Interesting Ideas

Destruction wrought by swine-borne disease is thinning the canopy of bunya pine forests and the problem is getting worse, experts say

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High up in an ancient conifer rainforest, at what was once the largest Indigenous gathering place in eastern Australia, there is sunlight where there shouldn’t be.

Among the eponymous pine trees of the Bunya Mountains, in south-east Queensland, a deadly disease has taken root. Walking through the forest, Adrian Bauwens, a Wakka Wakka man, says pockets of sunlight have replaced what is “usually quite a dense canopy where’s it’s quite heavily shaded”.

From tool library memberships to repair kits and even refurbished electronics – here are ways to give sustainable gifts this holiday season

• The 163 best holiday gift ideas for 2025, vetted by the Guardian US staff

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Here is the uncomfortable truth about gift-giving: many fun-to-unwrap baubles get used twice, shoved in a drawer, and eventually hauled off to Goodwill or the landfill. So for anyone who cares about the climate crisis or the environment, the holidays are a minefield of cognitive dissonance: you want to give loved ones something meaningful, while cringing at your own consumerism. It’s a dilemma, but it doesn’t have to be.

There are thoughtful ways to give without adding to the problem, or better yet, giving gifts that make the right kind of difference. We’re not talking about carbon credits or vague promises of planting trees – the gifts here can extend the life of things you already own, replace single-use waste, or fund conservation work directly. Some I have tested myself; others come from trusted organizations with long track records and verifiable credentials. Here are some gift ideas that you and your eco-minded recipient can both feel great about.

Solar and wind power have a lot going for them. They ease global warming stress and its climate consequences. They don’t cost as fossil fuels at utility scale, and they’re a lot less harmful to people’s health than fossil fuels. Of all of these reasons to favor solar and wind ... [continued]

The post You’d Really Miss Renewables This Winter If They Weren’t Available appeared first on CleanTechnica.

It was just several days ago that I wrote an article about Tesla launching a huge EV charging hub that runs on solar power. Today I found another one. Though, it actually launched a little before the Tesla one. It’s a new hub with 18 fast chargers for fleet vehicles. ... [continued]

The post Another EV Charging Hub Running On Renewable Energy Launches In California appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Tensions grow after research in England finds there may not be enough water for planned carbon capture and hydrogen projects

• Revealed: Europe’s water reserves drying up due to climate breakdown

Tensions are growing between the government, the water sector and its regulators over the management of England’s water supplies, as the Environment Agency warns of a potential widespread drought next year.

Research commissioned by a water retailer has found water scarcity could hamper the UK’s ability to reach its net zero targets, and that industrial growth could push some areas of the country into water shortages.

FERC is under pressure from the energy secretary to eliminate a policy that gives native people control over energy projects on their land.

The post Hydropower, Energy Dominance, And Tribal Rights appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Kia hosted the 2025 Global PBV Conversion Partners Day from November 25–27, bringing together global bodybuilders to advance the PBV ecosystem The company introduced its PBV Conversion Partnership program, which enables providing vehicle data and technical support to bodybuilders for ease of conversion Kia aims to strengthen collaboration with bodybuilders ... [continued]

The post Kia Hosts Global PBV Conversion Partners Day to Strengthen PBV Ecosystem Collaboration appeared first on CleanTechnica.

A little while back, Tesla launched a Supercharger for businesses program. Basically, it’s white label Superchargers that you can slap your own branding on. That didn’t make much sense a few years ago. A business could buy Tesla Superchargers, but it didn’t make any sense for them to not be ... [continued]

The post Tesla Business-Branded Superchargers Spotted in Florida appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Photographers Mathias BraschlerandMonika Fischercapture the families, farmers and fishers who have been forced to leave their homes by extreme weather – and the landscapes they left behind. Introduction by Dina Nayeri

In 2009, Swiss photographers Mathias Braschler and Monika Fischer set out to document the people suffering the first shocks of the climate crisis. They had just returned from China, where rapid, unregulated development has ravaged the natural landscapes. Back home, though, the debate still felt strangely theoretical. “In 2009, you still had people who denied climate change,” Braschler recalls. “People said, ‘This is media hype.’” So the couple, working with the Global Humanitarian Forum in Geneva and supported by Kofi Annan, began The Human Face of Climate Change, a portrait series that showed the people on the frontline of a warming world.

Sixteen years later, climate change is no longer up for debate; the urgent discussions now revolve around solutions. Braschler and Fischer, too, have shifted their focus. “This is going to be one of the central issues for humanity,” says Braschler, “and we want to make sure that people know that the major effect of climate change will be displacement.”

