Interesting Ideas

Colombia hosted nearly 60 countries at pivotal time on world stage for fight to transition to a clean energy future

Looking out to sea from the grey sandy beaches of Santa Marta, on Colombia’s Caribbean coast, it is never hard to spot evidence of the country’s thriving fossil fuel export trade. Oil tankers ride at anchor on the horizon and sometimes, locals say, lumps of coal wash up on the shore, blown off the collier ships that carry cargos from the nearby mines.

It was here, on Wednesday evening, that the Colombian government took a bold step to shift its economy – and that of the rest of the world – away from dependence on coal, gas and oil and into a new era of clean energy. With the first ever conference on “transitioning away from fossil fuels”, the host joined nearly 60 countries determined to loosen of the grip of petrostates on the world’s future.

Elusive nightingale ‘doing well’ at Northward Hill, Kent, but experts cite concerns around loss of habitat

The dawn chorus at RSPB Northward Hill in Kent is a riot of sound: the melodic robin, the two-tone cuckoo, the whitethroat’s scratchy warble. Even the garbling geese and mooing cows from the neighbouring Thames marshes add to the symphony.

But in late April one energetic singer hogs the limelight. For a few weeks after arriving from West Africa, the nightingale spends the night – and early morning – in complex song. As it searches for a mate and marks its territory, its song is at times as sweet and tuneful as a soul singer, at others as frantic as a car alarm.

Sometimes these electric vehicle developments don’t seem real, but they are. The speed at which transportation is electrifying is almost stunning sometimes. In the Flanders region of Belgium, the transport agency De Lijn commissioned its 1,000th electric bus. Yes, that’s electric bus number 1,000 — with many more to go. ... [continued]

The post 1,000th Electric Bus Set For Part Of Belgium appeared first on CleanTechnica.

NIO’s sales figures last month were a bit mixed. Yes, as shown in the headline above, the good news is that sales were up 23% year over year (YoY). However, they were actually down month over month. With 29,356 vehicle deliveries in April, the company saw a 22.8% rise over ... [continued]

The post NIO Sales Rise 23% YoY appeared first on CleanTechnica.

In this week’s newsletter: the European pollen season is now up to two weeks longer than it was in the 90s – just one more way global heating is causing millions to suffer

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Here’s a confession that may alarm faithful readers of this newsletter: I am an environment reporter who does not love nature.

Before I get cancelled, yes, I do care about the fate of the natural world – scientists are clear that wrecking it hurts us – but the weird wonders of wildlife have always occupied a smaller place in my heart than those of most people I interview. One reason for that, I realised last week, is that hay fever has seriously dampened the pleasure I get from ambling through forests or squelching through wetlands.

BP profits more than double as oil and gas prices soar in Iran war

Inside Chornobyl: 40 years after disaster, nuclear site still at risk in Russia’s war

Nordic heatwave part of record year that saw temperatures scorch most of Europe, report finds

Birdwatching no longer niche, old-fashioned pastime, says RSPB as research shows 47% increase in hobby since 2018

Birdwatching is the second fastest growing hobby for generation Z after jewellery making, according to a multiyear study of more than 24,000 people.

Almost 750,000 gen Zers (16 to 29-year-olds) in Britain regularly enjoy watching birds, a 1,088% increase since 2018, according to research by Fifty5Blue published by the RSPB.

Vancouver has an electric fire truck. I’ve even seen it. That still sounds like a line from a pilot project brochure, but the truck is real, it is in service, and it is part of the city’s municipal fleet. I had also been looking at electric garbage trucks recently, another ... [continued]

The post Electric Fire Trucks Are Spreading, But They Lag Buses, Garbage Trucks, & Drayage Fleets appeared first on CleanTechnica.

XPENG’s sales results in April were mixed. There are some strong figures and some weak ones. There’s also a new figure I’ve never seen before. First off, total sales in April were 31,011 vehicles. That was a 13.1% increase month over month, but it was also an 11.5% decline year ... [continued]

The post XPENG Sales Speed Jumps 44.7% Following VLA 2.0 Release appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Hood Hill, North Yorkshire: From Satanic slip-ups to postwar plane crashes, stories have accumulated on this summit, just one part of an already rich landscape

There’s something special about Hood Hill, I tell my son Lochy as we begin climbing. It’s not just the pleasing symmetry, pointy summit and epic view. Not just that it has intriguing medieval earthworks and weird erratic boulders dumped long ago by wandering glaciers.

