Crave

(Credit: Nissan)

We're on the floor at the Los Angeles Auto Show this Wednesday and Thursday, bringing you coverage of the latest launches and concept cars from the U.S., Japan, and Germany.

Our preview coverage is up, with teasers from the automakers about the Nissan 370Z and the 2010 Mustang. We also have photos of the five finalists for the LA Auto Show Green Car of the Year, as well as the LA Design Challenge. Stay with us throughout the week for videos, blogs, and photos. And if you are in Los Angeles, the show is open to the public from November 21 through the 30.

See our coverage of the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show.

Soon even more star power than usual will be absorbed by the Staples Center and Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles.

In an initiative to reduce the overall carbon footprint of the two venues, Solar Power Inc., or SPI, has been hired by AEG to install its line of photovoltaic solar-panel power systems on their roofs, beginning in October.

The Staples Center, which seats approximately 20,000, is home to the LA Lakers, LA Sparks, and LA Clippers basketball teams, the LA Kings hockey team and the LA Avengers arena football team, as well as host to concerts and events such as the Grammy Awards.

When installation is complete, approximately 24,196 feet of the Staples Center roof will be covered with 1,727 of SPI's photovoltaic modules, which include cells made by Motech Industries, adding up to a 345-kilowatt solar-power system.

The famous roof "surfboard," bearing the Staples logo, will not be removed, but rather will be incorporated into the new design, according to SPI.

The Nokia Theatre LA Live is a slightly smaller, 7,100-seat venue that has hosted the 2008 American Idol finals, the American Music Awards, the ESPY Awards, and numerous concerts. Approximately 836 photovoltaic modules will be installed, covering about 11,663 square feet of its roof and supplying a 167-kilowatt solar-power system.

"Our investment to purchase these state-of-the-art photovoltaic solar-energy systems for both Staples Center and Nokia Theater LA Live, making them the first facilities of their kind to do so at this level, reaffirms our commitment to ensuring that our venues are the most environmentally friendly in the industry," Zeidman said in a statement.

The solar installation can be added to the venues' list of "green efforts," which includes things like waterless urinals and energy-efficient fluorescent and LED lighting.

There is a 50 percent chance that Lake Mead, which was created by the Hoover Dam and the Colorado River, will go dry by 2021 because of escalating human demand and climate change, according to a study by Tim Barnett and David Pierce of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography of the University of California at San Diego.

Lake Mead straddles the Arizona-Nevada border, and Lake Powell is on the Arizona-Utah border. Aqueducts carry water from the system to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, and other communities in the Southwest.

The old high water line is at the top of the white band. This was taken two weeks ago.

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET Networks)

By 2017, there is a 50 percent chance that the reservoir could drop so low that Hoover Dam could no longer produce hydroelectric power. Water conservation and mitigation technologies and policies thus need to be implemented now, the study stated.

The disappearance of the manmade lake would create a tidal wave of ill effects for the southwestern U.S. The lake provides water for large cities like Los Angeles and Las Vegas, as well as for several agricultural interests. The power also keeps on the lights in that region of the country. Imagine Los Angeles on a summer day with sporadic air conditioning and only a trickle of water coming out of the faucet. Then imagine that goes for a week.

"We were stunned at the magnitude of the problem and how fast it was coming at us," Barnett said in a statement. "Make no mistake, this water problem is not a scientific abstraction, but rather one that will impact each and every one of us that live in the Southwest."

"Today, we are at or beyond the sustainable limit of the Colorado system," he added.

The level of the lake has been dropping for years. In the photo below, the white band marks the difference between the old high water level and the current one. It was taken two weeks ago. Barnett and Pierce estimated that there is a 10 percent chance that the lake could go dry as early as 2014. The full report will be published in Water Resources Research, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.

Barnett and Pierce examined annual river flow averages for the past 100 years, evaporation rates, climate predictions, water allocation schedules, past water demand, and future projections, among other factors. Water allocation from the dam has been a political flash point for California, Nevada, and Arizona for years.

And the estimate is conservative, the scientists state. The study goes on the assumption that human-induced climate change factors only began in 2007.

Currently, the Colorado River system, which includes Lake Mead and nearby Lake Powell, is running a deficit of 1 million acre feet of water per year. An acre foot of water is the amount of water that it would take to cover an acre of land with a foot of water. It is enough water for 8 million people.

Other studies have forecast reductions of between 10 percent and 30 percent over the next 30 to 50 years in the Colorado River system. Such a decline could affect the water supply of between 12 million and 36 million people.

Venture capitalists, scientists, and others have said water will likely be one of the first manifestations of problems associated with climate change. China and Australia have already experienced droughts and agricultural problems. Several companies specializing in water management, purification, and desalination have received venture capital investments in recent years. Some companies to keep your eye on include NanoH20 (a desalination company), Vidler Water (a water rights broker) and Altela (artificial rain. No kidding.)

