The U.S. Energy Department on Thursday offered loan guarantees worth $59 million to two renewable energy companies as the agency tries to quickly boost green energy production with a windfall of funding from the economic stimulus package.

M.J. PRABU

Necessity, invention: Subramaniam and his windmill on the rooftop of his house in Rasipuram, Tamil Nadu.

Good growth of a crop depends mainly on timely irrigation. For irrigation, electricity supply is required (though some use diesel pumps).

A group of farmers in Rasipuram taluk, Namakkal district, Tamil Nadu, who do not want to be identified say:

Kazakhstan is located in the wind belt of the Northern Hemisphere. The Dzungarian Gates and Shelek Corridor (near Almaty) have as much wind power as any other location in the world and are currently being considered for development with financial support from the United Nations Development Program and the Global Environment Facility.

Maybe the future of climate friendly energy won't have as much to do with wind and solar energy as current booms in those technologies suggest.

Clouds and calm days could make the alternative energy stars bit players in a clean power future where round-the-clock dependability is critical.

Each civic body to save several lakhs towards the electricity bill: District Planning Committee Chairman

Power saver: Collector M. Jayaraman (second from right) addressing the planning committee meeting in Tirunelveli on Wednesday.

President Barack Obama on Tuesday urged Congress to pass "historic legislation" to fight global warming, prompting his fellow Democrats in the House of Representatives to aim for a vote on Friday on the bill to reduce industrial emissions of carbon dioxide.

Telecoms firms are increasingly looking at more energy efficient and recyclable products in Asia as consumers check labels for environmental credentials and companies try to save on energy costs.

It seems unlikely that an agreement on the terms of the next climate treaty could be reached at the December-scheduled Copenhagen talks.

As World Environment Day falls on June 5, Soni Sinha looks at how 70 per cent of work
under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act can actually be eco-friendly and benefit local communities in India's poorest districts