Armchair inventors -- I confess to being one myself -- have looked to the design and manufacturing community on Quirky to help them bring their inventions to market.

The folks at Quirky have also demonstrated their commitment to the environment by introducing of Petal Drops, a flower-shaped funnel made of 100% recycled HDPE that collects rainwater in a standard reusable bottle. I confess to never having actually used a Petal Drop, but I love their rapid-fire approach to design: Quick and Quirky is a program that asks participants to develop an entire product within 24 hours.

The Age of Stupid, a fictionalized documentary by director Franny Armstrong, is a rueful look back at the present day from the perspective of the year 2055, when human civilization is all but destroyed by our inaction on global warming and climate change.

If you like your apocalypse served raw, The Age of Stupid may be the film for you. Despite its flaws, it delivers an important message about the perils of climate change in unambiguous terms. Whether the film will inspire anyone to make meaningful changes remains to be seen -- The Age of Stupid is expected to open to wide U.S. release in 2010.

Have you seen it? What's your opinion of the film?

Great news for those of us who live on Earth (Dick Cheney, you can skip this part). The EPA just announced that it would set limits for emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and other greenhouse gases, rather than wait for Congress to pull its head out.

The move coincides with the start of the international climate change summit now taking place in Copenhagen, and has been interpreted as a signal that the U.S. is serious about addressing global warming, despite years of corporate and Congressional foot-dragging.

More and more, it seems that we cannot count on our elected leaders to find the political courage to take decisive action on this critical issue. (Even the EPA's position comes two years after a Supreme Court decision forced them to regulate CO2). As is often the case, real leadership must come from we, the people. Here's what you can do about climate change.

Yesterday, a friend sent me a message asking what I was doing for "Xmax." We both enjoyed the typo, since it seems to sum up our feelings about the crazed nature of the holiday season. For folks trying to live a happy, simple life, this time of year is particularly trying.

But here's a way to live green -- and save green: a short list of great sustainable gift ideas. All of them can be ordered online (read: no driving to a crowded mall) and most are priced under $50. (And that's not a typo.)