In some places, conservation strategies have been implemented. In Singapore, a small percentage of the country's water comes from the NEWater program, which takes human sewage water and makes it drinkable again. In Las Vegas, the water district offers residents money to remove lawns and replace them with desert landscaping. Still, implementing these technologies has moved slow in most places in the world.

Even if mitigation factors are put in place, the study warned that may not be enough to insulate the Southwest from problems associated with droughts.

LOS ANGELES--I'm really wishing I brought my X-wing with me down here today.

As I arrived at the Los Angeles Convention Center for the opening of Celebration IV, the biggest Star Wars fan fest ever--which just happens to be timed to the 30th anniversary of the release of the original Star Wars--I saw endless numbers of people decked out in the attire of both the Empire and the Rebellion.

A Tusken Raider checks in at Celebration IV.

(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News.com)

Which made me think I should suit up and join the fight. Alas, I left my wings at home.

But anyway, there are thousands of people here, many of whom lined up all night for the chance to be among the first in the doors of the convention center--and thus, to be among the first to plop down their hard-earned dollars for endless amounts of hard-core Star Wars swag.

Near the front of the line were Janice and John Norris, a couple from Bradenton, Fla., who came here for their first-ever trip to La-La land (but their third Star Wars fan fest).

"I love the camaraderie of the people we meet here," said Janice Norris, 43, who added that she saw the first Star Wars film in Sarasota, Fla., when she was 14. It took her two months to see the film after its theatrical release.

"Ha," I thought, as I had seen the film on the very first day, in San Francisco.

But I don't think I can match the Norris' Star Wars cred. They had it on full display Thursday, as both were decked out in home-made gowns made from Star Wars bed sheets and adorned with endless buttons from the films. All six films, in fact.

And when I tried to check in at the press table, I had to stand aside as a Tusken Raider did his, er, Tusken Raider thing. Which I guess is to vogue a little bit in a menacing but fun way. I cowered in fear (OK, I didn't really).

So, here I am. There are hours of fun and excitement to go. But I don't think I'm going to be competing with the serious fans here for the life-size plush Yodas for sale. I didn't bring my X-wing, and I don't think I could beat them to it.

The midnight madness for Vista laptops.

(Credit: Michelle Thatcher/CNET)

We'll confess: When we heard CompUSA was keeping its stores open until 2 a.m. for the Vista launch this morning, we scoffed. Sure, we reasoned, people will show up at the locations where they're giving away free gadgets and food, and a visit from a pro football player will certainly draw more than your typical techie crowd. But we were convinced that every other store would be filled with the sounds of crickets chirping, accompanied by bored employees drumming their fingers on idle cash registers.

11:45pm: The CompUSA parking lot was nearly full.

(Credit: Michelle Thatcher/CNET)

But when we pulled up to the CompUSA in Culver City (Los Angeles) at 11:45 p.m., the parking lot was mostly full, and about 35 customers were inside eyeballing the new Vista machines and other products on sale. Clearly we'd been hasty in our judgment, but the question still remained: A PlayStation 3 is one thing, but who shows up at midnight for an operating system?

"It's not that I was rushing to get it," said Laurence Hilman, an attorney and real estate agent who lives in the area. "I knew I wanted it, and I'm going to be busy in the next few days, so midnight was just a convenient time for me." Hilman, who was wearing a Motorola headset to coordinate with his Rizr phone ("I usually wear the Bluetooth sunglasses--they're a little more comfortable," he said), had one copy each of Vista Business and Vista Ultimate in his cart, along with two copies of Microsoft Office 2007.

Meanwhile, Carrie Ayon and John Stephenson had walked in the door and hurried directly to the row of laptops on display. "We're third-year law students. We'll be taking the bar in July, and we need a computer that won't crash," Ayon said matter-of-factly. "You take the bar on your own laptop, and it's a timed test, so I want a reliable computer that's really fast and with a keyboard that will let me type fast." Her laptop died a few weeks ago, and she's been waiting to replace it with a Vista machine; when we left her, she was testing the keyboard on the HP Pavilion dv6000t.

Clearly no one was here for the free food.

(Credit: Michelle Thatcher/CNET)

At 12:21 a.m., about 30 people were still in the store, though most had queued up to the registers. Two women sitting on top of a display of stacked printer paper looked bored. "I listened to that trainer talk about Vista, but I didn't understand a word of it," one of the women said. "We just came here with him," said the other woman, pointing to a man nearby who was paging through the store's sale ads. When asked if he'd be buying a computer tonight, the man shook his head. "No, we wanted to see Vista. We came to find out if our computer was compatible, but it's not," he said, his voice tinged with disappointment. Suddenly, he brightened. "But we'll get a new computer soon. It's 2007, and we're going all out!"

