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This site is dedicated to publicizing efforts by leading designers who are creating housing, energy technologies, water systems, and other advances primarily for consumers in developing countries.

Researchers at New Jersey Institute of Technology have developed an inexpensive solar cell that can be painted or printed on flexible plastic sheets.

In the concrete jungle of Manhattan stands a paragon of green: the new Hearst Tower, rising from the original Hearst building’s historic facade. 90 percent of its steel is recycled. It uses 26 percent less energy and 10 percent less water than a conventional office building. Sensors detect when a room is empty and automatically turn off the lights and computers.

Pacific Gas & Electric, the major utility in Northern California, was to announce a commitment Wednesday to purchase 550 megawatts of solar power to be generated by troughlike arrays of mirrors in the Mojave Desert.

Scientists at UC San Diego may have developed a system that could absorb carbon dioxide and split it into carbon oxide and oxygen, and generate electricity. Carbon oxide is a common industrial chemical that is normally captured from natural gas.

Energy experts convened by the world's scientific academies Monday urged nations to shift swiftly away from coal and other fuels that are the main source of climate-warming greenhouse gases and to provide new energy options for the two billion people who still mostly cook in the dark on wood or dung fires.

Planet Under Pressure is a six-part BBC News Online series looking at some of the most pressing environmental issues facing the human race today.

This Dept. of Energy study takes an indepth look at ways that the US can conserve energy. It is fairly long, but the executive summary covers the important points, mainly that it would be easy for the US to cut actual energy use by 10% vs. expected use in 2020, and with some effort cuts of over 30% could be made.

The rapidly growing biofuel market will keep farm commodity prices high over the next decade, said a key study by the Organization for Economic Development (OECD). Biofuels will have a major impact on the farming sector.