We wanted to share an interesting article we found on the Wall Street Journal today about the costs of going green. Across Europe, towns and cities are investing in sustainable architecture – buildings that run on clean energy, like solar or wind power.

The article says even though we might assume eco-friendly buildings will save on energy bills and increase property values, that hasn’t actually been proven yet. The costs of constructing green buildings is in itself quite expensive, and it’s too soon to back up the claim that the investment pays off in the end.

So is Europe moving too fast with its boom in green construction? Or will lower utility bills and higher property value will make up for the costs quickly? Let us know what you think…

Hundreds of children attend the schools of the Muni Seva Ashram in the Western Indian state of Gujarat everyday. Their school meals used to be prepared over wood fires. Now a new project harnesses the power of the sun for the school canteen. In our first gallery on our blog we are taking you back to one of our first reports for GLOBAL IDEAS. We hope that you enjoy these pictures.

Immerse into a completely different world! Get into the latest GLOBAL IDEAS interactive multimedia adventure. You will be visiting the people and the streets of the Mangueira neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro. – Mangueira. The Webdocumentary. Coming soon.

The Solar Impulse project of Betrand Piccard and pilot André Borschberg is aiming to let a solar powered plane circle the world by 2014 at the latest. In his latest test flight – the first international one – Borschberg headed from Payerne airport in Switzerland to Brussels in Belgium.

GLOBAL IDEAS talked to André Borschberg while he was cruising 3,800 meters abover Switzerland. Listen to what he had to say:

Have you ever heard about the small Danish island called Samsø? It's home to only 4,000 people and stretches over about 103 square kilometers of land…and it's 100% energy self-sufficient! Using a combination of offshore wind power, solar energy and biofuels, Samsø has created a green haven, cutting CO2 emissions by an incredible 140% in just 10 years.

 

The model has been so successful that Samsø even exports energy to mainland Denmark and acts as a model for other islands that are interested in developing renewable energy. It's become a local attraction, too: around 20,000 people flock there during the summer. So what can the rest of the world learn from Samsø? Is a completely energy efficient life possible in bigger regions with large populations, too?