Germany's lower house of parliament on Thursday gave final approval to government proposals to cut the target amount of biofuels to be blended into fossil fuels this year.

The lower house approved a plan to cut the 2009 blending target to 5.25 percent biofuel content in fossil fuel in 2009 from the 6.25 percent originally intended.

Xcel Energy Inc would offer incentives for Minnesota customers who take steps to conserve energy, which could include installation of solar panels on homes and businesses, under a $280 million plan filed this week with regulators, the state's biggest power company said on Thursday.

To change the bulbs in the 60-foot-high ceiling lights of Buckingham Palace

A US research team has found the most promising natural gas hydrate deposits yet under the US Gulf of Mexico, improving chances the ice-like formations will become a major energy source, scientists said on Thursday.

"It's very encouraging. We consider this expedition a major shift in our understanding," said Timothy Collett of the US Geological Survey, a leader of the research effort.

Energy experts believe Sri Lanka should now tap all possible renewable energy sources to cut down on the use of fossil fuels which comes to the country at a high price.

"Our economy will fall behind if we continue spending on foreign oil and coal every year," said Executive Director Energy Forum Ashoka Abeygunawardane at a recent workshop in Colombo.

US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said on Friday he will travel to China this year to promote sales of US clean energy goods as part of the Obama administration's effort to fight global warming.

"This would be a win-win for jobs in the United States, as well as addressing a very serious problem of the planet," Locke told Reuters in an interview.

A recent NY Times articles brings to fore the contribution of Soot, also known as Black Carbon, in the global warming. And how efforts are underway to reign in the global warming by replacing the mud-stoves in villages of India! On the Earth day, a legislation was introduced in US Senate for EPA to assess the options for reducing the black carbon pollution.

LOCKHEED MARTIN is best known for building stealth fighters, satellites and other military equipment. But since late 2006 the company has taken on a different kind of enterprise

China must swiftly decouple its rapid economic growth from rising carbon dioxide emissions for global greenhouse gas levels to stay manageable, the authors of a new study said, urging sweeping support to help that transition.

Our parents and grandparents were conservationists by instinct. All the more credit to them as fancy terms had not yet been invented - like reduce, re-use and re-cycle as recipes. Nor of Global Warming, Energy Budgets and Ozone Holes. They simply believed that it was sensible and proper that materials be used maximally or given away rather than being rubbished.