From the people that brought you private spaceflight and super-fuel-efficient automobiles comes the $1.4 million Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X Challenge. X-Prize officials announced today a $1 million purse for the team that can demonstrate the most efficient method of capturing crude oil from the ocean surface.

Inspired, of course, by the ongoing Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico -- which as of this writing appears to still be contained -- the new X Challenge aims to provide impetus for both venture capital and innovative talent gravitate toward next-gen oil cleanup technology. Read more »

Here's a novel way to get a little more out of time spent in the bathroom. An industrial design student at De Montfort University in Leicester, UK, has created a clever power generator that turns falling wastewater into electricity. The HighDro Power is a waterwheel-like turbine that can be incorporated into the pipes of tall buildings to turn one man's waste into another man's wattage. Read more »

The bright green energy future that surely awaits us exists in concept, but as we all know there are key pieces of technology that we still haven't quite figured out, like higher-capacity battery tech or better biofuel processing methods. Similarly, one of the key technology gaps hampering the U.S. energy grid is a lack of understanding regarding superconductors -- materials that can carry electricity with no energy loss. Now, DOE scientists may have cracked a critical part of the superconductor mystery, opening the door to a grid that can carry electrical current over great distances without drastic energy loss. Read more »

The future of spycraft looks pretty heavy, if this new Boeing plane is any indication. Adding to today's parade of pretty new planes, Boeing unveiled a hydrogen-powered unmanned aircraft system Monday that will stay aloft at 65,000 feet for four days.

The Phantom Eye is not exactly sleek, but it's one of the greenest aircraft out there -- its only byproduct is water. Read more »

Author: Frank Jotzo, ANU

If the government is re-elected, can it deliver a carbon price for Australia? Prime Minister Julia Gillard has flagged that a consensus about climate action needs to be reached first. A broad community consensus of this kind existed about two years ago, then it eroded amid a global campaign against the science of climate change, disappointment about Copenhagen, confusion about emissions trading, and political mud-slinging. But there is a clear way forward.

The temptation for the Gillard government might be to announce some climate projects before the election, and go slow on the issue after the election. But that would fail the country on a long-term issue that simply will not go away, and would guarantee political pain if the Greens hold the balance of power in the Senate, as is highly likely. Read more »