Researchers are applying the principles of green chemistry ? using fewer or alternative materials for more efficient, eco-friendly results ? and the advantages of nanotechnology and microsystems to "do things green from the get go."

A hybrid turbine that generates electricity from coal mine waste could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, perhaps one day making coal nearly as clean a fossil fuel as natural gas, according to Australian scientists.

Researchers at the University of California at Santa Barbara are researching nanotechnology to develop new techniques and technologies for the conservation of natural resources and environmental restoration.

Nanotechnology, which is advancing faster than researchers originally predicted, could make the world a less-polluted place and help sustain its burgeoning population.

For scientists who study it, nanotechnology is considered a clean technology - perhaps even the key to solving some current environmental ills. And the field is advancing rapidly.