It’s more that this hill, and the moor-edge landscape it is part of – including Whitestone Cliff, Lake Gormire, Roulston Scar, various caves, a gap known as the Devil’s Stride and the more recent Kilburn White Horse –seem to spawn stories. We’ve come today on the trail of one recorded by the folklorist Thomas Gill in 1852.

BEVs reach 22% market share! Thanks to a number of factors (new, cheaper and/or better models, record high gas prices, mass arrival of Chinese models, etc.), EVs have risen to record highs in Europe, with over half a million plugin vehicles being registered in Europe in March, 349,000 of them ... [continued]

The post Record Month for EV Sales in Europe! appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Volkswagen presented the production version of the ID, Polo this week, which seeks to assume the mantle of "people's car" for a new century.

The post Volkswagen ID. Polo — The Return Of The People’s Car appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Loaded with extras and produced at a cut price, the crossover SUV has overtaken rival cars from US, Japanese and Korean firms

The UK is no stranger to foreign cars. The bestseller lists in recent years have been dominated by the US’s Ford Puma, Japan’s Nissan Qashqai, Korea’s Kia Sportage and occasionally even Tesla’s Model Y.

But in March the top 10 provided a shock: a Chinese car leapt into the lead.

Research conducted at 2022 Commonwealth Games found catering and fireworks were main causes of pollution

This summer, large-scale sporting events will take place, including the men’s football World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, but research reveals that such events have unexpected air pollution impacts.

About 6,000 athletes from 72 counties and nearly 3 million people attended the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, making it the UK’s largest sporting event since the 2012 London Olympics. More than 300,000 spectators went to the Alexander Stadium for the athletics events, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies.

Observers say pressure on IMO negotiations appears to be linked to countries that have invested heavily in gas

About a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) passed through the strait of Hormuz, a strip of sea less than 30 miles wide at its narrowest point, before it was in effect closed by the US-Israeli attack on Iran, which sent the price of oil soaring and left an estimated 20,000 seafarers on 2,000 vessels stranded.

Their plight has shone a spotlight on the complex and dirty relationship between shipping and the fossil fuel industry. The sector is one of the most polluting, with most ship engines fuelled by what has been called the dregs of the oil refining process, heavy and carbon-intensive diesel too filthy for any other purpose. Shipping produces about 3% of global greenhouse gases, a portion set to rise as trade globalises further.

The US startup Rivian has secured a $4.5 billion loan from the US Department of Energy, in support of its plans for producing EVs at scale in Georgia in 2028.

The post Rivian Emerges Victorious As Trump’s War On EVs Flops appeared first on CleanTechnica.

This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world

Between the week ending March 20 and the week ending April 24, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released a total of 17.5 million barrels of crude oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), according to data in our Weekly Petroleum Status Report. DOE released 7.1 million barrels in the ... [continued]

The post US DOE Has Released 17.5 Million Barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve since March appeared first on CleanTechnica.

A Canadian social enterprise hopes to help solve the urgent need for retrofits and shortage of skilled workers

John Mava was looking for work when a construction project started behind his house. When he visited the site and saw how different construction was in Canada compared with his native Nigeria, his interest was piqued.

“I said it would be great for me to have knowledge about this,” said Mava, who learned that in Canada, construction uses timber rather than bricks and has a focus on the environment.

The US flow battery innovator ESS will manufacture a new sodium-ion battery developed by the startup Alsym Energy.

The post A New Sodium-Ion Battery Twist In The Tale Of ESS appeared first on CleanTechnica.

America’s family farmers are facing mounting challenges. Input costs like fertilizer and diesel are going up while international markets recede and commodity prices crater. Despite these challenges, American farmers are resilient and resourceful. They make decisions every day that balance risk, reward, and long-term stewardship. They adapt to volatile commodity ... [continued]

The post Farmers Are Choosing Solar to Maintain their Farms. Localities Shouldn’t Take Away That Choice. appeared first on CleanTechnica.