Interesting Ideas

Hove, East Sussex: Loading it up with many different species – oak, elder, hazel, willow and birch – has turned it into a thriving ecosystem

In the garden, the log pile is a whole world. I hear frogs croaking from within it, I watch wrens foraging for insects. It’s a mixture of different species: apple from neighbours who were cutting a tree down, walnut from a pollarded giant at the allotment, hawthorn lost to a storm.

There’s also oak, elder, hazel, willow and birch. I stop tree surgeons and ask if I can take a log or two, replacing the sadness of another felled tree with the hope of the life its dead wood will support. I like taking new logs home for my log pile.

It’s no secret our planet is heating up. And here’s the evidence: we’ve just experienced the 11 hottest years on record, with 2025 being the second or third warmest in global history. The annual State of the Climate report, published today by the World Meteorological Organization, suggests we’re still too reliant ... [continued]

The post The Latest World Climate Report Is Grim, But It’s Not The End Of The Story appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Although homes can have a mix of bulbs for indoor lighting, 90% of U.S. households reported using light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs, according to the most recent results of the Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS). Over one-third of households (37%) used LED bulbs for all indoor lighting. In contrast, 5% of households reported ... [continued]

The post More U.S. Homes Used LEDs Over Other Bulb Types For Indoor Lighting In 2024 appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Jay Leno provides a great service on his YouTube channel with a great number of informative and entertaining videos about all kinds of vehicles. In this long one, he converses with top-level Tesla employees and drives a Tesla Semi! What stands out is the fact that Jay looks like he ... [continued]

The post Jay Leno Takes A Spin In The Tesla Semi (Video) appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Choke points are everywhere in the global economy. The closing of the Strait of Hormuz to shipping shows how dangerous they can be.

The post Choke Points Are The Enemy Of Globalization appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Vast journeys, among world’s great wonders, found to be under threat as freshwater fish populations crash by 81%

“It’s very hard to imagine what’s going on beneath the water when you look at a river – but you have billions of fish making these epic migrations, some of the largest animal migrations on Earth,” said Dr Zeb Hogan, at the University of Nevada in the US.

The longest migration of any freshwater fish species is that of the dorado catfish, which makes a migration of 7,000 miles (11,000km), from spawning in the foothills of the Andes to feeding in the Amazon estuary and back again. The silver-gold fish themselves were incredible, said Hogan: “They get to about 2 metres long.”

The fishery is regulated but experts say it is wrecking the food chain. Gordon Peake joined a Sea Shepherd mission to observe the giant ships compete for catch

It is bitterly cold on the deck of the Allankay and the bosun, Luca Massari, is checking that none of us are wearing contact lenses before we descend into Antarctic waters. There is a risk, he warns, that lenses will freeze solid over the eyes. Massari himself is prepared for his surroundings. He is wearing thick goggles that make him look like an Olympic ski jumper.

Massari is a burly, heavily tattooed veteran of the environmental organisation Sea Shepherd, which campaigns against exploiting the oceans. His deck team are preparing to launch the ship’s small boat, which Massari will helm. Eight of us are bundled in bright red dry suits, helmets and lifejackets; the average time to survive hypothermia in this wind-whipped water is just five minutes.

The Allankay sailed to Coronation Island from New Zealand to document the krill fishing. Photograph: Alice Bacou/Sea Shepherd

Zoox has hit a milestone moment, by far our largest to date. Today, we are announcing our plans for service expansions across multiple markets, as well as introducing new product and service features. We are gearing up to expand our service in San Francisco and Las Vegas, and to begin ... [continued]

The post Zoox Hits Big Milestone appeared first on CleanTechnica.

GB Energy’s Jürgen Maier says production could bring economic benefits and give supply chains ‘time to transition’ to renewables

The head of the UK’s national green energy champion has joined other high-profile renewable energy leaders in making the case for more North Sea oil and gas production as the government braces for an energy cost crisis.

The GB Energy boss, Jürgen Maier, used a social media post on LinkedIn to reject the claim that more North Sea oil and gas could help to bring down energy costs, which have soared as the war in Iran has escalated.

Regulator for England lacks powers to deal with what the public accounts committee calls an ‘out-of-control plague’

The Environment Agency is too weak to tackle an “out-of-control plague” of waste dumping, a powerful group of MPs has said.

The public accounts committee (PAC) said the EA had gaps in its powers and intelligence gathering which meant it was not set up to deal effectively with the rise in waste dumping.

