Interesting Ideas

Willington, County Durham: On a fine May morning, there’s no better time to look at the stunning array of ways that bees and flowers have co-evolved to interact

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a wild flower in possession of a fortune in nectar and pollen, must be in want of a pollinator,” Jane Austen might have written, had she been a botanist. All along this former railway line, on a sunny May morning, there are thousands of newly opened flowers laden with such inducements, vying for the attention of foraging bumblebees. And none delivers its pollen with such deception and violence as broom(Cytisus scoparius).

A large bumblebee arrives, settles briefly, finds no nectar and departs, leaving a deranged tangle of stamens protruding from the petals. What happened? Poking my finger into an intact flower, to mimic the visitor, there’s an explosion of pollen as 10 stamens and a coiled stigma, confined in the boat-shaped keel petal, break free. Simultaneously, they deliver and collect pollen, with a gut-punch to the insect’s furry abdomen. Bumblebees don’t seem to mind; the trap has been tripped in almost every flower on this bush.

Global study finds wrappers, bottles and lids on shorelines of 93% of countries analysed as UN talks to tackle issue in turmoil

Plastic food wrappers, bottles, lids and caps are by far the most common items of litter found on the world’s shorelines, a study has found.

Researchers looked at data from more than 5,300 surveys of coastal litter to produce the first global analysis of its kind. They found the data in 355 existing studies on the subject.

Environmental activists lock themselves to pesticide barrels in protest outside Syngenta headquarters

More than 40 people, including Greenpeace UK’s programme director, Amy Cameron, have been arrested after a protest outside pesticide company Syngenta’s Yorkshire headquarters.

A number of the activists locked themselves on to 15 blue pesticide barrels outside the headquarters, blocking the gates and leading to the temporary closure of the local A62. Activists had transformed a roundabout outside the front entrance into a giant hazard symbol carrying the message “Syngenta poisons nature” with an arrow pointing directly at the building. The action took place on World Bee day.

A helpful reader brought my attention to a story I hadn’t seen. For the most part, electric vehicle technology news out of China is all about the ridiculously rapid pace of innovation there. Range has gotten dramatically better in the past five years, or even the past couple of years, ... [continued]

The post What The Heck Is Going On With OTA Cuts To EV Range In China? appeared first on CleanTechnica.

One way to pay for wildlife conservation is to allow the rich to bag a few animals for high prices. But critics see this approach as an exercise in neocolonialism

Written and read by Cal Flyn

Here we go — the trend of Chinese electric vehicles finding their way into foreign markets continues. Europe is a top focus, of course, since it is both a major auto market and an EV-buying leader. Stellantis is an interesting beast — it’s such a huge conglomeration of auto brands ... [continued]

The post Stellantis to Build EVs for Dongfeng in France appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The trend continues — another Chinese automaker finds factory space in Europe to build electric cars there. Ford is reportedly on the verge of selling factory space in Spain to Chinese automotive giant Geely. This would be the first place in Europe where Geely would build cars. The factory space ... [continued]

The post Ford Could Sell Spanish Factory Space To Geely To Build EVs appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The US, Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia – some of the highest oil-producing nations and major greenhouse gas emitters – opposed the measure

The UN has voted 141-8 to adopt a resolution backing a world court opinion that countries have a legal obligation to address climate change, with the US – which is the world’s biggest historical emitter – among the small group opposing it.

The UN secretary general, António Guterres, said Wednesday’s general assembly vote, in which 28 countries abstained, underscored that governments are responsible for protecting citizens from the “escalating climate crisis”.

Volvo dove into electric vehicles early on, and with the EX90, it launched an all-out assault to design and build its first EV from a blank sheet of paper. The Volvo EX90 pushed a lot of boundaries for the automaker, but it hit more than its fair share of software ... [continued]

The post First Drive of the Fully Electric Volvo EX60 — CleanTechnica Field Trip appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The Chinese electric vehicle industry exploded in the past several years, but as EVs have taken more and more share of the auto market, companies have been scrapping to outcompete their EV competitors in selling automobiles. One of the big stories of the past year or so has been price ... [continued]

The post NIO & Li Auto Diverge in Chinese EV Price War appeared first on CleanTechnica.

