New homes will be about 20 percent more energy efficient this year, and those standards will increase as the building codes are rewritten and updated every two years until 2015. The homes may be 70 percent more energy efficient in 2015 than today.

This move is just a part of the Austin Climate Protection Plan unveiled in February, which hopes to set a standard for U.S. cities. The plan pledges to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from the city by 2020, rely more on renewable power and less on coal-burning practices.

This time, Nokia has moved to the top while Hewlett Packard and Toshiba fell to the bottom. Big-name companies like Apple and Dell, which have announced plans to go green, still haven't moved to the top. In fact, Apple is third to last, which is unfortunate considering how many people race for the company's iPhones, iPods and sleek, white computers.

To see where the producers of your electronics rank, click here.

U.S. bank Morgan Stanley reckons the rise will be due to global population growth and increasing costs for fossil fuels.

Of the main sources for alternative energy, the bank estimates that the cost of solar power may rise hardly measurable levels to 11.2 percent in 2030. Yet, the cost may decrease from $8 per Gigawatt installed in 2005 to $1.60 per GW by 2030, which is good news to homeowners and businesses wishing to install solar panels.

The bank also estimates that biofuels could grow from around 1 percent in 2005 to 21 percent in 2030, and wind power could jump from 0.9 percent to 9.6 percent in 2030.

If this projection holds true, investors will definitely profit from investing in clean tech. Deutsche Bank already has attracted more than $8.5 billion into climate change funds. Last year, global investment in renewable energies jumped to $100 billion and is expected to rise to $120 billion in 2007.

Rechargeable batteries isn't a new idea, but this kit does make it pretty easy. Made by Sanyo, the eneloop Rechargeable Battery Kit contains AA, AAA and C and D adapters. And the USB Rechargeable Travel Kit allows you to charge your batteries using your laptop for energy. Not bad for frequent travelers. They supposedly retain their power for up to a year.

Similarly, Duracell offers rechargeable batteries that use a wall of car outlet, as well as a USB port. Its Mobile Charger will also be able to recharge devices like iPods and Blackberrys. And they're a little cheaper than the Sanyo selections.

MMA Renewable Ventures is building a solar power facility adjacent to Gap distribution center in Fresno, California. MMA will own and operate the system, and Gap has contracted to buy a set amount of electricity for 20 years. The technology is from SunPower and will generate 1.9 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per year.

This model is appealing to companies who are not interested in paying the upfront cost for solar but are nervous about the rising cost of electricity from fossil fuel sources. A similar financing method for homeowners is available from companies such as SunRun Generation.

Companies will pay more than if they bought the panels themselves, but it is a path of least resistance to solar for companies located in places where the sun shines reliably.

Bank of America launched a $20 billion green-lending initiative in March to finance companies creating low-emissions technology, underwrite loans for green building projects and create a carbon-credit-trading service.

This week the state of California gave $10 million to New Resource Bank to spur lending to developers and homeowners adopting green measures.

Banks have come up with many ways to better serve customers and the environment, ranging from providing reduced interest rates for loans that meet environmental criteria, carbon offsets during the life of a loan, and loans and financing for LEED-certified buildings. Auto loans sometimes give preferential rates for hybrids or offset a car's emissions for the life of a car loan.

And green credit cards have entered the scene, donating portions of sales to environmental groups, emissions offsets and reduced interest rates for green products and services.

On the Mall from October 12-20, the U.S. Department of Energy contest features teams from colleges and universities from around the world trying to build the best solar home. Each entrant will be competing across 10 categories ranging from architectural design, to market viability and engineering. In addition to meeting home electricity, heating, and cooking needs using only sunbeams, each home must also power a small electric vehicle.

Tech innovations in these eco-estates range from foamed-filled insulators called Structural Insulated Panels (SIP's), to the modular plug-and-play design of Texas A&M's groHome, and recycled glass EnviroGlas countertops.

I toured the solar abode of The University of Colorado, the two-time defending champs. From the east, their CORE House looks a bit like a cubist painting, with its shipping container backbone, angled aluminum slab and bright green front extrusion. One of the building's innovative features is a rooftop thermal collector concealed under the photovoltaic solar panels that functions like a super-sized radiator. By using hot and cold water tanks, the system can alternately heat or cool the house as needed.

Of the ray-powered ramblers I was able to queue for/sneak into, New York Institute of Technology's OPEN House had the most elegant interior layout. It has a spacious design, with a single south-facing area of the house containing a dining room, living room and bedroom. Finishing the look are a high, angled ceiling and sleek, Ikea-style furnishings. Amenities such as the bathroom and laundry room are divided from the main living area by graphics-printed sliding screens and glass doors. The entire rear of the house is lined with wooden doors that open up to a deck stretching the length of the structure.

