Aurora Borealis In Norway

One of the best things about having spent time in northern Minnesota in the dead of winter is having had the chance to witness in person one of the coolest natural phenomena, Aurora Borealis. This photo was taken in Norway with a long exposure and is an exceptionally awesome example of how cool the effect is. You are literally looking at visible energy. Click here for more information on it.

Earth's Gravity Field

I guess I never realized that gravity isn't the same everywhere on the planet.

Pretty heavy, man.

Click here for more.

Lightning Strikes

The three tallest buildings in Chicago were simultaneously struck by lightning. Check it out above.

The Hillside House - Marin, California

Click here to see a lot more great pictures and to read an article about this environmentally-friendly house in Mill Valley.

Staring At The Sun

This is one of the first images from NASA's new Solar Dynamics Observatory. It's a satellite designed to predict disruptive solar storms, and will be used to learn all sorts of neat stuff about the sun. Click here to read the article and see more images and a few videos.

Images From Eyjafjallajökull

These are even more impressive in their larger format. Click here to see them and many others.

Eyjafjallajökull: The Volcano So Nice They Named It Twice

Ummmm, did you know the last time this same Icelandic volcano erupted in 1821 it didn't stop spewing ash for two years? And that 20,000 people in England died from respiratory issues as a direct result of it? I hope you've been to Europe because there might not be a flight there for a bit, and when there is one, who knows what kind of havoc it will have caused. Oh, and if you're wondering how to pronounce the name, click here and then realize it's even harder than it looks to say.

It's Electric

This was taken at the O'Farrell Parking Garage in Union Square. It makes me very happy to see.

Rivers From Space

Click here to see more pictures of the earth's rivers as seen from space.

The Green Highway

A wind turbine concept that harnesses the wind created by cars zipping by to power the street lights. Love it. Click here to learn more.

Here Comes The Gravy Train

Few things in life get me more excited than the California High Speed Train project that will link Northern and Southern California. I only wish it were already in existence. We are, however, one step closer thanks to President Obama awarding the state $2.25 billion to help fund the project. That's more than a quarter of the $8 billion of federal funds headed towards the project, which will cost a total of $42 billion. Click here for the full story.

ASUS Spurs Green Computing Revolution with Bamboo Series Notebook

Whether counting its 23 Eee PCs or 50 plus models of traditional laptops, ASUS isn't exactly known for its frugality. So seeing yet another press release touting the launch of its bamboo -- a renewable material with immense tensile strength rivaling that of many metal alloys -- laptops shouldn't be a surprise. What's new here, perhaps, is the detail. Now in mass production, these partially biodegradable laptops come with either 11.1- or 12.1-inch, 1,280 x 768 pixel displays, your choice of 3/6/9-cell batteries, and ASUS' Super Hybrid Engine allowing you to dial down the power when the wails of the Antarctic penguins become too much to bear. The 12.1-incher is the relative powerhouse of the pair offering Vista a ride atop your choice of Intel T9400/P8600/P8400 Core 2 Duo processors, 256MB of NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS graphics, a 320GB hybrid hard drive sporting 256MB of flash, and Intel's WiMAX / WiFi Link 5100 chipset. Pricing? Sorry, we'll likely have to wait for another press release for that detail.

California Moves on Bill to Curb Sprawl and Emissions

The measure, which the State Assembly passed on Monday and awaits final approval by the Senate, would be the nation’s most comprehensive effort to reduce sprawl. It would loosely tie tens of billions of dollars in state and federal transportation subsidies to cities’ and counties’ compliance with efforts to slow the inexorable increase in driving. The goal is to encourage housing near current development and to reduce commutes to work.

Production Chevy Volt interior and exterior spy shots leaked?

We've seen GM's carefully managed Volt PR campaign, but that hasn't stopped our friends at AutoBlogGreen from combing the net for a better look, resulting in these apparent snaps of the center console and the production exterior rolling along the set of Transformers 2. The shiny, rounded all white center console with touch sensitive interface? You're probably thinking what we're thinking. At least the exterior shot -- which shows off a "Volt" badge on the A-pillar -- is a bit more clear. Of course, this might just be a movie-only iteration and any number of things could change before those batteries get out of Malibus and into proper rolling stock... but we'll just sit back and keep our fingers crossed, at least until 2010.

Read - Chevy Volt Interior
Read - Chevy volt Exterior

Japanese firms to partially propel cargo ship via solar panels

First things first -- when we say "partially" propel, we mean partially. Nippon Yusen and energy distributor Nippon Oil are teaming up to spend around $1.37 million in order to equip a car-hauling cargo ship with 328 solar panels. Rather than just provide energy for the crew's on board entertainment system, it will be the first solar installation to actually produce a smidgen of power for the boat's engine. If successful, the panels would provide 0.2% of the ship's energy consumption for propulsion, and they're hoping to raise that to a whopping 1% by 2010. Gives a whole new meaning to "baby steps," huh?

Wind Energy Bumps Into Power Grid’s Limits

Expansive dreams about renewable energy, like Al Gore’s hope of replacing all fossil fuels in a decade, are bumping up against the reality of a power grid that cannot handle the new demands. The dirty secret of clean energy is that while generating it is getting easier, moving it to market is not.

Carbon-neutral Ziggurat pyramid could house 1.1 million in Dubai

The 2.3-square kilometer building would be able to house over 1 million people and be "almost totally self-sufficient energy-wise." By tapping into the planet's renewable resources, designers assert that it could practically be carbon-neutral, and given that transport within the machine would be connected by an "integrated 360-degree network," fuel-burning cars would be pointless. As with most things in Dubai, this one seems larger than life, but if the Burj Al Arab is any indication, there's at least a minuscule chance this thing comes to fruition.

Court Rejects E.P.A. Limits on Emissions Rules

A federal appeals court on Tuesday threw out an Environmental Protection Agency rule limiting the ability of states to require monitoring of industrial emissions.

The 2-to-1 ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is the most recent in a series of judicial setbacks to the Bush administration’s efforts to reshape federal policies under the Clean Air Act.

Under 1990 amendments to the original Clean Air Act, states were allowed to issue permits limiting pollution emissions from industrial facilities, like refineries or utilities. To ensure compliance, Congress required states to set more stringent monitoring requirements if they deemed federal requirements inadequate.

Roller Coaster-like Transportation System to Be Tested in Japan

Conceptual view of Eco Ride, which runs on potential energy

The new transportation system operates using the height difference on the railway. Drive units to pull the cars up are installed at various points on the railway so that the Eco Ride can obtain the potential energy to run. This is the same principle as a roller coaster.

Plug-In Hybrid From G.M. Is Nearly Ready for Testing

General Motors said Thursday that it had “essentially finished” designing its first plug-in hybrid car, the Chevrolet Volt, and would have production-ready prototypes within 10 days.