Atmospheric physicist Carl Hodges founded the Seawater Foundation in 1977 in an attempt to alleviate some of the world's most complex ecological problems. Hodges' unique approach draws seawater inland, irrigating otherwise barren coastal desert regions and turning them green.
CNN's Sara Sidner talks to Nobel Prize Winner, Rajendra Pachauri about the challenges of Global Warming.
Atmospheric physicist Carl Hodges founded the Seawater Foundation in 1977 in an attempt to alleviate some of the world's most complex ecological problems. Hodges' unique approach draws seawater inland, irrigating otherwise barren coastal desert regions and turning them green.
Sim Van der Ryn has been a leader in sustainable architecture for over 40 years. As well as creating a portfolio of inspiring green designs -- notably the 1977 Bateson Building in Sacramento -- he is also a teacher and an author. His most recent book "Design for Life" traces his ancestral and ecological design roots. Principal Voices talked to Van der Ryn about the passion which continues to consume his life.
For most of the year, their work is concealed from public view at the end of powerful microscopes.
Researchers have developed a new anti-reflective coating that boosts the efficiency of solar panels and allows sunlight to be absorbed from almost any angle.
It is being billed as the ultimate book about the world and it is something of a landmark in its own right. "Earth" -- the biggest atlas ever to be published -- promises to be a luxurious benchmark in cartography.
Tackling climate change and its consequences is the challenge of our generation.
Scientists think they have uncovered conclusive proof that human activity is responsible for rising temperatures in both polar regions.
It is a familiar refrain to hear the earth and its resources being described as precious and that climate change is, and will, prove extremely costly.
Of all the power supplies in the energy mix, nuclear has historically been the most criticized and controversial. But this most unpopular of power sources has recently resurfaced in political and economic dialogue.
David Crane is a man who isn't afraid of a challenge. When he took the helm at NRG Energy in the winter of 2003, the company was mired in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings -- just one of many companies caught in the meltdown of the U.S. power generation industry, instigated by the scandalous collapse of Texan power giant Enron in 2001.
Later this summer, a motor rally will make its way across Europe. Nothing strange in that you might think. But this is a race with a difference -- a "banger rally" if you like -- and one with a well-tuned environmental message.
If climate change were a small house fire, current policy in the European Union and the United Kingdom would ensure that it would destroy not just the house but the entire suburb.
As a product designer, Agustin Otegui's has to "think big" about the objects he creates. From novel portable chairs made out of shovels to chrome radiators that look like modern works of art, he recasts the mundane in a modernist and functional new light.
Plans to rejuvenate a dilapidated London icon -- known worldwide to movie and music fans -- were unveiled last week.
Whilst the energy grids we rely on to provide us with cheap and reliable electricity may have been fit for purpose in the 20th century, it is now abundantly clear that the design of 21st century energy networks will have to be very different. In Europe, the foundations for a secure, flexible and more energy efficient future are already being laid.
Oxfam's new book "From Poverty to Power: How Active Citizens and Effective States Can Change the World" is a detailed and vivid account of poverty, its effects and how it can be eradicated. Principal Voices spoke to the book's author and Head of Research at Oxfam GB, Duncan Green about the charity's prescription for change.
As far as modes of transport go, it has to be one of the most environmentally friendly: a cardboard bike that can be recycled, in all senses of the word.
Forget the "Bird's Nest" and the "Water Cube". If you're traveling to China this summer, or even if you are watching the Olympics on television, make sure you look out for a glittering new landmark structure in Beijing.
The concept may be radical, but it might just have to be if the worst predictions of climate change are realized.
Director of Arup, Peter Head is leading the company's new department of Planning and Integrated Urbanism.
Co-founder and executive director of Architecture for Humanity, Cameron Sinclair opened the second Principal Voices debate on Design for Good by outlining just what the term means to him, but also what it means to the communities his design solutions are aimed at.
It may look like an air mattress you might see lying around next to a swimming pool but in reality its function couldn't be less trivial.
You might want to go green, but how do you know what you're buying is truly ethical? Greenwash -- the ignoble art of misleading consumers about a product's true green worth -- is on the rise. But thanks to the work of increasingly vigilant regulators, some of the more curious and downright spurious claims are being weeded out.
The site has been secured, the tents pitched, banners raised and, most importantly, compost loos installed; there is little to do now but wait for thousands of campers to arrive for one of Britain's biggest environmental protests this year.
Researchers in the United States are buoyed by the results of a study which has determined that a giant grass could help the country to meet its steep biofuel targets.
If there was a most wanted list for climate change culprits, coal-fired power stations would be number one.
Imagine every time you closed your curtains, you were capturing enough solar energy to power your laptop. The technology is available, but no one's packaged it up in a handy DIY kit at your local hardware store.