One of our regular commenters dropped a completely non-shocking, straightforward, inconspicuous comment under an article this morning, but it jumped out at me as a really important point and topic to center an article around. First of all, another commenter, Amos Batto, wrote: “When I look at how Elon has ... [continued]

The post EVs Are For Everyone appeared first on CleanTechnica.

In light of the current crisis in Iran and broader conflicts such as the Ukraine war, the dependency of European aviation on fossil fuels and imported kerosene is clearer than ever. Countries like China are quickly catching up in the field of aerospace technologies. If we fail to look ahead, ... [continued]

The post EU Aviation Strategy — T&E Call for Evidence Response appeared first on CleanTechnica.

In the first part of this series on XPENG, I focused on how the technology company treats and develops its employees. In the second part, the focus shifts to how Automation and AI make the most of their employees, as well as how this relates to existing expectations and expectations ... [continued]

The post XPENG’s Human Approach To Technology Part 2: Automation, AI & Expectations appeared first on CleanTechnica.

A new, not-for-profit utility will help residents install rooftop solar systems with energy storage for a flat fee of $600.00 per year and no up-front costs.

The post Another Route To Rooftop Solar: The Ann Arbor Solution appeared first on CleanTechnica.

This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world

When pupils could no longer play outside, St John’s school in Barnet decided to act, enlisting Trees for Cities to help rethink its outside space

The play area at St John’s Church of England primary in Barnet, north London, used to flood so severely it was often unusable. “It would get so bad that the children couldn’t be dismissed from the playground,” says Macci Dobie, the school’s headteacher. “We had to dismiss them from different parts of the school or, literally, parents were stepping into puddles to lift their children out of the classroom.”

Because the school sits in a basin with clay foundations, rain would pool on the grey tarmac and just sit there, often denying the children a proper break for play outside.

Phenomenon, often seen around Britain’s coast at this time of year, is caused by a combination of algae and weather

At this time of year a sinister-looking substance can often be sighted around Britain’s coast: a frothy foam piled up along the shoreline or appearing in long ribbons offshore. People sometimes assume this foam is the result of pollution or sewage dumping. In fact it is a common natural phenomenon produced by a combination of algae and weather.

Sea algae start to grow in April as conditions warm. The most common sort, phaeocystis, is not toxic and forms part of the marine food chain. When the algal bloom dies it leaves a brown scum of organic material with surfactant properties, which, like soap, lowers the surface tension of the water.

The Mercedes AMG GT Coupe arrives later this year with unique battery cells based on the company's Formula One experience.

The post The Mercedes AMG GT Coupe Is An Absolute BEAST! appeared first on CleanTechnica.

As conflict in Iran sends prices soaring, fossil fuel companies are seeing extraordinary gains – but the crisis may also accelerate the shift towards clean energy

• Don’t get Down to Earth delivered to your inbox? Sign up here

A friend of mine was recently left in tears after filling up the car she relies on to drive to work. Thanks to the US-Israeli attacks on Iran, prices at the pumps have soared. She wasn’t sure how her family was going to make it to the next paycheck.

It is a personal story and a distressing one, but the big picture is truly obscene. Fossil fuel companies are raking in monstrous, unearned war profits taken from the pockets of people like you, me, my friend, and any of us who fills up a vehicle or pays an energy bill.

UK ‘built for climate that no longer exists’ and needs urgent changes to survive global heating, report warns

Rainforests pushed to breaking point by new demands for resources, report says

‘Should we leave them to die?’ The battle over how to save orangutans from the curse of palm oil

Landmark report calls for widespread air conditioning and says UK temperatures forecast to exceed 40C by 2050

• Britain must think like a hot country – otherwise inequalities will only grow

British homes will need air conditioning to survive predicted levels of global heating, the government’s climate advisers have warned in a report, as measures such as drawing curtains, opening windows and growing trees for shade are not likely to be enough.

Air conditioning should be installed in all care homes and hospitals within the next 10 years, and in all schools within 25 years, according to the Climate Change Committee (CCC), which published a major report on adapting to the impacts of global heating on Wednesday.