The U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran took a dangerous turn on March 18, 2026, with tit-for-tat strikes on critical energy infrastructure that amount to the most serious regional escalation since the conflict began. First, an Israeli drone strike targeted facilities at Iran’s Asaluyeh complex, damaging four plants that treat gas from the offshore South ... [continued]

The post Targeting of Energy Facilities Turned Iran War into Worst‑Case Scenario for Gulf States appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Waymo’s biggest argument for why it should exist and why it needs to grow is that it protects human life. While you can claim Waymo hasn’t logged enough miles to prove anything, it does have nearly 200 million fully autonomous miles under its belt and the stats so far imply ... [continued]

The post Waymo: 13x Lower Rate of Serious Injury or Fatality appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The report also recommends government do more to make tech companies liable for ‘psychosocial harms’

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Australia’s climate change and energy “information ecosystem” is fuelling conflict in communities, with misinformation and disinformation confusing the public, slowing renewable energy projects and undermining policy responses to the climate crisis, a cross-party Senate inquiry has concluded.

The inquiry’s final report, released on Tuesday evening, recommended the government do more to make tech companies liable for “psychosocial harms” spread on their platforms.

Hawaiʻi’s debate over importing liquefied natural gas has turned on a state study that was supposed to show whether LNG could lower electricity costs on Oʻahu while serving as a bridge to a cleaner system later. The scenario sold for the past year turned out to be based on a ... [continued]

The post Hawaiʻi’s Latest LNG Plan Rests On Assumptions That Do Not Survive Scrutiny appeared first on CleanTechnica.

BYD’s premium Denza brand recently announced a naming competition for its upcoming sports car. While branding may not be the most critical clean technology issue facing the world right now, it can make a surprising difference in customer adoption, especially for vehicles from one market entering another market that has ... [continued]

The post Denza Z Naming Competition: What Would You Name It? appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Residents reported headaches, eye and skin irritation and breathing difficulties as Israeli bombings blanketed Tehran with pollutants

• Middle East crisis live – latest updates

Satellite images of Tehran show toxic fires caused by Israeli bombings on oil depots were still burning days after the strikes, which have caused fears of serious health complications for millions of residents in the Iranian capital.

Clouds of smoke from bombings on 7 March on multiple facilities blanketed the city with pollutants ranging from soot to oil particles to sulphur dioxide. Hours later, a passing storm showered Tehran with poisonous, oil-filled rain.

Induction stoves have been one of our favorite technologies these past few years. In the latest episode of Cleantech Talk, Copper founder & CEO Sam Calisch joined Scott Cooney to discuss how battery-equipped induction stoves are redefining what it means to electrify the kitchen, making clean cooking possible without expensive ... [continued]

The post Battery-Equipped Induction Stoves: A New Path to Clean Home Electrification appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Exclusive: UK regulator makes U-turn over TalkTV and TalkRadio complaints after claims it let some broadcasters ‘spout dangerous climate lies’

A U-turn by the UK’s broadcasting regulator Ofcom means it will investigate complaints of climate change denial on television and radio for the first time since 2017. The move marks a victory for campaigners who have accused the regulator of allowing some broadcasters “to spout dangerous climate lies” and “flout” rules on accuracy and impartiality.

Complaints about programmes on TalkTV and TalkRadio were assessed by Ofcom, which then decided not to investigate, the same result as more than 1,000 other climate complaints since 2020. However, after a letter from the Good Law Project (GLP) in January, requesting an explanation for the rejections, Ofcom said it had withdrawn its original decision and would “consider afresh” the complaints.

Sixty years after the discovery of a colony of Juan Fernández fur seals, previously thought to be extinct, a landmark agreement extends ‘no take’ zone around the wildlife-rich archipelago

Six decades ago, pioneering oceanographer and conservationist Sylvia Earle made a bittersweet discovery while diving off Chile’s oceanic islands with the US National Science Foundation vessel, the Anton Bruun. She found the remains of a baby fur seal, one of the world’s most isolated aquatic mammals.

Endemic to the Juan Fernández archipelago, in the Pacific Ocean, and once prized for its fur and meat, the species, Arctocephalus philippii, was believed to have been hunted to extinction in the 19th century. But, Earle said: “A baby must have a mum and dad somewhere.”

Pioneering oceanographer and conservationist Sylvia Earle. Photograph: Andy Mann/Blue Marine Foundation

Constituents’ frustration with Richard Tice reflects growing problem for party and its leaders’ climate-sceptic stance

“The worst part of it was the smell,” says Audrey Crook, 58. A full-time carer who lives with her 20-year-old son, Crook woke up at 11pm one night to find a foot of flood water on the ground floor of her home. “It was like black water. It had sewage and everything in it, it was absolutely disgusting.”

Crook’s home – along with more than 30 others on Wyberton West Road and Park Road in Boston, Lincolnshire – was flooded in January last year when heavy rain swept across the region, raising river levels and exceeding flood defences.