Mother Earth News - Mother Earth News Exclusive Web Content 2005-2009

If you buy a hybrid before 2006, you can take a $2,000 deduction onyour federal income taxes. Basically, this deduction will reduceyour federal taxable income by $2,000. For hybrids bought afterJan. 1, 2006, the recently enacted energy bill set up tax credits ?ranging from $250 to $3,400, depending on the vehicles fueleconomy. The credit would go toward your tax liability, the amountyou owe before any withholdings.
Over the long term, the credit will be more advantageous to thosewho buy newer hybrid models and less helpful to those who buybetter-selling hybrids such as the Prius. The energy billestablished a complex formula to reduce the credits once anautomaker sells more than 60,000 hybrids after Jan. 1. Hybridbuyers in 14 states also can take advantage of state-levelincentives, including tax credits and exemptions from sales tax.Hybrid buyers in Colorado, for example, are eligible for taxcredits of more than $4,500. There also are nonfinancial incentives? such as being allowed to drive in lanes for high-occupancyvehicles and park without paying meter fees. Visit www.hybridcars.com to seeif there are programs where you live.

Buy a Ford Escape Hybrid before 2006 and you can take a $2,000 deduction on your federal income taxes.

If your image of a dog sled team conjures up pictures of Alaskas 1,100-mile Iditarod race, think again. Dog teams can be fitted for all kinds of jobs.
My family lives in Warren, N.H., on the edge of White Mountain National Forest. We have a four-dog team that hauls us through miles of northern landscape in every season.
When its time to work, we can hook our team to a cargo sled or toboggan and use them to haul freight. A four-dog team can pull a 200-pound person 10 miles at an average speed of 15 mph, so they have no problem pulling a bundle or two of kindling, or several buckets of newly tapped maple syrup. They also can follow a snowmobile trail just about anywhere, and theres nothing quite like visiting a neighbors house on a sled.
Dog sledding may not be for everyone, but on a small scale it is far less complicated than you may imagine. We use four Alaskan sled dogs ? Muppin, Charlie, Willow and Laika ? but most draft dogs will do as well. (Try Siberians or Malamutes if you intend to pull greater weights, because they tend to be larger.)
Nearly every northern state boasts a sled dog club. Watch the classifieds. Check Sled Dog Central or Noonsack Racing Supply. Unless you are considering running the dogs in races, you neednt acquire first-string dogs.
Wouldnt a snowmobile be easier? Sure. But when our son stands on the runners of the sled, ready to guide the team over a six-mile trail, I inevitably feel pride. The dogs are part of our day, so ingrained in the fabric of our hours that we could not imagine life without them. They are as distinct in our minds as we are to each other.