks or so and will last several cleanings - more than enough for the life of most cars. The cleaning kit restores air flow efficiency so your filter performs like new.

How to Green Your Car with a Re-Useable K & N Air Filter is a post from: Earth Friendly Goodies

What would you do to save $250 a year in gas? Wear a pink TuTu and dance around the office singing I'm a Little Teapot? How about outfit your car with a Speedo? Both sound a little on the crazy side but the latter is actually an option.

Well not really a Speedo but a vehicle wrap material, called MPG-Plus™ that is made by FastSkinz, Inc. This vehicle wrap, that works (and shares a very similar name) like Speedo's Fastskin swimsuits reduces a vehicle’s drag by altering the distribution of air pressure surrounding the vehicle. In other words when air flows over the small golf ball like dimples on the surface of the wrap the drag on the vehicle is reduced resulting in a 20% improvement to fuel efficiency.

In an interview with SkinzWraps CEO Peter Salaverry (FastSkinz is a subsidiary of SkinzWraps) by Popular Science magazine recently it was revealed that you can outfit your car with one of these sexy dimpled fuel saving wraps for around $1,800 and on average they estimated you can save up to $250 a year on gas.... so if you do the numbers you'd have to keep that on your car for 7.2 years to make up your cost.... is it worth it? Maybe, maybe not, but I bet you'd have plenty of fun on the driving range or the swimming pool for that matter. (FastSkinz 5 year warranty does not cover swimming pools however)

FastSkinz: Record Setting Speedo for Your Car is a post from: Earth Friendly Goodies

Did you know In 2008, the combined fuel efficiency for passenger cars and light trucks in the US was approximately 24 MPG, while it is already 44 MPG in Europe and 47 in Japan, almost double that of the US! (Source: pewclimate.org)

When I read that statistic I almost dropped my shorts and did a hula dance out of frustration, I and my neighbors are glad I did not. It boggles the mind that we in the US can be so far behind EVERYONE in the rest of the world in fuel efficiency.

Granted the awareness in the US for clean energy and fuel efficient vehicles is growing, but we have a long way to go.

One company looking to help spread some eco-cool cheer is MPG Stickers, a company that makes the same style white oval badges you may have seen sporting the "GB" moniker, but with fuel economy numbers that represent a car’s fuel efficiency. So if you drive a vehicle that gets better than 30 MPG show off your eco-friendly pride buy slapping one of these fine stickers on your ride. Only $3.99 plus shipping and handling.

MPG Stickers is a non-profit grassroots campaign which aims to accelerate the adoption of fuel efficient vehicles in the U.S. in order to limit the emissions of harmful greenhouse gases in the U.S. and the world. We aim to do it one sticker at a time!

My Fuel Efficiency is Better Than Yours is a post from: Earth Friendly Goodies