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While cable music channels urge their viewers to unplug their cellphone chargers and businesses strive to understand how big their carbon footprint is and how to reduce it, many authorities, city business districts, industrial sites and campuses are already turning to robust, tried and true solutions without waiting for magic-wand policies or revolutionary technologies. This explains why we're seeing renewed interest in district heating and cooling systems around the world.

* Micro-channel aluminium condensers, that reduce refrigerant charge while increasing the effectiveness of heat exchange;

Energy efficiency standards for mixed fuel type appliances such as heating or cooling systems should take into account the energy consumed in producing and distributing the fuels, as well the energy used to operate the appliance, says a report from the US National Research Council (NRC).

The US is wasting much of the 40% of energy consumed by buildings through poor insulation, leaky windows, inefficient lighting, heating or cooling systems, and poor construction techniques, says a report from Environment America.

Even on the moon, superconductors would need to be cooled.

"Displacer-type Stirling Engine Instead of having two pistons, a displacer-type engine has one piston and a displacer. The displacer serves to control when the gas chamber is heated and when it is cooled. This type of Stirling engine is sometimes used in classroom demonstrations. You can even buy a kit to build one yourself!"

Chinese scientists claim to have discovered a new clean energy source - simply by using dry air. "The breakthrough makes it possible to use dry air, instead of electricity, to cool down the water and the indoor air, and be applied at least to power large-scale air-conditioning equipment in office buildings," Jiang Yi, director of the university's architecture science department, who leads the research project, told China Daily.

Herzog and de Meuron have been very busy lately designing some amazing new buildings in Europe, like their Project Triangle in Paris. Their newest design for the Spanish banking group BBVA will be built on the outskirts of Madrid as early as 2013. The verdant green headquarters will feature luscious gardens and will create it's own microclimate by using natural ventilation, evapotranspiration, and the shade of the gardens and buildings to create a cool artificial oasis on a desert-like site. The project is meant to function as a small city, encouraging people to walk and meet within the outdoor spaces. The project is essentially a linear series of 3-story buildings seperated by alleyways and irrigated gardens. The smaller buildings are designed to give employees access to natural light and the outdoors, while the tower rises as a skyward-tilted circle, giving BBVA a presence in the Madrid skyline. The courtyard located around the tower is planted with shady trees and features a large basin of water that serves as a resevoir and humidifies the air.