Ecovelocity is the biggest eco-motor show in the UK and it showcases a variety of environmentally-friendly makeovers. Basically, it focuses on how to give old cars a fresh, green look to bring them up to date with modern style and the latest clean technology for cars.

So if you want to upgrade to an environmentally-friendly car for the roads, the low-carbon motor show proves that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get what you want. The show runs from Septemer 8th – 11th in a former coal-fired power station called Battersea Power Station in London.

Hydroelectric power plants can generate vast amounts of electricity. The technology is emissions-free, reliable and safe. But large dams and hydropower facilities can sometimes create more problems than they can solve. Learn more in the latest GLOBAL IDEAS multimedia dossier http://bit.ly/GI_dossierHydro

Ikea, which is the biggest home furnishings chain in the world, has announced it’s making a big commitment to clean energy. The company has purchased a big wind farm in Scotland and plans to install almost 40,000 solar panels on its stores in the United Kingdom.

Ikea bought the 12.3 megawatt wind farm in Scotland as a way to promote clean energy use in its stores and facilities and it looks like that plan will work: the energy from that wind farm could generate 30% of the energy used by all of Ikea’s stores in the UK. And the solar panels will produce another 5% of the stores’ energy. Best of all, Ikea will end up saving money in the long-run by cutting down on all those energy bills!

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The efficient use of the rare water resources in Madagascar is a huge problem. A water-management program, set up by the WWF is not only serving to protect forests, but also helps locals use their water resources sustainably, and therefore improve their farming opportunities. 35,000 people are living on the Mahafaly Plateau,  one of the driest corners of Madagascar, and climate change poses a serious threat to people’s livelihoods.

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In the Honduran city of La Esperanza, an old dam has been refitted to produce green energy. Designed with climate protection in mind from the start, the facility was the first project worldwide that was allowed to sell carbon emission certificates after the 1997 Kyoto treaty. The re-build power supply has created 70 new jobs and it provides electricity to surrounding villages. 30,000 tons of CO2 are reduced annuall.