The New York Times reports (from the other day, but we didn't cover it, did we?):

The Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory reported on Thursday that if every car and truck on America's roads was equipped with ventilated seats, air-conditioning-related gasoline consumption could be reduced by 7.5 percent, thus saving 522 million gallons of fuel per year.

The seats tested have two built-in fans that suck warm air and moisture through their perforated leather and send it away from the driver or passenger.

Ventilated seats make drivers feel cooler, so they could save fuel by turning their air-conditioners down a notch, in theory.

While I'm at it, I'll just throw this out there. If you're driving on a highway at 60mph, which is more fuel efficient: turning on the AC, or opening the windows? In my experience, this question always causes something of a disagreement.

And you can also use this as an open thread.

[editor's note, by Prof. Goose]Also, a heads up (hat tip: peakoil.com) on a CNN special on peak oil which will be aired Saturday, March 18, 8pm, anchored by Frank Sesno, and is called "We Were Warned: Tomorrow's oil crisis." (brief description here)