The houses will be judged with individual winners in each category and an overall winner based on total points. So far, first place in architecture has been awarded to Germany's Technische Universität Darmstadt, while the University of Maryland took the prize for best communications.

In all, it was an inspiration to see so many sustainable housing innovations in one place. And the fact that most of these decathlo-homes will go on to live productive lives in the real world could be a sign that the race to build green may be heating up.

Many folks believe calculating food miles, or the distance food travels from farm to plate, can let them determine the environmental impact of what they're eating. Their thinking – if it's closer to home, it probably emitted less greenhouse gas emissions into the air from transportation than something grown farther away.

But it's not always that simple, according to the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University. How things are packaged, the methods of production and the mode of transportation all play key roles in the calculation.

For example, it seems that a Maine potato would cause less negative effects on the environment for those on the East Coast than choosing an Idaho potato. But the Maine potatoes are transported in long-haul trucks while Idaho potatoes go by train, a much cleaner mode of travel. So they both actually have similar carbon footprints, even though one originates from much closer to home.

Of course, some prefer more local food because of many other reasons, such as taste or protection against allergies. But for the environment, closer to home is not always better.

Pygmies from the Democratic Republic of Congo plan to fly to Washington to complain to the World Bank about its support for logging, which was hoped to boost the economy that was ravaged by the 1998-2003 war in the former Zaire. But the pygmies, who have culturally considered themselves dependent upon and stewards of the forests, complain that the bank failed to follow its own guidelines for environmental impact assessments and on policing the logging.

Meanwhile, the Tropical Forest Trust, which promotes responsible forest management, gave the Congo Republic's northern pygmies GPS (Global Positioning System) devices to designate and map out sacred sites and hunting areas to be avoided by commercial loggers – in particular, Africa's largest logging company, Congolaise Industrielle des Bois.

But those incidents seem to clash with the bank's latest efforts. Interestingly, the bank last week approved a new fund that would pay developing countries to protect and replant tropical forests, which store carbon and prevent its release into the atmosphere.

The World Bank also stated it plans to focus on the environment, including improving access to clean energy and financing low-carbon alternatives in developing countries. Aid that could actually slow the effects of climate change on developing countries would be incredibly helpful because so many developing countries suffer from environment-related issues – causing increasing drought and famine as temperatures rise and humidity increases.

It does seem that some kinks need to be worked out in order to focus on development while also protecting cultures and the environment.

The uber-enzyme, Accellerase 1000, is actually a mixture of enzymes that reduce lignocellulosic biomass, such as plant matter and crops and grasses. These enzymes could serve as a catalyst for the commercial-scale viability of cellulosic ethanol – an extremely clean source of alternative fuel.

Cellulosic ethanol reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 85 to 90 percent when compared to gasoline, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Wood pellets are environmentally friendly and is more than three times as efficient as cordwood. Pellet fuel is a biomass product made of renewable substances, such as recycled wood waste. Plus its low moisture content allows for maximum burn and minimum particulate exhaust – which is better for air quality than woodburning stoves or fireplaces.

Pellet fuel can be used in fireplace inserts, freestanding stoves and even furnaces. Therefore, it can be used to heat specific zones in your house, allowing you to cut back your central heating. Many pellet-burning appliances rely on electricity, which according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, will rise about 4 percent this winter in costs, which is a cheaper option than propane, natural gas and heating oil.

The Pellet Fuels Institute website lets people compare fuel costs to see how pellets stack up to heating sources, such as coal, gas and wood.

Now, the National Security Space Office (NSSO) is warming to the idea of building solar-power-generating satellites. The NSSO this week released a report that recommends that the U.S. government spend $10 billion over the next 10 years to build a test satellite that would beam 10 megawatts of electric power down to Earth.

Kilometer-sized solar panel clusters would collect sunlight and then beam the power down to Earth in the form of microwaves or lasers, where it would be collected in antennas on the ground and converted to electricity.

Sure, ground-based solar panels may be more economical, but they depend on weather and daylight. Unlike solar panels on earth, solar panels in space could collect the sun's rays day and night, even during cloudy conditions.

The proposed plan would face some challenges. Lower-cost space launches are needed for the satellite that would weigh about 3,000 tons – more than 10 times that of the International Space Station. It could require more than a hundred rocket launches, while the United States currently launches less than 15 rockets a year.

Despite the odds, U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant colonel Paul Damphousse of the NSSO still maintains a sunny outlook and believes they can overcome the hurdles.

Compared to the $460 billion price tag of the war in Iraq, or compared to the 1970s-era cost of $1 trillion, $10 billion sounds dirt-cheap.