Green is in. Thanks to the introduction of eco-friendly technology, cell phone base stations in Africa will soon cut their use of diesel fuel by 80%. Good news for the environmentally conscious. More details in the full article.

With today's environment-conscious attitudes, it pays to have an eco-friendly vehicle to drive.

A time may come when people may have a number of options to choose from aside from solar-powered cars, as scientists are now looking into thermoelectric generation as a possible alternative. More on this highfalutin term after the jump.

Tommy Remengesau Jr., President of Palau, showed interest in space power, an alternative source of energy during the recent U.N. climate conference.

This works in such a way that satellites orbiting Earth will be beaming down energy from their solar panels. A demonstration has been proposed to be done in the island nation, specifically on Helen Island in Palau. More information on the space power after the jump!

Someone finally found a practical use for heat-scorched deserts: use them to gather solar power. That's Europe's plan right now, and it's willing to spend GBP 5 billion (US$ 10 billion) to build enough solar power stations in Africa and the Middle East to provide the continent with a sixth of its power. Read more in the full article.

Industry leaders have announced that by the end of this century, solar power could become the world's primary source of energy. The move to use solar energy has gotten support from various countries including Germany, Japan, Spain, Italy, the United States of America, and even Greece.

Implementation of this looks to be expensive and subsidies are still needed since solar power is still more expensive than more conventional energy sources such as coal. On the other hand, costs have been dropping by around 5 percent each year and sunny countries could potentially do away with the subsidies in around five years.

While solar power has been gaining acceptance and is growing at 40 percent per year, growth has been limited by its small user base and silicon shortages, which have affected solar panel production. Currently, the sun provides us with 0.3 percent of our electricity, including market leader Germany. Still, many are hopeful that the growth can be maintained and that it won't be long before solar energy use becomes widespread.

General Electric Company's Chief Engineer Jim Lyons summed up the growth of this industry pretty well, "At that point you can expect pretty much unbounded growth. The solar industry will eventually be bigger than wind."

Chairman and chief scientific officer of Asura David Mills has recently submitted a study to the International Solar Energy Society stating that solar thermal plants can provide enough energy for the United States of America.

The plan is to use mirrors strategically placed in a Fresnel formation to boil liquid. The steam produced from this process will then be used to run turbines which will produce electricity. Mills noted that solar plants with 16 hours of storage energy can supply 92% of the U.S. with enough power at the same price of regular power plants.

This is well and good during the day, but what about at night or during dark cloudy days? The study also pointed out that advancements in modern technology has already developed liquids that will still retain heat and continuously produce steam. In addition, he pointed out that the power production is strongest during the day, when most people actually use more energy. The energy production during the night will be split up between the power plants stored energy and wind power.

While this sounds like a feasible plan, there are certain factors that have to be considered before it can be put into motion. Among them would be an overhaul of the method electricity is being transmitted. The current AC grid being used has transmission losses hitting as high as 50%. If it were to be switched to High Voltage DC, this number drops to a surprising 3%.

Mills' company is already planning to develop a 175 megawatt plant by 2009. If this takes off, perhaps the U.S. Government will consider taking this route to provide the country with a renewable source of energy.

While it may sound like a mad scheme cooked up by Dr. Evil to rule the world, there's nothing very threatening about the new space laser scientists from Japan are proposing. Instead of a dreaded orbital death ray, this space laser will instead provide solar energy for those living on earth.

There are many pros to building such a device in space. Since solar power in space is a constant resource and purely undiluted, it is possible to provide a near inexhaustible amount of energy to earth using a space laser. Also, the device can save a lot of space since it will end up orbiting the planet instead of eating up a lot of land if it were built on earth.

Scientists have estimated the laser to have up to a 40% efficiency ratio, similar to the current solar panels used. They projected the launch date to be around the year 2030. So far, the biggest problem encountered with the project is the launch costs and the possible weather interferences once the laser is already in place.

And of course, there's always a distinct possibility that a mad scientist might convert it into an extra-terrestrial sniper rifle, but seeing the benefits it can bring to mankind, it might just be worth taking the risk.

