The annual auto shows are usually an opportunity for the world's carmakers to put on the ritz, but these are straitened times. I've seen carmakers set up indoor off-road courses and let thrill-crazed journalists romp through them in mud-splattered Jeeps, but this was not one of those years.

Ford's Fusion Hybrid: a car of the future.

General Motors, whose CEO was in Washington begging for a $25 billion bailout, decided that it would not, after all, introduce its new Buick LaCrosse and Cadillac CTS Coupe at this week's Los Angeles Auto Show. GM is burning through $2 billion in cash a month, and could run out of money early next year. Its sales declined 45 percent in October.

Chrysler, also burning through billions, declined to showcase any new models in Los Angeles or hold the usual gala press conferences.

Ford, with sales down 18 percent this year, could afford to debut new models because it just earned $540 million selling the lion's share of its stake in Mazda. The 2010 Mustang may get the headlines, but probably more important to the future of the company are a pair of hybrid sedans, the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan.

The Fusion looks like quite a credible entry. It can reach 47 mph on its nickel-metal-hydride battery pack alone, after which a 2.5-liter, 155-horsepower four (coupled with a CVT transmission) kicks in. It has a 700-mile range, and an estimated overall 38 mpg.

Making a keynote address in Los Angeles, Nissan/Renault boss Carlos Ghosn made it clear that, to save itself, the auto industry needs to go electric. "The one thing that is certain is that people will continue to drive cars," he said. "But what kind of cars?"

Nissan is answering that question with a still somewhat mysterious battery car that is scheduled to be on the U.S. and Japanese markets by 2010. Ghosn predicted there would be 10 million EVs in the world by 2016, and the U.S. will have five million of them.

Ghosn said the planet's health depends on zero-emission EVs. China, he said, has 50 cars for every 1,000 people, compared to 800 per thousand in the U.S. "We will need another planet if China catches up to the U.S.," Ghosn said. "If the rest of the world then catches up to China and the U.S. we're going to need 11 planets."

Andrew Revkin puts us to shame. The New York Times environmental journalist has posted 440 times in the past year to his groundbreaking blog Dot Earth, while reporting full time for the print paper, working on books, doing speaking engagements and raising two sons. And his posts are always filled with quality journalistic analysis, often reported -- something that can't be said for the vast majority of blogs.

So TDG expresses our heartfelt congratulations to the always gracious, never competitive Andrew Revkin, winner of the 2008 John Chancellor Award.

The $25,000 Chancellor Award is selected each year by a panel of print and broadcast journalists who recognize a reporter who may not be widely known by the public, but who does outstanding, important work. This year Jane Mayer of the New Yorker was also recognized for her fearless, dogged reporting on torture and the War on Terror, including her recent book The Dark Side.

Last night I took the subway up to my (and Andy's!) alma mater, the recently renovated Columbia University School of Journalism, to see my esteemed colleague answer current student's questions. Looking smart in a bowtie and jacket, the youthful Revkin told the audience that "blogging is horrible in a way, because it envelops every sphere of your life that you don't push back on. Balancing all that is a challenge." We know what you mean.

Andy also talked about the "brave new world of journalism," beset with layoffs, and also an era in which the homepage is rapidly replacing the frontpage. He said journalists are just beginning to take advantage of interactive tools, and he noted that the best part of blogging is a more direct connection to one's audience.

A moderator asked Revkin how he feels about his beat -- the environment, and especially climate change -- becoming much more central to the national debate in the past few years. He responded humbly, and added, "We've never had to move away from a cheap and useful energy source in our history before as a species... But today climate change is actually a subset of the biggest issue we face: how we make the transition to a stabilized relationship to the Earth and each other.

Revkin's blog is all about how the world's billions can live more sustainably and more equitably, from better access to clean water to preventing deforestation and dealing with the impacts of more severe storms. He points out that the world now has an unprecedented 1 billion teenagers, with vast implications to population growth.

Revkin said he is glad that global warming has finally begun to receive widespread acceptance among the public and the media, long after that happened among climate scientists, but he points out that many challenges remain. He said a major hurdle is that people don't understand what science is. "Science is a challenge process, an attack process, a journey," he explained. "It is not facts that sit on a shelf. Understanding will change over time, but that doesn't mean at any given point that scientists don't know anything. This is not the same kind of debate that occurs over issues like whether or not we should allow abortion, for example."

"One problem [with reporting on climate change] is that the issues that really matter the most to people, such as hurricanes, sea level rise and regional weather patterns, are really hard to predict with any degree of confidence," Revkin said. "But as journalists we have to be honest and try to explain the complexities. Otherwise, how do you explain it if, for example, the Arctic swings the other way for a while?"

Thanksgiving is one of the easiest holidays to green up. With the focus on giving thanks rather than gifts, we honor not only our family and friends but Nature's bounty, too.

1. Simplify the day.
   Celebrate being with those you love. Don't overdo the cooking - and savor whatever you make. Linger over dessert, play games, watch football or a favorite movie, take a walk. Revive special traditions from the past and create new ones you can turn to next Thanksgiving, and the holiday after that.

2. Decorate with boughs and berries.
   There's no need to buy fancy Thanksgiving decorations. Head out to your yard with a pair of shears and find tree branches, bush stems loaded with berries, flowers whose seed heads have dried on the stem, and flowering grasses to fill tall vases, hollowed out pumpkins, and autumnal baskets.

3. Let there be light.
   Illuminate your table with candles of varying heights and widths. Use votives in small glasses or carved sugar pumpkins.

4. Serve locally grown food.
   Even in colder, northern climates, farmers markets are still selling locally grown greens, potatoes, apples, pears, spices, breads, and cheeses. You'll find lots of good recipes for ...

Pity the poor Thanksgiving turkey.

Fattened up all year, it's devoured in a matter of minutes, eaten as leftovers for days thereafter, and then long forgotten - until next Thanksgiving, at least.

If the turkey is the "Broadbreasted" variety - which most supermarket turkeys are - it's life has been particularly bleak. After being bred to produce an unnaturally large chest, its legs are so short it must be artificially inseminated to reproduce. Farmers remove the tips of these young turkeys' beaks to prevent cannibalism triggered by close living quarters in cages and warehouse, Plenty magazine reports. As for having the strength to fly? Forget about it.

Fortunately, delicious vegetarian options abound -- and you should be able to find many of the ingredients at your local farmers market....