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"An ambitious solar energy project on a massive scale is about to get underway in the Arizona desert. EnviroMission is undergoing land acquisition and site-specific engineering to build its first full-scale solar tower - and when we say full-scale, we mean it! The mammoth 800-plus meter (2625 ft) tall tower will instantly become one of the world's tallest buildings. Its 200-megawatt power generation capacity will reliably feed the grid with enough power for 150,000 US homes, and once it's built, it can be expected to more or less sit there producing clean, renewable power with virtually no maintenance until it's more than 80 years old."

"You can power a digital clock with a few slices of oranges - but how many many oranges do you need to power an iPhone? "

Bill Nye and the Discovery Channel give you the greatest discoveries in physics. Nye explores how the universe operates and why things move and work the way they do. He also explains the second law of thermodynamics, electromagnetism, and how superconductors can help accelerate particles to near the speed of light. He illustrates Albert Einstein's theory that clocks tick slower at the speed of light and even on an airplane, and discusses how E=MC2 helped develop nuclear power, the quantum leap, the power of electromagnetic energy, the structure of an atom, and the subatomic particles known as quarks.

"Aviation history was made when the University of Toronto's human-powered aircraft with flapping wings became the first of its kind to fly continuously. The "Snowbird" performed its record-breaking flight on August 2 at the Great Lakes Gliding Club in Tottenham, Ont., witnessed by the vice-president (Canada) of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), the world-governing body for air sports and aeronautical world records."

"An innovative bicycle-powered water pump, created by a student at the University of Sheffield, has proved a huge success and is now in regular production in Guatemala, transforming the lives of rural residents."

The Sport Specific Approach to Strength Training Programs Sport-specific strength training programs are fundamental to an athlete's development and success. Long gone are the days when coaches shunned weight lifting for fear that it might hinder the performance of fine skill and correct technique. It's now accepted that high levels of strength are a prerequisite to superior speed, power, strength endurance and overall sporting performance.

It's the ultimate form of solar power: eat a plant, become photosynthetic. Now researchers have found how one animal does just that.

Murray and Becky Monk yearned for the best of both worlds: life in the breathtaking wilds of northwestern Ontario and the conveniences of modern life. They turned their wish into reality by moving to the solitude of a remote lake and setting up their own eco-friendly power system.

Earthship Biotecture creates buildings that... * Heat and cool themselves naturally via solar/thermal dynamics * Collect their own power from the sun and wind * Harvest their own water from rain and snow melt * Contain and treat their own sewage on site * Produce food in significant quantities * Utilize materials that are byproducts of modern society like cans, bottles and tires

Shawn Frayne talks about his new method of transforming wind power into electric energy. http://www.humdingerwind.com

Sharing powerful stories from his anti-obesity project in Huntington, W. Va., TED Prize winner Jamie Oliver makes the case for an all-out assault on our ignorance of food. Jamie Oliver is transforming the way we feed ourselves, and our children. Jamie Oliver has been drawn to the kitchen since he was a child working in his father's pub-restaurant. He showed not only a precocious culinary talent but also a passion for creating (and talking about) fresh, honest, delicious food. In the past decade, the shaggy-haired "Naked Chef" of late-'90s BBC2 has built a worldwide media conglomerate of TV shows, books, cookware and magazines, all based on a formula of simple, unpretentious food that invites everyone to get busy in the kitchen. And as much as his cooking is generous, so is his business model -- his Fifteen Foundation, for instance, trains young chefs from challenged backgrounds to run four of his restaurants. Now, Oliver is using his fame and charm to bring attention to the changes that Brits and Americans need to make in their lifestyles and diet. Campaigns such as Jamie's School Dinner, Ministry of Food and Food Revolution USA combine Olivers culinary tools, cookbooks and television, with serious activism and community organizing -- to create change on both the individual and governmental level.

It was the year we learned of a spectacular smash-up in space, and scientists working on the world's biggest physics experiment delighted at collisions of an entirely different sort. There were shockwaves, too, in Copenhagen, as the summit failed to reach a consensus on tackling climate change, instead merely noting a deal struck by major powers including the US and China. The BBC's science reporter Paul Rincon looks back at the twists and turns of a year in science and the environment.

"The upper layer of the world's ocean has warmed since 1993, indicating a strong climate change signal, according to a new study. The energy stored is enough to power nearly 500 100-watt light bulbs per each of the roughly 6.7 billion people on the planet."

"Think of the ocean as our global savings account -- and right now, we're only making withdrawals, not deposits. Enric Sala shows how we can replenish our account through no-take marine reserves, with powerful ecological and economic benefits."

"Scientists from Oxford University have made a significant step towards an ultrafast quantum computer by successfully generating 10 billion bits of quantum entanglement in silicon for the first time -- entanglement is the key ingredient that promises to make quantum computers far more powerful than conventional computing devices."

Plugging gadgets into a socket in the wall, or loading them with batteries - or maybe even unfurling a solar panel - is how most of us think of getting electricity. But what about plugging them into your body?

"The engineer at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in the US is currently finalising designs for a series of turbines that could be used to harness the immense energy of the Gulf Stream, flowing deep in the Atlantic Ocean."

"Ever wonder how much energy is used by your different major appliances or electronics? Or how much energy all such appliances and electronics in the U.S. use? Here's some info on that for four big ones: TVs, computers, clothes dryers, and refrigerators."