DESERTEC - New Concept for the future

I just heard about this concept: using the energy created by solar panels built in the desert to supply energy to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. This is a huge project that still needs support and funding, but the rewards are enormous: creation of new jobs in both Europe and North Africa, and incredible economic growth in both regions, and a sustainable renewable energy resource that will create more energy for the electrical grid in these countries. If you want to learn more about this project, please check their website: http://www.desertec.org/en/concept/

Scientific American - "Chinese and American utilities to cooperate in capturing carbon from coal"

The US and China are collaborating efforts in order to burn coal more cleanly and protect the atmosphere from the poisonous Greenhouse Gas emissions. Their methods include the popular "carbon capture and storage technology. China has been notorious for its addiction to building new coal plants and burning this dirty fuel into the atmosphere and emitting tons of carbon emissions into the air. This is big for China and also the US because both countries are big players in this controversial fuel source.
While the cost of carbon capture and storage technology is huge, these companies are now factoring in the future cost of paying for excessive carbon emissions in the atmopshere with the passage of a more aggressive carbon tax or cap and trade scheme and realizing that investing in technologies now may prove financially smart for them in the near future.

According to SCIAM: "the U.S. gets roughly 50 percent of its electricity from coal, while China gets more than 70 percent of its power from coal".