Michael Kanellos

The world’s most important invention—the technological breakthrough that has fundamentally changed family life for the better nearly everywhere—isn’t particularly extravagant. In fact, you probably have one.

What is it? The car? The computer? The cell phone? Not quite.

Bill Scanlon

Providing clean, renewable energy to the 1.4 billion people who are living without electricity is the No. 1 priority of the United Nations, the secretary general of the U.N. said during a visit Aug. 24 to the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory.