Saving Earth

It may sound like a sci-fi vision, but Japan’s space agency is dead serious: by 2030 it wants to collect solar power in space and zap it down to Earth, using laser beams or microwaves. The government has just picked a group of firms and a team of researchers tasked with turning the ambitious, [...]

Long famed for its legendary fashion houses, Milan soon hopes to be known as a cutting-edge leader in yet another area of design: green communities. Come 2013, the bustling metropolitan area will be home to Milano Santa Monica, a two million square metre green space that will feature 2,000 apartments alongside schools, shops and sporting [...]

Our planet receives as much solar energy  in 30–40 minutes as humankind uses in a year. Solar energy is the most abundant energy source on the planet. It is already being used as the energy source of space vehicles and space stations. (The energy source on the International Space Station  is an acre-size solar collector [...]