Global warming and the state of the planet aren't exactly laughing matters, but for comedian Abie Philbin Bowman, the dire environmental outlook has at least one bright side.
Imagine if cars ran on household waste, if gas tanks were filled with ethanol made from wood chips. Well, the technology to make it happen is already a reality and companies are now racing to bring this kind of fuel to a gas pump near you.
Despite taking a beating from the credit crunch, the clean energy sector is being tipped as a golden opportunity for investors.
If you've ever found yourself in your local supermarket agonizing about whether the organic apples will be a more nutritional and greener choice than the cheaper non-organic ones, you're probably not alone.
The head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has described as "tragic" the lack of action on climate change by developed countries.
Debate is rife in Australian political circles about whether carbon trading is the way forward for climate change abatement.
The fears that Hurricane Gustav would turn into another human catastrophe on the scale of Katrina in 2005 have mercifully not been realized.
Twenty four hours before the greatest scientific experiment of our time gets underway at CERN's Large Hadron Collider, political and scientific dignitaries assembled at a site a few hundred miles north east of the French/Swiss border at a site in Germany to inaugurate another groundbreaking engineering test.
The creators are billing it as one of the coolest hostels in the world and it's undoubtedly one of the most novel overnight stays you are ever likely to experience. Welcome to the Jumbo Hostel -- an old Boeing 747 which is being converted into a 25-room hostel at the Stockholm-Arlanda airport.
The renewable energy sector has received a boost with the inauguration of the world's first commercial wave power project off the Portuguese coast.
If the craggy, icy west coast of Greenland doesn't inspire them, perhaps Vanessa Carlton's vodka infusions will.
Former vice president and environmental campaigner Al Gore has urged young people to protest against new coal-fired power plants that don't use carbon capture and storage technology.
It can often seem like hard work keeping track of the changes happening to our planet. Another day, another new prediction. Another week, another warning. It's enough to make even the most conscientious climate change student issue a weary discombobulated sigh.
The International Energy Agency has called for a global energy revolution to ensure future supplies and to stem the rise of greenhouse gas emissions.
A landscape restoration of a rubbish dump has won the Energy, Waste and Recycling category at the 2008 World Architecture Festival in Barcelona, Spain.
The inaugural Prix Pictet photography award has been won by Canadian Benoit Aquin for his series of images depicting desertification in China entitled "The Chinese Dust Bowl".
Hydrogen and electric vehicles might be leading the charge, so to speak, towards cleaner transport, but will cars powered by air and the sun ever surpass the sales figures of gasoline cars?
You might have thought that recycling is limited to paper, plastics and glass. Well, think again. A Californian company is developing a new technique for recycling carbon dioxide, or CO2, and turning it back into fuel.
David Hales is president of the College of the Atlantic, a U.S. college with an ecologically-centered approach.
Juliet Davenport is the Oxford University-educated chief executive and founder of Good Energy, a 100 percent renewable electricity supplier in the UK. When she participated in the Principal Voices project in 2007, she talked about the need to embrace renewable energy.
Fish tanks, financial markets and the future of the world's climate came together at the third Principal Voices debate of 2008 in Chicago.
Professor Wangari Maathai was the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of the Green Belt Foundation, a Kenyan environmental organization.
Researchers have developed a new anti-reflective coating that boosts the efficiency of solar panels and allows sunlight to be absorbed from almost any angle.
New technology devised by a Connecticut firm, The Green Revolution Inc is turning sessions at the gym into clean renewable electricity.
Micro wind turbines are beginning to pop up all over our urban and rural landscapes. But is it worth investing your hard-earned cash in your very own wind machine? In short, it depends. Take a look at our quick guide to see if "small wind" could help you reduce your energy bills and your carbon footprint.
The International Energy Agency has called for a global energy revolution to ensure future supplies and to stem the rise of greenhouse gas emissions.
As familiar and reassuring as the map of the world is, there is only so much that physical geography can tell us about the state of the planet.
For a century the gasoline engine has remained largely unchallenged, seeing off all pretenders to its crown. But with concerns about greenhouse gas emissions and a host of new contenders looming large in the rear view mirror, is the gasoline-fueled automobile due to be overtaken by a fleet of cleaner, leaner rivals?
A new study investigating the amount of carbon in Australian soil has cast doubt over the accuracy of current climate models in predicting future levels of global warming.
A team of international scientists led by Dr James Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, say that carbon dioxide (CO2) levels are already in the danger zone.
In the stylishly minimal surroundings of Singapore's Red Dot design museum, architect and innovative-thinker Cameron Sinclair opened the second Principal Voices debate of 2008 with a clear statement: "There is a lot of 'design for bad' out there."
The world has lost almost one-fifth of its coral reefs according a new report released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
From columns of cloud streaking over the Caspian Sea in January to vast tracts of cleared forest in Bolivia in December. In 2008, the NASA Earth Observatory has captured more stunning images of the Earth.
