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By changing the way that conventional silicon solar panels are made, Day4 Energy, a startup based in Burnaby, British Columbia, has found a way to cut the cost of solar power by 25 percent, says George Rubin, the company's president.

Algae could be used as a biofuel while simultaneously cleaning up the environment, report researchers at the University of Virginia. By feeding algae extra carbon dioxide - the principle greenhouse gas contributing to climate change - and organic material like sewage, environmental engineering professors Andres Clarens and Lisa Colosi believe they can boost algae oil yields to as much as 40 percent by weight, far in excess of what can be generated from soybeans.

Behind the headlines, scientists warn that climate change is already hitting New Mexico Signs of ancient life are scattered across the mesas above the Chama River as it winds along highway 84 in northern New Mexico. The ground here is strewn with pieces of black and white pottery, and bumps and divots in the soil reveal the lines of stone rooms and walls.

As soon as I have finished this column I will jump on the train to Kent. Last year Al Gore remarked: "I can't understand why there aren't rings of young people blocking bulldozers and preventing them from constructing coal-fired power plants." Like hundreds of honorary young people, I am casting my Zimmer frame aside to answer the call. Everything now hinges on stopping coal. Whether we prevent runaway climate change largely depends on whether we keep using the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel. Unless we either leave it - or the carbon dioxide it produces - in the ground, human development will start spiralling backwards. The more coal is burnt, the smaller are our chances of future comfort and prosperity. The industrial revolution has gone into reverse.

When the tobacco industry was feeling the heat from scientists who showed that smoking caused cancer, it took decisive action. It engaged in a decades-long public relations campaign to undermine the medical research and discredit the scientists. The aim was not to prove tobacco harmless but to cast doubt on the science.

this is the place where Solar Citizens live, the place where we can rally to change and improve energy policy in America so that solar power becomes a key element of our future.

This map is from the August 2008 "Humanitarian Implications of Climate Change" report, commissioned by U.N. OCHA and CARE. It shows cumulative humanitarian risk hotspots for all three climate-related hazards studied - floods, cyclones and drought. Areas at risk of more than one type of hazard are considered to be of most concern for humanitarian actors.

We also believe that people make better choices when they have information to help them, especially if the information is easy to understand and easy to find. Determining the greenness of a product can be a complex task; to form an accurate picture, the following kinds of questions must be answered: * The materials within the product: Are they harmful to the environment? Where were they sourced, and at what environmental cost? Are they renewable resources? Are the materials recycled? How much transportation is involved in getting the materials to the manufacturer? * The manufacturing process: How much energy was consumed in creating the product? What kind and how much waste is created in making the product? Is this waste reused in any way? If not, how is it disposed? * Product usage: Does using the product release any pollutants into the environment? How much energy is consumed while using the product? What is the average life expectancy of the product? * Product disposal: Can the product be recycled? Does the manufacturer have a recycling program? Is the product bio-degradable? Considering all these factors is enough to make anyone's head spin! That's why Greener One created a way for people to compare products on an environmental basis and to share product information with one another. A variety of factors for each product are converted into a simple "green index" score that can be easily understood by anyone. How Green Index is Calculated Greener One was created by a group of technology veterans committed to the idea that people who are empowered with information can change the world. We put the tools in your hands to make the right decisions, to share your knowledge and to open conversations with companies about the products that they produce. Everything you consume has an impact; Greener One gives you the knowledge to determine the size of your environmental footprint.

FREE is an organization devoted to social change that harmonizes environmental quality with responsible liberty and economic progress. They apply economics and scientific analysis to generate and explore alternative and innovative solutions to environmental problems.

A four-square-kilometre chunk has broken off Ward Hunt Ice Shelf - the largest remaining ice shelf in the Arctic - threatening the future of the giant frozen mass that northern explorers have used for years as the starting point for their treks. Scientists say the break, the largest on record since 2005, is the latest indication that climate change is forcing the drastic reshaping of the Arctic coastline, where 9,000 square kilometres of ice have been whittled down to less than 1,000 over the past century, and are only showing signs of decreasing further.

"The Conservative government is planning a quiet release for a major Health Canada report that warns of the harmful impact of climate change on the health of Canadians, particularly the young, elderly and aboriginals." Only days after the "quiet release" of a major US climate science program report on the same topic, Canada appears to be following the Bush administration's bad example: Instead of highlighting these reports and using them to advance broader public awareness of the consequences of unchecked global warming, current US and Canadian government "leaders" leave them to be released by middle management and discussed by a relatively few experts.

EPTV Executive news roundtable -- Corporate energy efficiency (video) Energy Policy TV Judi Greenwald, Director of Innovative Solutions, Pew Center on Global Climate Change, is interviewed about a partnership between the Pew Center and Toyota to undertake a study and project to improve corporate energy energy efficiency nationwide. Such improvements are aimed at reducing corporate carbon emissions. (23 July 2008)

PETROL should be included in Australia's carbon emissions trading scheme, but low-income households should be compensated for higher power and fuel bills, the nation's top climate change expert has warned. Issuing a stern challenge to the Rudd Government to include petrol in the scheme, when it begins in 2010, Ross Garnaut warned of dire consequences for Australia's natural icons unless urgent and decisive action is taken.

The American leader, who has been condemned throughout his presidency for failing to tackle climate change, ended a private meeting with the words: "Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter." He then punched the air while grinning widely, as the rest of those present including Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy looked on in shock.

A fuel station producing enough hydrogen to run householders' homes and cars has been unveiled today. The British invention, due to go on sale within two years, is roughly the size of a heating boiler and will cost under £2,000. Its creators say it will revolutionise commuting, help homeowners slash energy bills, and give easy access to a fuel that does not produce carbon dioxide emissions, helping to combat climate change.

At first glance, they look like a couple of giant inflatable garden chairs that have washed out to sea But they are, apparently, the ultimate solution to rapidly rising sea levels. This computer-generated image shows two floating cities, each with enough room for 50,000 inhabitants.

There are times in the history of our nation when our very way of life depends upon dispelling illusions and awakening to the challenge of a present danger. In such moments, we are called upon to move quickly and boldly to shake off complacency, throw aside old habits and rise, clear-eyed and alert, to the necessity of big changes. Those who, for whatever reason, refuse to do their part must either be persuaded to join the effort or asked to step aside. This is such a moment. The survival of the United States of America as we know it is at risk. And even more - if more should be required - the future of human civilization is at stake.

BPA - Elliot Mainzer takes the key role in developing energy agency policy on climate change, planning and renewables As renewable energy becomes a bigger slice of the Northwest's energy pie, few institutions have as important a role to play as the Bonneville Power Administration, the federal agency that markets electricity generated at 31 dams and a nuclear plant in the region. BPA's regionwide web of transmission lines delivers electrons generated at wind farms east of the Cascades to power-hungry consumers in the Willamette Valley. The agency's flexibility to modulate electricity production at dams on the Columbia allows utilities to safely feed their spiky supply of wind energy onto the grid.

Federal policy-makers have taken few of the steps necessary if greenhouse emissions from coal-fired power plants are to be captured and stored underground, according to a new government report. Coal industry backers are banking that "carbon capture and storage" will allow the industry to survive efforts to control global climate change. But the U.S. Government Accountability Office report, released this week, adds to growing concerns that the technology isn't ready now - and might not be for a long time.