After winning independence over the weekend, The Republic of South Sudan is the world’s newest country. Even though the nation is just starting out, it’s rich in natural resources and has huge potential to grow and prosper – especially when it comes to clean energy.

One of the World Bank’s chief technicians, Daniel Kammen, took a video of South Sudan’s Fula Rapids while he was on site recently. The force and power of the White Nile River’s rapids make them the perfect source for hydropower. Some experts believe the Fula Rapids alone could produce 60 megawatts of electricity – and that in a country that generates less than 200 megawatts total right now.

Because South Sudan is largely undeveloped, officials there have the chance to start from the very beginning with renewable energy generation and green-friendly development practices. But one big question remains: will renewable energy projects benefit the country’s poor, too? Or will its new-found natural wealth end up in the hands of the few?

Today we launched the official GLOBAL IDEAS flickr-channel! To celebrate the start we give away our great usb-flash drives to the first ten of you, who send us a GLOBAL IDEAS-like picture. This could be a photo of the landscape or animals you see, climate saving projects, nice and green stuff that matches the idea behind GLOBAL IDEAS.  Email to ideasforacoolerworld@gmail.com and we will get in touch with you.

stay tuned for more GLOBAL IDEAS on:
http://www.ideasforacoolerworl​d.org/
http://www.twitter.com/dw_glob​alideas
http://blogs.dw.com/globa​lideas

We conducted this interview a few days ago with C. B. Bhattacharya. He is responsible for the ESMT Sustainable Business Roundtable (SBRT) in Berlin. C. B. Bhattacharya talks about the progress of green industries, the phenomenon of greenwashing and the important role of social media in the process.

Have you heard about the new Coca Cola billboard in the Philippines? The famous soft-drink company teamed up with the World Wildlife Fund to create a huge, environmentally-friendly billboard that’s actually alive!

It’s made up of 3,600 small tea plants that suck in harmful air pollutants from the surrounding atmosphere, and the plants themselves are placed in pots made of recycled Coke bottles.

What do you think? Is this an effective way of raising awareness and saving the planet?
One official from the project says the billboard can soak up 46,800 pounds of CO2 – especially important in the Philippines, where air pollution is a big problem.

Here’s an interesting story from the United Arab Emirates: Mcdonald’s restaurants across the UAE are making a unique contribution to the environment. They’re taking the oil used to make those famous Mcdonald”s French fries and sending it to the region’s first biodiesel factory. That oil will power the company’s fleet of specially-adapted trucks!

A company in Abu Dhabi called Neutral Group made a deal with Mcdonald’s to take oil from all 80 of its restaurants in the Emirates and convert it into fuel at a special factory in Dubai. That factory is expected to start producing around 1 million liters of fuel, with the chance to expand in the future. Not a bad way to stretch a little more use out of French fries!