Exclusive: Concerns over impact on health and environment, as well as £1.63bn in avoided landfill tax

The UK is estimated to have at least 8,000 illegal waste sites, containing approximately 13m tonnes of rubbish, research has revealed.

The scale of the criminal dumping means at least £1.63bn of landfill taxes have been avoided, according to an analysis of data from the satellite company Air & Space Evidence, shared with the Guardian and Watershed Investigations.

Labour knows it needs to win over the ‘sea wall’ cohort of coastal voters in the next election. But as anger over inequality grows, time is running out

It is a lovely sunny autumn day in Ramsgate on Britain’s Kent coast, and quintessential seaside chippy Peter’s Fish Factory is doing a roaring lunchtime trade. Across the road, at the entrance to the town’s pier, local MP and chair of the newly reformed coastal parliamentary Labour party (PLP), Polly Billington, is having her photo taken.

In between shots she shows us the community art project that adorns the fence along the entrance to the pier. It is made up of pictures, drawn primarily by local children and young people, of the 65 little ships that set sail earlier this year from Ramsgate to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the Dunkirk evacuation.

Tweaks to state laws mean many Americans will be able to benefit from small, simple plug-in solar panels

Acquiring solar panels at home can be an expensive hassle for people in the US. But small, simple, plug-in solar panels for use on balconies are soon to become available for millions of Americans, with advocates hoping the technology will quickly go mainstream.

Earlier this year, Utah became the first state in the country to pass legislation allowing people to purchase and install small, portable solar panels that plug into a standard wall socket.

Exclusive: UCL scientists find large swathes of southern Europe are drying up, with ‘far-reaching’ implications

Vast swathes of Europe’s water reserves are drying up, a new analysis using two decades of satellite data reveals, with freshwater storage shrinking across southern and central Europe, from Spain and Italy to Poland and parts of the UK.

Scientists at University College London (UCL), working with Watershed Investigations and the Guardian, analysed 2002–24 data from satellites, which track changes in Earth’s gravitational field.

When looking at the cars from Leapmotor, I got the impression that they were attractive but a bit like vanilla ice cream. Good, but not the most flavorful. However, in the context of their partnership with Stellantis, the potential to rebrand with localized flavors on top of that “vanilla” is ... [continued]

The post Bring on the Rebadges! Leapmotor at Auto Guangzhou appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Purwell Ninesprings, Hertfordshire: A chilly evening spent interpreting rustles and admiring the silhouetted trees – now that’s what I call a bargain

I used to regard November as the D month. Dank. Dismal. Dreary. Depressing. That is, until I discovered the Dark. My conversion took place on Black Friday 2019, as I sat alone in a Bedfordshire wood under a sliver of moon.

With eyes slowly acclimatising, I started to pick out night’s nuances – the pale suggestion of leaves underfoot, a glimmer of eyes? What surprised me, though, was the sound. Behind me, the woodland stream continued flowing as loudly and vigorously as by day, yet it seemed incongruous in the darkness, as if the water should be slowing and quietening, preparing to bed down for the night. The irrepressible gushing dispelled any anthropocentric notion that the natural world is a diminished place after dusk.

Experts lay out scale of changes needed in ‘first-of-its-kind national emergency briefing’ in Westminster

A host of eminent scientists have warned politicians, business and community leaders that the UK risks severe climate-related risks to its economy, public health, food systems and national security.

According to its organisers more than 1,000 corporate bosses, senior civil servants and civic leaders were set to assemble in the Methodist central hall in Westminster for the “first-of-its-kind national emergency briefing” on Thursday morning.

The Philippine Land Transportation Office (LTO) is set to enforce a stricter crackdown on electric bikes (e-bikes) and electric tricycles (e-trikes) plying major thoroughfares, with officials confirming that violators will face automatic impoundment starting December 1. The commitment was made by LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Markus Lacanilao during the Senate ... [continued]

The post Philippines’ Transportation Agency to Impound E-bikes and E-trikes on Major Roads Starting December 1 appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Utility scale solar power plants and rooftop solar installations are providing public schools with relief from high electricity costs while bringing new educational and workforce development opportunities into the classroom...who could hate it?

The post Solar Power Benefits Public Schools, And What’s Wrong With That? appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The story of the United States corn ethanol industry is a story about a sector that grew rapidly under a very specific set of policy, technology and market conditions. It filled a gap when gasoline demand was rising, when climate policy focused on incremental change, and when EVs were still ... [continued]

The post The Coming Slow Fade of America’s Corn Ethanol Industry appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Dealing with the health and environmental risks from recycling lead used in batteries is something most car makers want nothing to do with.

The post Recycling Lead-Acid Batteries Has Significant Health Risks appeared first on CleanTechnica.