Actors become politicians. But it's not everyday that politicians enter show business -- unless, of course, you subscribe to the idea that politics is acting for people who write their own scripts.

Former Vice President Al Gore certainly falls into the wordsmith category. His live presentation about climate change -- honed by years of being trotted out in front of college students, think tanks, and civic groups -- became a critically acclaimed documentary in 2006 under the tutelage of director Davis Guggenheim. Now An Inconvenient Truth is up for an Oscar.

When the envelope is opened on February 25th (8pm Eastern/5pm Pacific time on ABC), there's no assurance we'll see Al Gore stepping up to the podium for an acceptance speech. The Best Documentary Feature category is heavy with meaty nominees this year. There's no doubt, though, that "An Inconvenient Truth" is a real contender. Perhaps even the sentimental favorite.

Google's famous corporate motto is "Don't be evil." But upstart ippimail is talking Internet ethics a little further -- setting out to do some tangible good, while creating a sustainable business model at the same time.

It's not as if ippimail is going to put Google's glossy Gmail service out of business anytime soon. ippimail is a small, British-based company providing free email accounts. Compared to Gmail, their interface is quite basic: solid, fast webmail with modestly sized inboxes and a degree of calendaring support.

Editor's note: The Australia-based Wardrobe Refashion blog began with a simple idea: reducing waste and cutting household costs by "refashioning" older clothing into new and stylish attire. The site now has hundreds of followers, all pledging to avoid new clothing purchases for two to six months at a stretch. We asked Nichola Prested , one of Wardrobe Refashion's founders, to tell us how they got started.  

At the start of last year I was becoming increasingly aware of my impact on the environment.

I decided to challenge myself to not buy any new clothes for 6 months and to instead make my own or refashion secondhand items. I actually wanted to try it for a year but a friend of mine -- a bit of a shopaholic -- was shocked and suggested I try it for 6 months to start.

Start a revolution for under 20 bucks

Imagine a $3 device that will keep a half-ton of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere during the course of its life -- while saving you at least $30.

Now install just one of these gizmos in every house in the United States. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR project, this simple change would save enough electricity to light 2.5 million homes for a year and cut greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to nearly 800,000 cars.

The device, of course, is the Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb: simple, inexpensive, and effective.  A tool of environmental change.