Thanks to one of my readers who sent me these great links, in response to my groaning about our “Crisis of Credit & Stuff.” How many more bailouts and cars, American or otherwise, I asked, can our nation and Gaia withstand?

But here’s some good news on that front, an exciting new French design being tested in India, an air-powered auto, reported by BBC. Have you seen this on U.S. news?

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2228669770213573581

Another Japanese prototype runs on water-even leftover tea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrxfMz2eDME

When did we last see an ingenious idea come out of Detroit? Let’s see. The SUV, which propped up the American working man’s self-image over the past 20 years, while manufacturing jobs got shipped overseas. It was a brilliant compensation. He didn’t notice the irony of making his trucks and cars bigger, while his paycheck was shrinking, not for decades.

Oh, but these two new ecological designs would only make cars and fuel less harmful, more affordable-and where is the profit in that? How would THAT help our present GDP, a national system of accounting where disasters add up for the economy, and health doesn’t count.

So, naturally (or unnaturally, actually) both of these companies are having trouble finding financing. Duhhhhhh, as my friend put it.