America's Great Green Hope

Recently, "green" has become the ubiquitous buzzword used to describe all things environmentally-friendly. But prior to such days of mainstream climate-consciousness, the word "green" often summoned images of the US dollar which, of course, has taken a dramatic dip in value over the last several years, most notably against the British pound, the euro, and, now, the Canadian dollar. Fortunately, yesterday's edition of The New York Times included an article predicting that the worst is over and that 2008 will see the dollar get its groove back. This is hopeful news for investors, and the article offers some expert advice as to what stocks and markets we should put our resurgent greenbacks into.

It's also great news for globetrotters who felt the sting of foreign price tags last year. I had a busy personal travel calendar in 2007 and, after a pricey jaunt to New Zealand and French Polynesia in February, and a two-month summer stay in Wales and England, where the dollar was crippled, I finally learned my lesson when choosing a New Year's Eve destination: Guatemala. The dollar still has buying power in some places! Let's hope this list expands in 2008.