Interesting Ideas

Physical and psychological impacts of a tap water parasite outbreak continue to be felt in south Devon

• South West Water fined £1.85m over parasite outbreak in Devon

Most of the tourists milling around the busy fishing harbour or visiting Agatha Christie’s riverside holiday retreat have probably forgotten what South West Water euphemistically calls the “Brixham incident”.

But for residents at the centre of the “incident” – a parasite outbreak that caused perhaps hundreds of people in south Devon to fall ill after they drank contaminated water – the physical and psychological impacts are still keenly felt.

Bank of England says updated imagery will celebrate native wildlife while bolstering anti-counterfeit features

Puffins, dolphins and bumblebees are among the wildlife that could feature on new banknotes in the UK as the Bank of England announces its shortlist.

There has been controversy over the decision, with figures including Nigel Farage criticising the Bank for, he claimed, wanting to replace Winston Churchill with a beaver. The Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, said it was “a silly thing to do”, and Reform UK’s Farage called it “absolutely crackers”. In the end, no beaver appeared on the shortlist. Mammal options include bottlenose dolphins and red foxes.

Understanding whale sounds could help prevent strikes from ships and even aid in search for extraterrestrial life

If you stand on certain shorelines and listen carefully you might just hear deep rumbling noises. Sharp-eared fishers, lighthouse keepers and sea kayakers have been haunted by these late-night sounds for centuries and now, for the first time, scientists have recorded these thrums and pinpointed them to humpback whales, proving that whales have a far larger vocabulary than previously thought.

Fred Sharpe from the Alaska Whale Foundation and his colleagues set up land-based microphones to tune in to the mysterious ocean noises. Tip-offs from Alaskan coastal communities helped to narrow down the best recording locations. Along with the previously documented trumpets, blows and shrieks that humpback whales make, the researchers recorded very low frequency rumbles, a bit like distant thunder, and new sounds including pizzle, howl and hooting noises. The night thrums travelled through the air and could be heard up to 6 miles (10km) away.

The US home electrification startup Jetson Home has launched an ambitious plan for rapid expansion into California, where policy makers aim to install 6 million heat pumps by 2030.

The post Up To 50% Off On A New Heat Pump Installation, Says Startup appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Offshore wind projects can bring hundreds of new jobs to their host states, as illustrated by the Sunrise Wind project in New York.

The post TotalEnergies On The Hot Seat Over Offshore Wind Deal appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Pauline Hanson wants the government to take a stake in resource operations. While experts say this may sound reasonable, the devil’s in the details

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In September 2022, Pauline Hanson stood up in the Senate to berate the chamber – but she wasn’t fired up about immigration or the latest battle in the never-ending culture wars.

The One Nation leader was arguing for gas and oil exploration laws to change “to make the benefit of the Australian community a guiding principle in the interpretation of the act”.

The good EV charging news keeps coming. In Washington state, funding has been granted to install 754 new public EV chargers: 550 Level 2 charging ports and 204 DC fast chargers. The chargers will be installed by the end or near the end of 2027. There’s even more good news ... [continued]

The post 754 New EV Chargers To Be Installed In Washington State appeared first on CleanTechnica.

​The first heatwaves of the season reveal how ​ill-prepared governments across the continent are to protect people from increasingly dangerous temperatures

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Meteorological summer has begun, ushered in with scorching heat that struck before spring was up. Although western Europe is nowmostly free from last week’s heat dome – which shattered temperature records for May in the UK and Ireland – it is already bracing for yet another sweltering summer. Oppressive days, restless nights and furious fires are brewing. On Tuesday, the World Meteorological Organisation warned us all to prepare for the imminent return of the warming weather pattern El Niño.

Scientists have not worked out how many people died during thislatest bout of hot weather, but one environmental epidemiologist’s early modelling pegged it at 250 extra deaths in the UK alone on the weekend before temperatures peaked. The full death toll is likely to be particularly high because the heat struck before people had properly adjusted their behaviour to stay safe in the heat.

UN agency predicts phenomenon that supercharges weather extremes has 80% chance of forming before September

The world must prepare for the imminent return of El Niño and the supercharged weather extremes it brings, the UN has warned.

The powerful natural weather pattern, which raises global temperatures and worsens some rainfall, has an 80% chance of forming before September and a 90% chance before November, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Tuesday.

Campaigners say builders’ demolition of nest site highlights weak protection of wildlife from development

A building that was a noted nesting site for swifts, among the UK’s most at-risk birds, has been demolished during the nesting season, highlighting significant weaknesses in the protection of wildlife from development, campaigners say.

