Automakers at the 2010 North American International Auto Show have big hopes for their new vehicles—hipper, more fuel-efficient, environmentally sound cars.

A tiny mollusk is causing breathtaking transformations of Lake Michigan and other Great Lakes, threatening a four-billion-dollar industry and the health of an entire ecosystem.

Plus: Slideshow: Quagga mussels and Lake Michigan

Developing countries use proportionally less energy than industrialized nations, but this could soon change. And it’s not just increased car use: as air conditioning becomes more widespread, energy use worldwide could soar.

For 20 years, Stanley Pollack has been fighting to get the Navajo Nation the water it deserves. It’s a battle that could change the face of the Southwest.

After years of effort, false starts, and faulty decisions, the U.S. auto industry is remaking itself. U-M, with its historic ties to the carmakers, continues to push Detroit’s technology and policy forward.

Related:

• U-M and GM open $5 million advanced battery research lab
• Video: U-M auto expert describes the latest gas-saving technologies

A U-M engineer has made a machine that works like a fish to turn slow-moving currents into clean, renewable power. The device could be far more effective than technologies that capture energy from ocean waves and tides, because most of the world’s currents are slow moving.

University of Michigan researchers are investigating a radical new design for cargo ships that would eliminate ballast tanks, the water-filled compartments that enable non-native creatures to sneak into the Great Lakes from overseas.