The first building construction using non-fired building materials in Ha Noi is the Keang Nam 70-storied building. The owner of this project has transported the entire discarded constructional materials and soil from digging the foundation to Hue Quang Commerce and Technology Joint stock company (Hue Quang Company). This company will buy the discarded soil from Keang Nam to produce non-fired eco bricks and sell them back to Keang Nam. This is regarded as the model that sets the trend of using environment friendly materials in Vietnam.

Engaging in the program of cleaner production and energy efficiency in industry of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, annually, the company saves billions of dong thanks to technical improvements, energy saving and environmental protection by a series of measures: internal management, lighting system improvement, and equipment replacement.

Mercedes-Benz has already started the production of a small series of 100 Vito E-CELL electric vans and according to the company, another 2,000 units are planned for 2011.The van, targeted for particularly environmentally sensitive areas and for inner-city operations, is based on the long-wheelbase Mercedes-Benz Vito with a typical roof.

FOCOCEV Joint Stock Company in Quang Nam (Que Cuong Commune, Que Son District,) is an enterprise producing tapioca from fresh cassava. Since the typical characteristic of cassava starch factories is manual processing, wasted raw materials brought serious environmental consequences.

Success greets the research team of National Research Council’s National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT) and the University of Alberta. The plastic solar cells have now an operating life of 8 months instead of mere hours. And they are low-cost, environmentally efficient, unsealed plastic dollar cells – a green energy source.

The Sheraton Hotel won a First Energy Efficient Building Prize in 2009, which recognizes the hotel that was rebuilt to be energy efficient, green and environmentally friendly. The Sheraton Hotel was one of three buildings in Hanoi that took part in the contest and won a prize. Sheraton Hanoi has also led in applying the ISO 14.001 international environmental protection system.

As much as we all want coal as an energy source to go away completely, we also know it will take the government and private sector sometime (too long in our opinion) to fully move to clean energy sources. In the meanwhile, methods need to be developed which can minimize the impact of fossil fuel usage on the environment.

Germany already leads the world on renewable energy and could become first G20 country to kick the fossil-fuel habit. Germany could derive all of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2050 and become the world's first major industrial nation to kick the fossil-fuel habit, the country's Federal Environment Agency said today.

Asia needs to create new business/production models for green and clean development in combination with preservation of natural resources and protection of the environment. The need was addressed at seminars held on June 7, the second workday of the World Economic Forum on East Asia 2010 (WEF on East Asia 2010).

The positive trend of sustainable development has made lighting firms realize their responsibility to create “green” values with research and development, in order to develop environment-friendly products, improving life quality of people.

A research team at the DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) has developed a powerful new tool that promises to unlock the secrets of biomass degradation, a critical step in the development of cost-effective cellulosic biofuels. The details of this method were published online on June 11 in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

As an agriculture-based country, Vietnam has great potential to develop biogas in the animal husbandry sector. Statistics show that every year, cattle and poultry herds in Vietnam discharge about 73 million tonnes of droppings. Each tonne of muck can cause 0.24 tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent, which means 73 million tonnes of animal droppings will cause 17.52 million tonnes of CO2, seriously polluting the environment.

The chairman of the National Assembly’s Science, Technology and Environment Committee Prof. and Dr. of Sc. Dang Vu Minh, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Dr. Do Huu Hao, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Dr. Le Dinh Tien and the head of the Vietnam Nuclear Energy Institute Dr. Vuong Huu Tan all attended the exhibition.

In the framework of the second International Exhibition on Energy Efficiency and Environment (Entech Hanoi 2010), the Hanoi Industry and Trade Department and the Hanoi Energy Conservation Center recently organized a seminar to discuss solutions for energy efficiency in buildings.

The wind industry is trying to find a solution to the problem by working with environmental groups, federal regulators, and other interested parties. They are trying to develop methods of measuring and mitigating wind energy’s effect on birds. The Fuller Wind Turbine offers hope to bird lovers and environmentalists.

A meeting was held in Hanoi Monday for Vietnamese enterprises and firms from Maryland State, US, to seek trade partnership. The meeting, hosted by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, offered an opportunity for local firms to learn about the US technologies and latest applications in the environmental area.

But it's also one of the dirtiest with the world's 2,300 coal-fired power stations contributing around 40 percent of all man-made emissions, according to the World Coal Institute. Their continued use enrages many environmentalists who argue that we should be phasing coal out. But the coal industry is pinning its hopes on the rather oxymoronic-sounding "clean coal," which has become the umbrella term for a range of new technologies that share the aim of cleaning up coal in the 21st century. Earth's Frontiers takes a look at the options:

The Second International Exhibition of Energy Efficiency and Environment Hanoi (ENTECH Hanoi 2010), a large exhibition of this kind for the north will be held from May 27-30 at the Giang Vo Exhibition Center in Hanoi.

According to Nguyen Trong Thu, the secretary general of the Bat Trang Ceramics Association, there used to be about 700 traditional coal kilns that were in continuous operation, which caused serious environment pollution.

New energy-saving products and technologies used in daily life are gaining in popularity. CCTV reporter takes us to the Beijing International Energy Saving and Environmental Protection Exhibition to show us the latest in green technology.