Most people have heard of wind energy or solar energy, but what about electricity created by the ebbing and rising of the tides? A firm in the UK is testing new tidal energy generators.

Lying in the North Atlantic, the British Mainland and Northern Ireland are well known for their changeable weather and windswept coastlines. In fact, the UK has some of the strongest tidal currents in the world, making it an ideal place to develop tidal electricity.

The world’s first commercial-scale tidal power turbine has just supplied the British grid with its first surge of tidal electricity. The turbine, known as SeaGen, is being tested with a view to launching full commercial operations in a few weeks time.

Report: Stephen Beard

We all know that we should do everything we can to help stop climate change. Well now there is a network that hopes to aid in that task. It encourages young entrepreneurs to come up with viable technologies to reduce emissions and combat global warming.

Encouraging people to develop and implement new technologies on a large scale to reduce emissions and combat global warming is the aim of a network called Global Focus. The project was initiated by the international conservation group WWF, with the aim of motivating young people to come up with new technologies and ideas for a sustainable future, while they are still students.

But it’s rapidly developing into a self-sustaining project with its own momentum. Jakob Rutqvist from Sweden is one of the global project leaders behind Global Focus. Living Planet met Rutqvist at an event organised by the Climate Change College and asked him how he came to be involved.

Interview: Irene Quaile

With the price of petrol these days, getting the most out of a car's engine is on every driver's mind. Eco-driving is always a good thing to learn, but now Sweden is making it a requirement to get a driver's license.

Even if we don’t all have really fuel-efficient cars, you can still reduce your fuel-consumption, just by driving differently.

In its continuing efforts to achieve the targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions set by the European Union, Sweden is targeting drivers. A new law makes fuel-efficient driving part of the test to get a licence. “Eco-driving”, as it’s called, has become part of the Swedish social contract.

Report: Alison Hawkes

A lot of people who choose to spend their summer days eating in the great outdoors won't bother to be eco-friendly about it. Most will use non-biodegradable plates and silverware, and toss them out when they're finished. One cafe in New York is hoping to show people that there are other options.

For those of us living in the northern hemisphere, it’s summer, and time for outdoor eating, either on your own patio or at one of your favourite restaurants or bistros. There’s often a strong temptation to use throwaway cutlery or crockery and forget some of your established ecological principles. But if you happen to live in New York City, you can actually do the very opposite.

The Habana Outpost is New York City’s first solar-powered, organic eatery, located in one of the trendiest areas of Brooklyn. It has an ambience all of its own - but the restaurant’s winning ingredient is its hard-core environmental convictions and practices. Going Green, it seems, is all the rage in New York. But is it simply the city’s latest trend, or the start of something that will have a lasting impact?

Report: Leah McDonnell