By 12:48 a.m., only a handful of customers were left in the store, and most of the employees looked ready to go home. David Justin, a technology trainer on hand to give demonstrations of Vista to curious customers, summed up the reactions he saw during the launch event: "People aren't that impressed," he said. "Those who are here because they want to be the first person they know to own Vista, and people who work in the technology field, they know what to expect. But for the common user--there was all this hype, but they get in here, and it just looks like XP. I'm sensing a bit of disappointment."

After making a few purchases of our own (not even Crave is immune to the allure of deep discounts), we left the store about 1:15 a.m. A handful of cars still sat in the parking lot, but the streets of Los Angeles were blissfully empty as we made our way home.

Aston Martin Vantage

The winner is: Volkswagen's GTI. Automobile magazine may be published in Michigan, but it picked the VW GTI as its Automobile of the Year for 2007. Here's what our CNET car tech editors thought about the 2006 GTI.

Automobile's site won't have this information until January 7, but it released the winner's name on CNBC TV today. Its pick for best design? 2007 Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Our editors got inside a V8 Vantage at the Los Angeles Auto Show, as you can see on this video. We'll be looking over the GTI, Vantage and other hot new models at Detroit 2007 in a few days.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

General Motors will be keeping us busy this week as we report live from the exhibit floor of the 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show. Over the weekend, GM announced that it would be debuting two production hybrids in addition to its already substantial offering of new model releases and special editions.

The 2008 Buick Enclave, the 2008 Saturn Vue, and the 2008 GMC Acadia crossovers were on our radar already, but the General has thrown in a couple of extra debuts in the shape of the Saturn Aura Green Line, a hybrid version of Saturn's Euro-inspired sedan that makes use of the same assist-hybrid technology we saw recently in the 2007 Saturn Vue Green Line, and the 2008 GMC Yukon hybrid. The Yukon will use a full hybrid system, incorporating two 40-horsepower electric motors driven by a 300-volt battery pack--a system that will come to market first in the 2008 Chevy Tahoe hybrid.

GM will also be exhibiting its Chevy Equinox and Chevy Sequel fuel cell vehicles, and the company's boss, Rick Wagoner is scheduled to make a speech on Wednesday outlining his view of how hybrid, electric, and other technologies will make its cars more fuel efficient.

LOS ANGELES--When you see several sheriff's deputies approaching someone in a big crowd of people, you automatically assume something is amiss.

(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET Networks)

That was my assumption here at the Universal CityWalk, where Nintendo is having its official West Coast launch party for its new video game console the Wii.

As part of the entertainment, Nintendo hired a company which has two people riding around on Segways, each of which is decked out with a flat-screen TV and a Wii. The two will roll--literally--up to a group in line, stop, and while hovering there, allow those in line to play games wireless on the Wii.

That was the scene as I was walking around at one point. Drew Foster was the gentleman riding the Segway, and two guys in line were animatedly playing baseball on Foster's Wii when the deputies began questioning him.

Unperturbed, the guys in line kept on playing the baseball game, winding up with the motion-sensitive Wii controller, pitching, swinging and carrying on, almost heedless of the scene unfolding in front of them.

I figured things were probably generally okay, since Foster was working for a Nintendo subcontractor. But still, I wondered if maybe they didn't want him rolling around in the middle of a crowded walkway or something.

So after the cops went away, I went up and asked what was up.

He laughed and said the deputies had just wanted to know how much the Wii system cost.

"They're as big kids as anyone," Foster said.

LOS ANGELES--If you had to wait in line for 38 hours for a Nintnedo Wii, what would you do to pass the time?

Well, here at the official West Coast Wii launch, there was only a couple of folks who waited that long, but all told, there are probably 1,000 people in line, and they are choosing all kinds of things to entertain themselves.

(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET Networks)

Many have come in groups. There are countless camp chairs, though none of the makeshift tents and shelters that I saw in San Francisco on Thursday for the PlayStation 3 launch there.

The most common pastime? Eating, by far, and I feel bad for the janitorial staff that will have to clean up after these gamers.

Next up? It seems to be playing games on a Nintendo DS. In fact, there are many clusters of friends who are playing Mario Kart wirelessly against each other. The biggest appeared to be a group of eight standing very close to the front of the line.

Some other things that those in line are doing to pass the time: reading, playing cards, playing guitar, sleeping, creating art on a computer, watching DVDs on a computer, feeding babies, playing sudoku, listening to iPods and playing board games.

Of course, there are countless other choices, but those are the ones that stood out in a quick walk through up and beyond the line.

The Wiis go on sale in about 75 minutes, so I predict a quick stuffing of things into bags soon as the line gets ready to move forward.