Recycling has become part of everyday life in many parts of the world, but that usually means recycling things like plastics, glass and paper. We often forget to recycle valuable materials that we actually really need, like metals. A new report from the UN says less than one third of the earth’s metals have a recycling rate more than 50%.

That creates a big–and ironic–problem: the green technology we want to invest in for the future depends on those materials, so if we don’t do a better job recycling them, we might not have enough to produce the clean energy we want. The metals used in semi-conductors, LED lights, hybrid car batteries or magnets in wind turbines are all precious materials that are disappearing fast.

The message from the European Environment Agency is clear: improve the recycling rates. So how can we do a better job recycling important metals? Tell us what you think!

The FIFA Women’s World Cup will kick off in Germany on June 26th and runs until July 17th, and it looks set to be an exciting tournament with the some of the best teams and players in the world. FIFA has also made a strong commitment to making this year’s world cup a green one.

In February, the organization launched its environmental initiative “Green Goal 2011” with the aim of assessing the World Cup’s environmental impact and finding ways to reduce that impact throughout the tournament. That means organizers are monitoring things like energy and water consumption, trash disposal, transportation and food as part of an eco-friendly management system in all the stadiums.

“Fifty years ago, the single-use plastic bag was almost unheard of. Now we use them for a few minutes and they pollute our environment for decades,” says Janez Potocnik, Environment Commissioner of the the European Union. Each European uses 500 of these bags each year, most of them are used just once.  In 2008 alone a total of 3.4 million tonnes of plastic bags were produced in Europe, that makes the same weight as two million cars.

Starting this week (18. May) the European Commission is seeking a solution. The approach is planed to be made with the help of European people and the bags manufacturers. The Commission calls everyone to a online-poll. Finally a tax or a ban on plastic bags is considered. The Commission called for suggestions on how to deal with the billions of bags used in the European Union each year. The public consultation will close at the end of August.

The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) came out with a report recently that said renewable energy could make up 77% of the entire world’s energy needs by the year 2050. Yes, 77%! If that happened, we would slash one-third of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and hold global temperatures under 2 degrees celsius.

The study included a series of renewable energy forms that could contribute to a very green future: solar, hydropower, wind, geothermal, and bioenergy. So what’s the catch? Well, of course, it all depends on politics and policy. According to the study, each country has to fight political obstacles and complications to make sure environmentalism is a top priority.

What are the obstacles and complications in your country that are preventing good climate policy?

It’s been called “sexy muscular perfection” and “the bomb” by industry magazines: it’s the new Lito Sora motorcycle by Canadian company Lito Green Motion. With its sleek black and steel design and it’s powerful features, even skeptics seem to be won over by the Lito Sora.

Appearances aside, this motorbike packs a punch when it comes to performance, too. The company says the Lito Sora can go 300 km (185 miles) between recharges thanks to its 12kWh lithium battery. So you could zip through the streets for days at a time without ever having to charge up. It’s fast too–it can go up to 200 km/h (or 125 mph). There’s even a GPS system that’s already integrated into the bike’s management system: not only do you get directions, the Lito Sora tells you how much power you need to get there, too.

Who knew electric could look so good?