Michael Schirber

When might we expect exciting alternative technology to become our ho-hum everyday energy supply?

The ocean harbors abundant energy in the form of wind, waves and sun.

"Clean coal" -- is it an oxymoron or as environmentally friendly as we can expect?

Imagine running a parking meter backwards and actually being paid to park your car.

Offshore drilling is mostly what we hear about, but America has a lot of oil that might one day prove useful.

Several new breakthroughs may bring plant-derived gasoline to the pumps in the next few years.

However, investment in energy efficiency and renewable-energy strategies could create 2 million jobs in two years.

Wind energy is renewable energy. But there are misconceptions about what makes the wind industry turn.

Supermarkets around the world are adding food labels that warn of the environmentally unhealthy bits in the food we buy.

The new Energy Ball from Holland is quiet and efficient for home use.

Two new gizmos aim to reduce fuel consumption by changing the way people drive.

Genetic analysis of a bacteria found in a hot spring could help produce clean-burning hydrogen gas for fuel cell cars.

The outer structure of the stunning "Water Cube" at the Beijing Olympics is made of air-filled polymer cushions that require 200 times less energy than glass.

Mining the moon for helium could supply the Earth with clean, abundant energy.

Go fly a kite, say researchers who think this simple two-thousand-year-old pastime could be a viable alternative to expensive wind turbines.

The strange behavior of quantum physics might seem too unpredictable to rely on for our energy needs, but new technologies hope to capitalize on its very strangeness.

A third of energy consumption is in the home. Many opportunities exist to make houses more efficient, as a new European initiative plans to show with several demo homes.

The genetics of "jungle rot" may hold the key to more economical biofuel in the near future.

An Australian company has a plan to stick a kilometer-high chimney on top of a five-kilometer-wide greenhouse to make electricity.

Michael Shirber writes a weekly power of the future column.

The electricity for a small city could be generated from the wind being sucked up an artificial tornado.

Energy gathered in space would be beamed to Earth.

To reduce fuel consumption, vehicle performance will have to take a back seat to economy.

Renewables like wind cannot supply a steady stream of power, but compressed air energy storage can act like a big battery to smooth out the fluctuations.