Energy is the lifeline to prosperity and growth of infrastructural development in any country. The energy thus would need to be ensured for its availability on sustainable basis. The demand of energy is growing at a very fast rate and the energy sources are becoming scarce and costlier day by day. In the power sector alone, we need to add over 100,000 MW of additional generating capacity in Xth & XIth Plans to meet the power on demand by 2012. This would necessitate mobilization of nearly Rs.8000 million investments by the year 2011-12 which is a very daunting challenge before the country.

Among the various strategies to be evolved for meeting energy demand, efficient use of energy and its conservation is by far the least cost option. The steps to create sustainable energy system begin with the optimal use of resources. Energy efficiency improvement is the mantra that leads to achieving sustainable energy systems.

I used to joke that the government issues so much information every day, it can’t help but let the truth slip out every once in a while. The Bush Administration’s recent report on global warming is a classic example. Though far from perfect, it contains some crucial but awkward truths that neither George W. Bush nor his environmentalist critics want to confront. Which may explain why the Administration has sought to bury the report, while critics have misrepresented its most ominous conclusion.

The US Climate Action Report made headlines because it contradicted so much of what the Administration has said about global warming. Not only is global warming real, according to the report, but its consequences – heat waves, water shortages, rising sea levels, loss of beaches and marshes, more frequent and violent weather – will be punishing for Americans.

Cars are major contributors to one of the most serious problems the world experiences today – air pollution. The growing number of cars is estimated to reach nearly a billion in the next five years, indicating a massive production of carbon dioxide and other pollutants. Even with an efficient exhaust system, a car that’s been idling for more than 10 seconds significantly adds to the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Experts in automobile designs are attempting to reduce automotive industry’s contribution to pollution in different ways. One of the most recent eco-friendly automotive innovations is the invention of hybrid vehicles. Hybrid vehicles, which have become popular among many vehicle owners, are cars that produce fewer emissions through the use of electric motors.