Living in the wintry tundra of Redwood, snowmobiles are more than recreational vehicles. In a nasty blizzard or extremely icy conditions, they're the best—and sometimes, the only—way to get around.

But these extremely fun means of transport also wreak havoc on the playground we call Mother Earth: The EPA found one snowmobile can, in one hour, emit as much pollution into the air as almost 100 cars!

Which is why it's so refreshing to see some of America's greatest minds busy at work coming up with ways to green these litte buggers.

The Society of Automotive Engineers'

SAE International Clean Snowmobile Challenge

(CSC) is an engineering design competition for college and university student members asking engineering students to improve upon an existing snowmobile to reduce emissions and noise. Their modified snowmobiles will compete in a variety of events including emissions, noise, fuel economy/endurance, acceleration, handling, static display, cold start and design.

The

UW-Madison Clean Snowmobile Team

in 2009 won awards in the IC and Electric categories with their design for a zero-emissions, electric snowmobile.

Just goes to show you what's possible when you think green.