Contractors for the housebuilder Hill Group carried out the demolition of Regent House near Dorking station in Surrey over the last few weeks, during the nesting season which runs from 1 March to 31 August.

My mother cooked for our family with a post-World War II mindset. Bacon and eggs for breakfast. Wonder Bread sandwiches with one slice of American cheese and another slice of ham. Supper typically would be Shake-n-Bake chicken, mashed potatoes, and a canned vegetable, or hamburger and reheated frozen french fries. ... [continued]

The post How Today’s Media Influence The Ways We Perceive The Food System On Which We Depend appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Perhaps all the talk of US EV sales crashing was a bit premature! Or perhaps Hyundai has just decided to buck the trend and go its own way. We’ll get much more insight in the coming month when we get more sales data, but, for now, we can say that ... [continued]

The post Hyundai IONIQ 5 Sales Up 28% in USA! appeared first on CleanTechnica.

BYD’s passenger vehicle sales may be in a transitionary moment, going from year-over-year drops in the beginning of the year to a big sales rise in the second half of the year. In May, they were basically flat year over year. However, on the commercial vehicle side of the business, ... [continued]

The post BYD Commercial Vehicle Sales Jump in May appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Tebay, Cumbria: Some of my ancestors were fell pony hauliers and our farmhouse used to be a coaching inn. Might they have called in for a drink?

There is always some waiting around at lambing and calving time, so I like to have a project ongoing. Some years I have written books; this year I’m researching my family tree, in particular whether any of my ancestors may have visited Low Borrowdale farm when it was a coaching inn in the 18th century. I knew they had been involved in fell pony haulage around the north of England, but could they have called in here for a drink?

I’m mainly investigating the Binks family – my maiden name. Almost within living memory, there is my grandad’s grandad, George Binks, a fell pony haulier who lived in Great Asby from 1862 to 1934. My grandad told me which house he lived in, eight miles from our farm. Two more generations of George Binkses take us to 1785, when one was born in Middleton-in-Teesdale and died in 1840 at Kirkby Stephen, 11 miles away.

Like its close cousin Hyundai, Kia didn’t get the memo that electric vehicle sales are supposed to be dropping in the United States. In the month of May, the Kia EV6 did see a slight decline year over year, dropping 13% from 801 in May 2025 to 708 in May ... [continued]

The post Kia EV Sales Rise in USA appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The irony of the energy transition is sometimes found not in a showroom, but on a siding track. While putting the BYD Shark through its paces on the dusty backroads of Laguna, I found myself face-to-face with another hybrid machine — one that predates the Shark by nearly a decade ... [continued]

The post A Tale of Two Hybrids appeared first on CleanTechnica.

VinFast Southeast Asia Chief Executive Officer Antonio “Toti” Zara said the Vietnamese electric vehicle maker is keeping a close watch on the Philippines’ emerging electric bus market, although it is not yet ready to introduce its e-bus lineup locally. Speaking on the future of sustainable mobility in the country, Zara ... [continued]

The post VinFast Sees Opportunities in Philippine Electric Bus Market appeared first on CleanTechnica.

It’s been a long time coming, but Waymo is finally rolling out the Ojai, a Zeekr-produced robotaxi model, for passenger trips. It definitely looks more rider-friendly than a typical SUV like the Jaguar I-PACE Waymo has been using. And it’s got a fun, inviting look to it. It does look ... [continued]

The post Waymo Rolls Out the Ojai! appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Governments urged to act to prevent potentially disastrous impacts on human resistance to medicines

The use of antibiotics on livestock will rise by nearly a third in the next 15 years without government intervention, according to new global estimates, with potentially disastrous impacts on human resistance to essential medicines.

Animal husbandry accounts for close to three-quarters of global use of antimicrobial medications and in many countries their use is poorly monitored. Some herds are routinely dosed and in many countries antimicrobials are used to increase the growth of animals bred for meat.

Investigation reveals regulator let firms off the hook on cleanup bonds despite backlog that will take decades to clear

When Christiaan van Woudenberg moved to Erie, Colorado, in 2007, he never imagined he would become an anti-fracking activist. He simply thought he was buying his dream home – a four-bedroom with a panoramic mountain view, 30 minutes north of downtown Denver.

Then, in 2014, the drilling started. Oil and gas rigs sprang up, some just 800ft (240m) from his bedroom window. The dream turned to nightmare: loud noises rumbled all night long, and the air stank like exhaust. Neighbors started getting headaches and nosebleeds, and Van Woudenberg developed new respiratory issues. He kept his windows shut and worried about his daughters going outside.