WASHINGTON - The battery that caught fire in a Japan Airlines Boeing 787 in Boston earlier this month was not overcharged, but government investigators said there could still be problems with wiring or other charging components.

Q: Does it affect your iPhone’s battery life when you charge it every night? I have found a lot of conflicting answers on the web. — Madeline

Q: I got a new laptop battery. What is the best way to condition it? I use my laptop as a desktop with a port replicator. It's always plugged in. - Brian

A planned streetcar on Tempe’s Mill Avenue could be one of the first hybrid systems in the nation, allowing it to operate without overhead wires.

Q: Is it true that I should let the batteries on my laptop and smartphone run down all the way before I recharge them in order to extend the life of the battery? - Skip

Farid Melki: In this economy, saving green backs is as important as being “green.” While it’s politically correct to emphasize environmentally sustainable practices, “truly green” practices help sustain our environment, reduce operating costs and improve productivity resulting in greater savings for customers. 

The electric car is one of those alternatively powered vehicles that technologically seems just within reach but somehow never is because of problems developing the batteries to power it.

TYNGSBOROUGH, Mass. - The knock on Brian Hart's door came at 6 a.m. An Army colonel, a priest and a police officer had come to tell Hart and his wife that their 20-year-old son had been killed when his military vehicle was ambushed in Iraq.

TAKANEZAWA, Japan - Honda’s new zero-emission, hydrogen fuel cell car rolled off a Japanese production line Monday and is headed to Southern California, where Hollywood is already abuzz over the latest splash in green motoring.

LOS ANGELES - It's safe to say Jeremy Snyder gets a charge out of the two-seat Tesla Roadster whenever he pulls one off the lot - and not because it's equipped with an all-electric engine.

DETROIT - General Motors Corp. says it expects to bring its first lithium-ion battery-powered hybrid engine system to market in North America in 2010.

Consumer electronics aren’t exactly easy on the environment — they consume electricity that contributes to global warming, and toxins leach out of them when they end up in landfills.

You have a huge investment in your iPod, phone, television and other gadgets. You want your gear to last as long as possible. Fortunately, you can take steps to prolong the life of your gear.

TOKYO - Amid the race among automakers to introduce a more powerful but possibly risky kind of battery to reduce emissions, Toyota has already been offering a “green” technology based on the lithium-ion battery in Japan.

Nokia Corp. warned Tuesday that up to 46 million batteries used in some of its cell phones could be faulty and pose a risk of overheating.

Anyone who has fumbled for keys in the dark to open their home or car door may appreciate a new product developed by a Scottsdale company. January Innovations plans to introduce a miniature light that attaches to keys, or other objects a person might use in dark places.

TOKYO - Sony urged a dozen laptop computer makers Friday to recall more of its batteries that could overheat, the latest headache for the electronics company struggling to regain its luster as the world’s premier electronics brand.

TOKYO - The Japanese electronics maker Toshiba Corp. said Friday that it is recalling 830,000 batteries made by Sony for its laptop computers while personal computer maker Dell Inc. expanded its recall of Sony battery packs by 100,000.

TOKYO - Toshiba is recalling 340,000 laptop batteries made by Sony Corp. because of problems with recharging them, the latest in a string of embarrassing defects and production glitches for Sony.

Notebook computer owners began calling Dell and surfing to a special company Web site Tuesday to get replacements for lithium-ion batteries that could cause their machines to overheat and even catch fire.

DALLAS - In the largest electronics-related recall involving the Consumer Products Safety Commission, Dell Inc. agreed to replace 4.1 million notebook computer batteries made by Sony Corp. because they can burst into flames.