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Despite what marketers of products such as bamboo cutting boards and vegan silk gowns would have us believe, helping the planet doesn't require forking over your paycheck. It's really about conserving, not consuming -- so going green should also save you some.

Don't believe us? Try some of the tips below. These lifestyle changes can really add up, says Jennifer Abel, who manages education programs in finance and nutrition at the Virginia Cooperative Extension's Arlington office.

Bike, walk or run. By using your muscles instead of a car to get you places, you're saving gas and reducing carbon emissions. And if that change means you can skip going to the gym, you can also avoid those monthly fees and conserve the energy it takes to power all those exercise machines.

Drive smart. If you must get behind the wheel, remember this: Speeding, excessive idling, lapses in maintenance, improper tire pressure and hauling unnecessary cargo lower your gas mileage.

Stop eating lunch out. Bringing your food to work in reusable containers might keep as much as $1,500 a year in your pocket and a great deal of takeout packaging out of landfills. Also consider switching from expensive barista-made lattes to home-brewed organic, fair-trade coffee.

Visit the library. Borrow books, DVDs and CDs free -- that's a hard deal to beat.

Go electronic. Pay bills and get statements online; you'll save trees and stamps.

Swap stuff. Skip the mall and arrange a goods or clothing swap with friends and neighbors. (You know what they say about one man's trash.)

Conserve hot water. As much as 11 percent of a home's annual energy costs comes from needing hot water, Abel says. Wash clothes in cold water, take shorter showers, install low-flow faucets and turn down your hot-water heater to 120 degrees.

Slay energy "vampires." Many electronics and appliances draw current even when turned off. Unplug them when not in use or put them on power strips, which can be easily switched on and off as needed.

Read up on the topic. Abel recommends the book "Go Green, Live Rich" by David Bach (Broadway Books, $14.95), as well as the Web sites http://www.eere.energy.gov, http://www.greenandsave.com and http://www.energystar.gov.

LOS ANGELES

Movie studio executives on Friday presented the best-case scenario for a winter holiday surge in the purchase of high-definition Blu-ray players as their best hope to keep the U.S. home video market's decline from accelerating past 3 percent or 4 percent this year.

The executives hosted by The Digital Entertainment Group, a consortium of movie studios and electronics manufacturers, forecast that 10.5 million households would be able to play Blu-ray videos by the end of the year -- with about 2.5 million standalone players and 8 million PlayStation 3 game consoles.

That estimate is much lower than the 14.4 million households that Adams Media Research said in June would be playing Blu-rays by the end of the year. But if it is to come true, about 1 million more standalone players and 2.3 million more PS3s must be sold through the holidays.

Prices have dropped in recent months, and Blu-ray players can be found online for less than $200, encouraging hope for adoption of the format.

"The only dark cloud is the economy," David Bishop, president of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, told a panel. He said the consumer products side of Sony Corp. is "showing no slowdown in the adoption of the PlayStation 3."

There are 5.7 million PS3s installed in the United States now, and Sony and expects to sell 4 million to 5 million more by March.

"We remain pretty confident that we'll meet our targets for the fiscal year," said Julie Han, spokeswoman for Sony Computer Entertainment America.

These so-called "early adopters" of video technology are especially important because they tend to buy more movies than consumers who join a trend later.

"These are the heavy buyers, the heavy collectors," said Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

Executives agreed it is still the early days of Blu-ray because it was only February when the high-definition format beat out Toshiba Corp.-backed HD DVD. Last week, the consortium kicked off a $25 million TV ad campaign to push Blu-ray, acknowledging in part that half the people it polled in a recent survey didn't know the format war was over.

Gains in Blu-ray revenues, including rentals and sales, are expected to counter some of the expected 6 percent decline in regular DVD revenue in the U.S. in calendar 2008.

Through the first three-quarters of the year, video rental revenue in the U.S. was down 1.2 percent at $5.6 billion and sales were down 3.5 percent at $8.6 billion, according to the industry tracker, Video Business.

Economic headwinds remain a concern.

In a survey the consortium conducted in late August and early September of 2,200 owners of high-definition TV sets in the U.S., U.K. and Japan, just 12 percent said they were likely to buy Blu-ray players in the next six months.

Another 30 percent were open to purchasing them, it said. How potential Blu-ray consumers will respond to lower prices isn't clear.

