Energy resources exist in different forms - some exist as stocks and are exhaustible, others exist as flows and are inexhaustible. The effects of climate change, and the impact that greenhouse gas emissions have on the atmosphere, are ushering in a reassessment of where our energy supply comes from and, more importantly, how sustainable it is.

The EcoVision Lab at ETH Zurich is developing a tool that can accurately map biomass - all over the world - using remote sensing data. They hope it will make land-use planning more objective, transparent and environmentally-friendly, as well as protecting forests and biodiversity throughout the globe. We spoke to two of the brains behind the project.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute in Dresden have come up with a way of turning the CO2 produced by biogas plants into a versatile organic wax. That means good news for both alternative energy and the cosmetic industry.