Work at Home Help - Clark's latest tally of telecommuting opportunities.
Edmunds.com - A website for automotive comparison shopping.

Clark goes nuts when he has to wait at a red light when there's no traffic in sight. It drives him bonkers that in 2007 we're still not using advanced transportation management techniques on a large scale. "Smart" lights -- which sense the flow of traffic and allow lights to stay green for longer if there are no cars around -- are one example of advanced transportation management. Not having more "smart" lights leads to wasted fuel and air pollution, as motorists unnecessarily sit at red lights when they could safely be traveling.

The Orlando Sentinel reports that the city of Orlando is getting ready to spend $10 million to install "smart" traffic signals, plus a staffed bunker to monitor traffic following major concert and sports events. The staffers will help keep the lights green as needed to prevent buildup. This move will ultimately save a fortune. Of course, you don't want to be that unlucky motorist who comes up on a side street when the people in the bunker are trying to improve traffic flow on a major road. Orlando also plans to put signage on surface streets telling motorists where to go when there are traffic tie-ups. These simple techniques are great for tourist areas where there's already a lot of traffic. Florida also frequently alleviates traffic by building overpasses at the intersections of busy surface streets, not just freeways.

Many people want to do part-time work at home, especially when they have a newborn. But a lot of work-at-home offers are scams. One stat has it that for every legitimate offer you may see, you're going to come across 42 scams. So Clark wants you to be careful if you're looking to work at home. Be sure to avoid the ads in the back of women's magazines about envelope stuffing, doing medical office paperwork and the like. There is, however, one area that's proven legitimate over time: becoming a call center worker from your home. Employers like this option because they don't have to rent office space for you, so it costs them less than setting up a call center. Typical costs for a call-center employee could be $31, while it only costs a company $21 to set you up to do the same work at home. Bear in mind that these figures are not what you'll be earning; they represent what the company pays out of pocket to set you up as an independent contractor. Fortune magazine reports that there are now about 100,000 people involved in such work-at-home businesses. That number is expected to triple in the next 30 months. Be sure to check out Clark's list of legitimate vendors in this field. Not many people know it, but JetBlue was one of the pioneers in the home-based call center industry. Now companies like 1-800-Flowers and J. Crew are also getting in on the action.

Clark's daughter has his Honda Civic hybrid at school and she's happy to be getting about 45 miles/gallon. It seems that hybrids with good fuel economy are now selling like gangbusters. Remember back just a few years ago when this wasn't the case? Ford had to offer incentives just to move their Escape hybrids. Now The Washington Post reports the Escape is so hot that dealers can't keep up with the demand. In fact, the vehicles are selling for thousands of dollars above the list price because people want to save money on gas. Psychologically it may feel OK to pay a little more now with the promise of bigger savings down the road, but Clark thinks you should really crunch the numbers before you make this kind of purchase. Buying with your emotions isn't advisable, nor is overpaying for new technology. Take the rational approach by doing some smart comparative auto shopping on a website like Edmunds.com. The same thinking applies when deciding whether to dump your current gas-guzzling ride for a new and more fuel-efficient vehicle. Look for a similarly depreciated vehicle and try to do a trade where you get an older set of wheels that's more fuel-efficient than your current car.