"This was done before prices started to come down and before the economy started to hit," Chris Lang, senior vice president of research firm SmithGeiger LLC, told the panel.

Those who don't yet have high-definition sets are not expected to be large contributors this season, said Bob Chapek, president of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Worldwide. Purchasing a $1,000 high-definition TV and even a moderately priced Blu-ray player may not appeal to some buyers in the slowing economy, he said.

"It's only logical to expect there'd be some economic impact," he said. But he added, "We've been pleasantly surprised so far."

The consortium said a growing proportion -- now about 10 percent -- of home video sales comes from Blu-ray. In October, as the U.S. financial crisis came into focus, sales of Blu-ray discs more than quadrupled to 2.2 million units, it said.

A number of upcoming titles are riding on the format, including Warner Bros.' "The Dark Knight" due out in December.

Previous top-selling titles, such as "Iron Man," "The Incredible Hulk" and "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" have had a strong appeal among PS3 owners, and that raises hopes for a December turnaround.

"Every week as the next title comes out, we're all holding our breath," Kornblau said.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- As Republican leaders sift through the ruins of the 2008 election and debate the party's future at the Republican Governors Association meeting this week, one of the GOP's potential standard-bearers is instead on a Caribbean cruise.

Former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks at the Republican National Convention in September.

But it isn't just any cruise and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney isn't just any Republican. Since the economy began its historic downturn six weeks ago, Romney's stock in his party appears to have skyrocketed.

The former business consultant and founder of Bain Capital handled economic issues during his campaign with an ease and confidence that seemed to elude Sen. John McCain. As the stock market tanked throughout the fall, a growing chorus of conservative pundits speculated Romney would have boosted the GOP ticket considerably more than Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin did.

Now the onetime front-runner for the Republican nomination is schmoozing influential party insiders on the National Review's annual cruise -- a gathering of 700 conservative activists and the same forum where Palin wowed the movement's media elite last year, beginning her meteoric rise from obscure governor to vice presidential nominee.

But even as Romney publicly declares he has no intentions to run again, several former aides said they believe he will, and this week's get-together with leading conservatives is only the latest sign the man who spent more than $50 million of his own money to vie for the party's nomination last year is itching to do it again. Watch more on the GOP's rising stars »

After all, in many ways Romney's campaign for 2012 appeared to begin the instant he abandoned his primary bid in February. Instead of the conventional location befitting most losing candidates -- his home state, surrounded by friends and family -- Romney broke the news to grass-roots activists at a gathering in Washington.

The last-minute announcement was greeted with cries of surprise and was seen as a public attempt to bolster his standing with the key GOP voting bloc that largely broke former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's way through the first round of primary contests.

"There he was addressing the largest gathering every year of conservatives, and it was extremely symbolic in many ways," said Matt Lewis, a writer for the conservative Web site Townhall.com. "That's where he chose to say for the good of the movement he was going to get out. It was very well-received by most people, and he is now in a better position to garner more conservative support because of it."

After bowing out, Romney maintained a constant presence on the campaign trail and cable news circuit on McCain's behalf, signaling to political observers that he still harbored presidential ambitions, even after he was passed up for the No. 2 spot on the party's ticket.

Romney also has maintained close relationships with key supporters in the early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire, according to party officials there, and could easily revive the infrastructure he built should he launch another bid.

If the economy continues to flail after four years of Democratic rule, Romney's economic acumen may be in demand when it comes to restoring GOP power to the White House.

"If the economy remains the dominant issue, there will certainly be a draft Romney movement, you can count on it," Lewis said.

Romney also may be positioned to attract a wider base of support than some of the other figures on the Republican bench, including the now-GOP rock star Palin and Huckabee, whose 2008 campaign outlasted Romney's. Both have shown the ability to generate excitement among base voters but appear to remain fairly unappealing to the more moderate faction of the party -- not to mention independent voters who are permitted to vote in some Republican primaries.

Al Regnery, publisher of The American Spectator who attended a summit of prominent conservatives in Virginia last week, said movement leaders continue to toss around Romney's name as they look to the future.

"People are going to have to compete for what will be the equivalent of several interviews with conservatives as to whether they fit the job description, and Romney would certainly be one of these contenders," Regnery said.

But even as the Romney drumbeat already can be heard in some corners of the party, it remains possible the former governor will face the same problems that hindered his 2008 campaign -- namely the perception he is overambitious and given to flip-flopping on issues for political expediency.

