$4 Billion Worth of Power Used In Standby Mode

'Vampire' Sucks Power

A force as insidious as Dracula is quietly sucking a nickel of every dollar's worth of the electricity that seeps from your home's outlets. Insert the little fangs of your cell phone charger in the outlet and leave it there, phone attached: That's "vampire" electronics. Allow your computer to hide in the cloak of darkness known as "standby mode" rather than shutting it off: That's vampire electronics. The latest estimates show 5 percent of electricity used in the United States goes to standby power, a phenomenon energy efficiency experts find all the more terrifying as energy prices rise and the planet warms. That amounts to about $4 billion a year.

Vision Of A Students Day

Limited Resources and Over Populated

UN Issues 'Final Wake-Up Call'

The human population is living far beyond its means and inflicting damage on the environment that could pass points of no return, according to a major report issued Thursday by the United Nations. Climate change, the rate of extinction of species and the challenge of feeding a growing population are among the threats putting humanity at risk, the UN Environment Program said in its fourth Global Environmental Outlook since 1997. "The human population is now so large that the amount of resources needed to sustain it exceeds what is available at current consumption patterns," Achim Steiner, the executive director of the program, said in a telephone interview. Efficient use of resources and reducing waste now are "among the greatest challenges at the beginning of 21st century," he said.

Diet May Not Be Your Choice

Diet Choices 'Written In Genes'

Our genes and not just our upbringing may play a key role in our food likes and dislikes, UK researchers believe.

Obesity A Global Issue

Obesity 'epidemic' Turns Global

People are getting fatter in all parts of the world, with the possible exception of south and east Asia, a one-day global snapshot shows. Between half and two-thirds of men and women in 63 countries across five continents - not including the US - were overweight or obese in 2006

Israel Must Be Ready

Meridor: We Must Be Ready

Israeli Ambassador to the US Sallai Meridor declared Monday that Israel should always be prepared "to preempt, to deter and to defeat if we can" when speaking about the threats facing the country. Chief among those threats was Iran, said Meridor, who called for a unified international as well as domestic American front to counter the Islamic Republic's nuclear ambitions.

Chinese Space Weapon

China To Test Space Weapon

A Chinese submarine will send test signals that could change the course of a satellite when China launches its first moon orbiter, as part of the country's effort to develop space war technology, a human rights watchdog said Tuesday.

Cheney: US Will Not Let Iran Go Nuclear

Cheney: US Will Not Let Iran Go Nuclear

The United States and other nations will not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon, Vice President Dick Cheney said Sunday. "Our country, and the entire international community, cannot stand by as a terror-supporting state fulfills its grandest ambitions," Cheney said in a speech to the Washington Institute for Near East Studies. He said Iran's efforts to pursue technology that would allow them to build a nuclear weapon are obvious and that "the regime continues to practice delay and deceit in an obvious effort to buy time."

World War 3 If Iran Allowed To Go Nuclear

George Bush Warns Putin

President George W Bush has raised the spectre of "World War Three" breaking out if Iran was allowed to acquire nuclear weapons. Mr Bush was speaking hours after Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, proposed an end to the crisis over Iran's nuclear programme at a meeting with his Iranian counterpart in Teheran. Mr Bush said: "We've got a leader in Iran who has announced that he wants to destroy Israel. "So I've told people that, if you're interested in avoiding World War Three, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."

$100 Per Barrel Around The Corner

Oil Hits New High At $90

After a breathtaking week in which crude prices notched records every day, oil pierced the $90 US mark for the first time Friday and opened the door for a run to triple-digit territory. Oil prices have charged ahead almost $12 US -- about 15 per cent -- in the past two weeks on fears of a winter supply crunch and a weakening U.S. dollar, combined with renewed tensions in the Middle East. A hundred dollars is going to happen, the question is when," Phil Flynn, an analyst with Alaron Trading in Chicago, said in an interview. "There's still some variables out there. . . If we do get an event or a disruption of supply we could see $100 next week."