When it comes to predicting how Earth would look like hundreds of years from now, there are two schools of thought dominating the field of science. First are the conservatives who believe global warming, exhaustion of fuel cells, and destruction of the environment will ultimately lead to our extinction. The second group is the liberals, who think that Homo Sapiens are far too advanced to let these things end their existence - they maintain that we'll be able to come up with scientific methods to clear pollution, produce alternatives for energy, or if all else fails, create a colony of our own outer space.

We're neither fans of human extinction nor are we narcissistic fools, but this latest technological wonder from Netherlands can further fan the flames of that debate.

The folks over at the Delft University of Technology has come up with a solar-powered mouse (not live ones silly, we're talking about computer peripherals here). According to the press release they issued, Sole Mio was designed to be used by anyone with access to sunlight, or even artificial light. The technology behind this product enables it to charge power from sources of light, making it available for the owner's usage. Here's a text from the press release:

With solar energy, under ideal circumstances charging can occur a factor of five times quicker than in the current situation. Over time it is estimated that several hundred million batteries could be saved annually on a global scale. The net environmental benefit is still restricted by the high energy content of current PV cells. However the introduction of new types of cheap and energy-extensive PV cells, on which TU Delft and partners are working, would eventually yield an even higher environmental gain.

So they're looking into making this more environment friendly in the long run. Is this then the first step towards what the liberal wing in science believes as the next stage of man's evolution? Can humans actually create ways to destroy the planet and save itself at the same time?

Wake me up from cryostasis when a solar-powered race is in charge of the planet.

A recent Roper survey commissioned by Sharp Electronics Corporation revealed that almost 90 percent of Americans believe that solar electricity should be an option for all new home construction. This shows a significant increase in interest in solar power as last year's survey showed that interest was only around 79 percent.

Below are the survey's findings as per the press announcement made by Sharp Electronics Corporation:

• 87 percent feel that homebuilders should offer solar power as an option for all new homes; older Americans are less enthusiastic, with 77 percent of those over age 65 supporting solar on new homes
• Respondents understand that solar power can be used to turn the lights on (82 percent), heat bath water (82 percent) or heat a swimming pool (80 percent)
• Respondents are less likely to understand that solar can power electric devices such as computers or appliances (71 percent). Americans over age 65 are least likely to recognize this functionality (56 percent). Those in the Northeast (63 percent) and Midwest (65 percent) were significantly less likely to identify this functionality for solar energy, compared to those in the South (75 percent) and West (78 percent)
• 82 percent say that a decrease in monthly energy bills is their primary motivation for installing solar power; other respondents indicated it was to reduce overall energy usage (79 percent), reduce oil dependence (77 percent) or because it is a secure source of energy (75 percent)
• 56 percent would be interested in learning more about solar for their homes if the system could be obtained for zero money down and their utility bills would be lowered right away. Younger adults, ages 25-34, are more encouraged by monetary savings, with 67 percent expressing interest.

Now that interest in using Solar Power as a means to save on electricity bills is on the rise, it seems that what the major companies need to do now is to figure out a cost-effective and affordable way of integrating Solar Power into homes.

Two ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: cut down on its production, the direct approach, or see if you can salvage the byproduct... could this be considered the indirect approach?

University of California-San Diego scientists have unveiled a device which they hope will be able to make a dent on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into the atmosphere - and get something economically useful out of it. It's a catalytic converter that strips CO2 into carbon monoxide (CO), and oxygen (O). And, making Mother Earth smile even more, it's designed to use sunlight to power the catalysts.

Now the device is not yet optimal, so it requires a little extra juice from an external power source to complete the reaction. Still, it is a promising start. Now, carbon monoxide ain't exactly a breath of fresh air, but when captured, it does have some useful chemical and industrial uses. It can also be converted into liquid fuel (And so as long as it doesn't get into the atmosphere, well, we should be safe).

Currently the scientists are experimenting with gallium-phosphide materials for the solar-energy half of their catalytic converter. Because it can convert more solar energy into electrical energy, they believe that it should supply enough juice to complete the splitting reaction. Hey, it's a start, and it's way better than bellyaching.