"Many conservatives never really trusted him," Regnery said. "A lot of people think he pretty much adjusted his message to meet the needs [of the base]. He's going to have to go back around and talk to the dinners and talk to the small groups and large groups and write op-eds with a fairly consistent message."

Steven Wayne, a professor of American government at Georgetown University, also noted that not holding elected office now makes it more difficult for Romney to stay relevant on the political scene.

"He's going to need some vehicle to stay in the public eye and comment on the economy and, if appropriate, be critical of the new Obama administration," Wayne said. "One of the problems that people who are not in elected office have is that they don't have a ready platform until you start running for office."

But should Romney decide on a second presidential run, he's likely to face a friendlier reception than his first go-around. The base may to be more convinced of Romney's conservative commitment if he's willing to take another stab at the presidency, activists say, and the Republican Party has a history of rewarding presidential candidates who have run at least once and lost.

"There is a tradition in the Republican Party -- you run first for the nomination and lose, and then you run and get it," Wayne said, pointing to Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush, former Sen. Bob Dole and McCain.

"Losing once is almost a badge of honor among Republicans."

• View Slide Show

Far away from the complex merger negotiations and dicey political maneuvering (BusinessWeek.com, 10/28/08) that promise to reshape America's largest automaker, General Motors (GM), design director Bob Boniface is coolly contemplating the company's future. Sitting in front of him, bathed in the soft, yellow light of a Manhattan showroom, is the production Chevrolet Volt.

The Volt is probably GM's last, best hope for the future and certainly its most significant upcoming vehicle. Saddled with dwindling market share, credit-strapped consumers, and a lingering reputation as a purveyor of gas-thirsty vehicles, GM executives need the Volt to become an iconic product, like Apple's (AAPL) 1998 iMac or even Chrysler's 1980s K-car before. The Volt has to affirm the company's ability to innovate and, eventually, create a financial foothold from which the battered automaker can begin to turn itself around.

The car is also GM's gambit to outpace foreign competitors like Toyota (TM) and Honda (HMC). Unlike conventional hybrids—including the best-selling Prius—the Volt is essentially a plug-in electric car with an onboard gas-burning engine that can recharge the vehicle's batteries. This enables the Volt to travel some 40 miles before the driver turns on the gas. Because most daily commuters in the U.S. don't travel that far, GM says many drivers will not have to use any fuel at all, simply recharging the vehicle via a regular outlet at home overnight. GM is still wrangling with the Environmental Protection Agency over the vehicle's efficiency, but executives say the final number should be north of 100 mpg for both types of power.

Windswept Shape

Boniface runs his hand along the Volt's metal grille, which does not sport the little holes that aerate the engine. Instead, the embossed plate of armor is intended to reduce drag as air hits the car's front bumper. Indeed, the vehicle's detailing is a study in aerodynamic design, from the windswept shape of the rearview mirror to the subtly integrated spoiler on the rear hatchback. "We spent over 700 hours in the wind tunnel with this thing," recalls Boniface.

The vehicle's interior (BusinessWeek.com, 1/28/08) also distinguishes itself from other cars. The front dash is swathed in shiny white plastics, reminiscent of the iPod. Sporting two customizable LCD screens, it could be one of the sleekest in the industry. Controls for the audio and climate systems, meanwhile, are touch-sensitive, more like an iPhone than the chunky knobs of other vehicles. The company is also toying with the idea of customizable interior door panels featuring interchangeable graphics.

Since it was announced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit last January, the Volt's expected retail price has steadily crept upward and is now expected to cost between $30,000 and $40,000, a hefty sum for a Chevrolet. (The Volt will qualify for a $7,500 tax credit recently added to the energy bill.) But in some instances, Boniface says, the higher price helped the design team get what it wanted. "This isn't going to be a budget vehicle, and this helped us win some important arguments," he says. "Take a look at your iPhone," he instructs me, pointing to the metal bezel around the phone's edge.

BlackRock chairman and CEO Larry Fink

(Fortune Magazine) -- At 11 o'clock in the evening on Saturday, Sept. 13, Larry Fink was about to board a flight from New York to Singapore. The following Monday he was scheduled to meet with the managers of several Asian sovereign-wealth funds. For the head of BlackRock, one of the world's largest asset managers, this trip was a huge opportunity that could mean billions of dollars in new business.

