  Detecting HI using redshifted Ly-alpha absorption lines is 1e6 times more
sensitive than using the 21cm emission line. We review recent discoveries of HI
Ly-alpha absorbers made with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) which have
allowed us a first glimpse at gas in local intergalactic space between us and
the ``Great Wall''. Despite its mere 2.4m aperture, HST can detect absorbers
with column densities as low as those found using Keck at high-z (log
N(HI)=12.5 1/cm**2). New results that will be discussed include: the evolution
of absorbers with redshift, the location of absorbers relative to galaxies
(including the two-point correlation function for absorbers), the metallicity
of absorbers far from galaxies, and the discovery of hot 1e5-1e6 K
(shock-heated?) absorbers. The unique ability of VLA HI observations in
discovering the nearest galaxies to these absorbers is stressed.
