Green can be a way of life and Toyota is spreading the word. Toyota's traveling exhibit, "Highway to the Future: Mobile Hybrid Experience," rolled into the Ventura Harvest Festival at Seaside Park earlier this month. It offered the public a unique interactive opportunity to learn about hybrid technology and how to better protect our environment.

This national tour, which began on Jan. 11 at the San Jose International Auto Show, is traveling via a state-of-the-art trailer across the 48 contiguous states for 18 months, making stops at various state and environmental fairs, campuses and auto shows.

Partnered with the National Lung Association, the National Arbor Day Foundation and 3form (an architectural company that helped to develop and design the exhibits using eco-sensitive solutions), Toyota aims to educate people of all ages about the hybrid experience and offer solutions as to how we can solve the current energy predicament.

This self-guided tour, which Road Manager Mark Ulbrich describes as similar to a "traveling museum," invites attendees to interact with several learning areas and earn highway miles along the way. Prizes can be won with every few hundred miles achieved, but the true reward really is the educational experience.

Over the weekend, a steady stream of participants vied for space at the hands-on exhibits.

The tour begins by asking us to consider the state of the world and our environment today. How many of us seriously contemplate the impact we have on the environment as we routinely fill our gas tank? Presently the United States spends $800 million a day on imported gasoline. And each time we fill our tank, we are increasing the demand for gas. Hybrid vehicles are environmentally friendly because of their fuel economy and low emissions.

However, while the tour promotes the benefits of the hybrid vehicle, Toyota's predominant message is that there is no one solution to our energy and environmental problems. Instead, we need to both conserve and find alternative technology.

Four main learning areas in the exhibit focus on conserving energy and discussing alternative technology. "Alternative Fuels: Fueling the Future" discusses the benefits and drawbacks of gas, natural gas, ethanol, electricity, hydrogen, biodiesel, propane and diesel. "Environment and Resources: Small Steps, Big Difference", helps you estimate your carbon footprint and suggests ways to reduce it.

The Carbon Footprint Calculator (a real eye-opener) measures such activities as how many miles you fly, how many miles you commute and how much electricity you use on a yearly basis. On average a two-person household emits a carbon footprint of 45,000 pounds a year. Driving less, carpooling, using cruise control, ensuring that your car is tuned regularly and that your tires are inflated properly can reduce this carbon footprint.

Well-aware that this traveling exhibit will create its own sizeable carbon footprint, Toyota has committed to planting over 50,000 trees in partnership with the National Arbor Day foundation in order to offset the resultant carbon emissions.

In keeping with the message that small steps do make a difference, the exhibit also offers many other helpful eco-tips such as eating locally, turning off the tap when you brush your teeth, using cotton towels rather than paper, recycling, buying rechargeable batteries and using a push mower rather than gas.

Visitors can take a spin on the "The Prius Driving Experience," which simulates the Hybrid Synergy Drive technology, and are given some on-screen driving tips, such as going easy on the brakes and the accelerator.

Participants also learn that "Not all Hybrids are Created Equal" and can gain some insight into the differences between mild, full and plug-in types. Here you can also learn how hybrid cars work and how they benefit the consumer and the environment.

Visitors to Toyota's Mobile Hybrid Experience spend an average of 27 minutes exploring the exhibit and often come armed with questions. According to Ulbrich, the most commonly asked question is, "Do I have to plug in a hybrid vehicle?" Toyota is currently working on a plug-in hybrid, but it is still in the developmental stages.

After taking the simulated test drive, visitors can conclude their tour by actually getting behind the wheel of a Toyota Prius, Camry Hybrid or Highlander Hybrid. It's a pretty novel experience to press a button to start your car rather than turn an ignition key.

For more information about Toyota's "Highway to the Future: Mobile Hybrid Experience", or to find out about the tour's next stop, visit www.highwaytothefuture.com.