Still, he knew that the next 19 hours would be a bad time to be unreachable. Just a few miles west of the airport, bankers and government officials were huddled in the offices of the New York Federal Reserve Bank to hash out the fates of three of the biggest financial institutions on Wall Street - namely, Lehman Brothers, AIG, and Merrill Lynch. Two of the troubled firms - Lehman Brothers and AIG - were BlackRock (BLK, Fortune 500) clients; Merrill Lynch was BlackRock's biggest shareholder.

Fink made one final call before boarding. "Can I get on this plane?" he asked a colleague inside the meetings at the New York Fed.

"You can go," came the response.

At that moment Fink thought Barclays (BCS) had agreed to buy Lehman. So he boarded. As Fink took off, he could see through his window the lights of lower Manhattan. He did not know it then, but it would be the last time he would see Wall Street - at least the one he recognized - in one piece.

When Fink landed in Singapore at 5 a.m. on Monday morning, he checked his BlackBerry and scanned the headlines: Lehman bankrupt, Merrill Lynch bought by Bank of America, AIG collapsing. "I felt like Charlton Heston landing on the Planet of the Apes," says Fink. "My world had transformed."

In that moment, Fink knew as well as anyone how treacherous the capital markets had become. As chairman and CEO of BlackRock, he had seen the hidden liabilities of just about every financial institution that would be pulled into this whirling vortex of doom.

AIG, Lehman Brothers, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac had all hired BlackRock over the past few months. As Fortune went to press, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson had BlackRock on his short list to manage, well, your money - a chunk of the $700 billion bank bailout known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.

If Paulson and Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke have been the public faces of the financial crisis, Fink has been its behind-the-scenes fixer and father confessor. The reason so many CEOs have kept him on speed dial in recent months is simple: No other firm is trusted to pick through the exotic securities infecting banks' balance sheets and place an accurate value on them.

At a time when the credit-rating agencies like Moody's and Standard & Poor's have lost face, BlackRock's valuations have become a kind of de facto Good Housekeeping seal of approval that buyers and sellers of distressed assets trust.

"I think of it like Ghostbusters: When you have a problem, who you gonna call? BlackRock!" says Terrence Keely, a managing director at UBS, who worked with BlackRock last spring to dispose of a troubled $20 billion portfolio of mortgage-backed securities (BlackRock unloaded it for $15 billion).

But before anyone organizes a ticker-tape parade for Fink, keep in mind that 25 years ago he was an early and vigorous promoter of the CMO (collateralized mortgage obligation). Today the CMO and other asset-backed securities have become the monsters responsible for the credit crisis.

BlackRock itself has not been unscathed: Its money market funds saw $50 billion withdrawn in the month of September. In the third quarter, assets in its fund-management business lost more than $100 billion, dropping from $1.4 trillion to $1.26 trillion. Its stock, trading at $113 on Oct. 23, is down 40% for the year.

"The market declines are so severe, BlackRock is not immune," says Fink, 55. "I've been in this business for 32 years, and in a 20-week period - from Bear Stearns's collapse until now - the landscape has changed so dramatically. It's very unsettling. Very disorienting."

So the question is, Can Fink stop this monster - and make a profit along the way?

To understand how BlackRock found itself at the center of the financial crisis, you need to understand Larry Fink's long, strange relationship with mortgage-backed securities. Fink sold his first CMO in 1983 while working as a bond trader at First Boston. He pitched this new product to Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500) as a way for the company to offload $1 billion in mortgages.

Executives at Freddie agreed to let First Boston take mortgages, pool them, slice them, and sell them as securities. This hugely profitable offering made Fink a rock star at First Boston. Soon he was creating similar products for GMAC and other finance companies.

Back then the mortgage markets were insular. Commercial banks knew their borrowers, and investment bankers packaging loans knew the investors to whom they were selling the CMOs. But Fink's hot streak at First Boston ended in 1986 when his fixed-income desk got out of control.

"I lost $100 million in one quarter, and I didn't know why. And we made $130 million the quarter before, and I didn't know why we made so much money. So we should have been fired the quarter we made the money. The whole concept for BlackRock grew out of that experience at First Boston. I said, 'We are not going to live that again. We are going to have systems to analyze risk,'" Fink says.