CNN's Sara Sidner talks to Nobel Prize Winner, Rajendra Pachauri about the challenges of Global Warming.
The United Nations Climate Conference underway in Poznan, Poland, hopes to build on the Bali Action Plan adopted by over 180 countries in 2007 and lay the groundwork for a new global climate agreement scheduled to be ratified at next year's climate summit in Denmark.
There's no point in having a debate without varied points of view. Send us an email by filling out the form on the front page, file an iReport or click on the "Sound Off" button at the bottom of this page.
With the U.S. auto industry's immediate fate now resting on the amount of money that Congress place in their begging bowl, it's worth noting that cash alone is not going to save them in the long run.
CNN's Isha Sesay talks to Seawater Foundation Chairman, Carl Hodges about tackling the problem of rising seawater.
CNN's Maggie Lake meets environmental crusader, Alexandra Cousteau to discuss the prospect of living on an ocean planet.
It's a rare occasion when more than three of our Principal Voices gather in a room at one time to discuss solutions to world problems.
If ever there were a person born to be a champion of the environment, it's Alexandra Cousteau. Her father is the enigmatic environmentalist Philippe Cousteau and her grandfather is legendary French explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau.
It is an unusual art auction where making money isn't a great concern. But that is the case this weekend when a series of paintings go on the block with the purpose of drawing attention to climate change.
Climate change is happening faster than previously predicted according to a new World Wildlife Fund report.
Dr Jan Zalasiewicz is the author of "The Earth After Us -- What legacy will humans leave in the rocks?" His book examines what might remain of our civilization in the strata 100 million years from now, and how aliens might piece together the story of the planet and our brief but dramatic impact on it.
One look outside the window gives a glimpse of the "economics of energy" in Doha, Qatar. Cranes dot the tops of half-finished towers, a monumental work in progress; the result of vast energy wealth being pumped out of the ground and poured into project after project.
Amory Lovins is an environmentalist and the chairman and chief scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI).
IPCC Chief Rajendra Pachauri opens the Principal Voices debate in Chicago by expressing optimism for the future.
Carl Hodges, founder of the Seawater Foundation, explains his plan to re-green the earth at the Principal Voices debate.
The Principal Voices discuss the likely impact of the global financial crisis on efforts to combat global warming.
After the Principal Voices debate, audience members share their views on the discussion and climate change
Jimmy Wales began the successful peer-reviewed encyclopedia Wikipedia in 2001.
Nearly a fourth of the world's mammals are threatened with extinction, a leading international conservation group said Monday as it unveiled its latest global study of the problem.
Governments around the world continue to pump billions of dollars into financial markets, but there is still no telling whether the "injections of liquidity" will be enough to prevent "this sucker" -- to quote the President of the United States -- from going down.
Dr. Carl N. Hodges is turning the tide on sea-level rise and revolutionizing agriculture in the process.
The granddaughter of legendary French explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau campaigns to raise awareness of world water issues.
The head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is at the forefront of global efforts to combat climate change.
The founder of The Seawater Foundation is turning the tide on sea-level rise and revolutionizing agriculture in the process.
As an organization they're used to investing billions of dollars in scientific experiments that further our knowledge of earth and space. But the only bill to speak of on this occasion is orange and attached to the body of a rubber duck.
Amory Lovins tells CNN how his institute is helping resources making the world a life sustaining place.
Malini Mehra tells CNN how her company has helped inspire positive social change.
Rory Stear tells CNN that human based energy in Africa is helping the children to a better life.
Kristin Peterson tells CNN her company's mission is to deliver access to communications to the poorest of places in the world.
Neil Gershenfeld tells CNN that digital fabrication will help invent items to help humanity.
Juliet Davenport tells CNN that wind power in the UK is the perfect solution for helping tackle climate change.
Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, tells CNN that he believes Wikipedia will give the world free access to the sum of human knowledge.
Wangari Maathai tells CNN the importance of planting trees to help maintain a balance on the earth.
Robert Conway is the CEO of the GSM Association, which comprises over 800 GSM mobile phone operators, manufacturers and suppliers from across the world.
Early results show the leeward side of the building failing first as shown in this video graphic. Courtesy of University of Western Ontario.
Wayne Hemingway is the English designer who made his name with trendy fashion label Red or Dead. Often outspoken, and known for his green values, Hemingway now designs housing projects -- and he's on a mission to change how we think about sustainable housing.
Architect Daniel Lebinskind talks about capturing the imagination of the people in creating buildings.
Peter Head is playing a leading role in the plans to build China's first eco-cities.
The term "eco community" might conjure up an image of bearded hippies tending an allotment before sharing a mung bean stew. But as today's urbanites become more concerned about reducing their carbon footprints, some are finding that modern eco communities offer them a way to live sustainably without foregoing their home comforts.
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