Interesting Ideas

Proposal would leave investors with less information about climate risks while advancing legal theory that could weaken corporate disclosure more broadly. Proposal would leave investors with less information about climate risks while advancing legal theory that could weaken corporate disclosure more broadly WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission today formally ... [continued]

The post SEC Formally Proposes Rescinding Climate Disclosure Rule, Deepening Retreat From Investor Protection appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Most cities are flat, or if there are elevation differences, they are typically gradual. In these cases, these cities are well suited to traditional means of public transit, such as buses or subways, which is why they are so plentiful. Some cities, however, have rapid elevation differences, which cause public ... [continued]

The post The Successes & Failures of Gondola Transit Systems (The Good Outweighs the Bad) appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Ian Hughes is boosting one of the continent’s most at-risk species with science, his sons and some homemade T-shirts

Ian Hughes and his son, Ben, are driving through the hills of north Wales with an array of homemade animal artefacts rattling around their car: diagrams, plaster casts, hand-printed T-shirts. They finally reach Llyn Tegid – Bala Lake in English – where, knee-deep in the water, Ian brandishes two glutinous snails.

It is a mollusc the size of a fingertip. It is also one of Europe’s most endangered species, which Ian has dedicated himself to protecting. “It’s beyond passion,” he says. “It’s an obsession.”

Temperatures across parts of continent around 10-15C above average for this time of year, while thunderstorms strike eastern Australia

Europe has experienced an exceptional heatwave this week, with temperature records broken across multiple countries under a persistent area of high pressure, commonly referred to as a “heat dome.” The UK surpassed its May maximum temperature record on Tuesday, with 35.1C recorded at Kew Gardens, London.

This broke the record set only the day before, with 34.8C recorded in London on Monday. Previously, the maximum May temperature record was 32.8C, recorded in 1922 and then matched in 1944. Ireland also broke its May maximum temperature, with 28.8C recorded at two weather stations – in Killarney in the south-west and Clonmel in the south.

This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world

In the last century, industrialized farming has killed off delicious food – but a brigade of chefs, breeders and farmers are fighting to bring it back

Bill Tracy is clearly not one to brag, but after a while, it seems he just can’t help himself. “I did come up with something absolutely amazing actually,” he says softly. “Really quite amazing.”

Tracy has spent the last 40 years in the fields of Wisconsin as one of the US’s leading sweetcorn breeders, tasting up to 300 ears a day in search of the perfect corn that might one day sizzle on barbecues across the country.

In the week when the hottest May days were recorded, environment editor Fiona Harvey examines a new Climate Change Committee report on how the UK can better withstand extreme heat

Temperatures across the UK and Europe this week have shattered May heat records. As the environment editor Fiona Harvey points out: we might expect heatwaves in July and August – but 30C in spring?

Fiona talks to Nosheen Iqbal about a report from the Climate Change Committee warning that the UK is unprepared for extreme heat – the new normal – and explores a range of possible solutions to help keep the country cool, from tree-planting to heat pumps and scaling up renewables.

American car company Buick, huge with grandparents back when I was a kid, has released a very cool looking new sedan, the Buick Electra L7 BEV. Unfortunately, it won’t be available in the US. It’s a model developed solely for China. Of course, as things have evolved over time, Buick ... [continued]

The post The Buick Electra L7 BEV Looks Awesome — But Only For China appeared first on CleanTechnica.

On May 28, the California Energy Commission announced $55.2 million in new funding through the California Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project. The funding is to be used for expanding public EV fast charging infrastructure in California. Over 201,000 public EV chargers are operating in California, but most are Level 2 chargers, ... [continued]

The post Over $55 Million Announced To Expand California Public EV Fast Charging appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The births, fledgling flights and even first dates on Robert Fuller’s site are about to hit a million global subscribers

Having enjoyed setting up bird boxes with his father as a child, the wildlife artist Robert Fuller wanted to go one step further. While he happily spent hours making the boxes and dotting them around the Yorkshire Wolds, he found it tantalising that he was unable to see exactly what the nesting owls, kestrels and kingfishers were up to.

It transpires Fuller was not alone in his curiosity. His YouTube channel, which livestreams footage from his artificial habitats and documents his love of British nature, is about to hit a million global subscribers. His channel now generates on average 2.8m monthly views.

Rather than dreaming of restoring past glory, some are advocating for a future with a lighter footprint. And there are signs of renewal

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Kerry Outerbridge motored his powerboat through coral reef ringing the lush, tropical island and alighted upon white sand.

Catamarans and jetskis lay strewn about the beach. Nothing but quiet emerged to greet him from the bungalows scattered among a grove of coconut trees. A plate of food sat on a kitchen table, mouldering.

Steve Hanley had an excellent article this week discussing how the SpaceX IPO may well be a boondoggle to bail out a couple of Elon Musk ventures and enrich a few friends. It’s honestly a bit shocking once you get into the details of the IPO. I think most of ... [continued]

The post Tesla & SpaceX Merger Getting Real appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Illinois has become the first Great Lakes state to pass legislation designed to curb the discharge of plastic pellets into the environment.

The post Illinois First Great Lakes State To Enact Plastic Pellet Pollution Law appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The new law should have a laser sharp focus on what needs to be onshored and localised. By Julia Poliscanova and Diane Strauss Another one bites the dust. Morrow Batteries is the latest in the sad saga of EU battery start-ups that have gone bankrupt. The company was burning through ... [continued]

The post How the Industrial Accelerator Act Can Help Avoid More Battery Factories Going Bust appeared first on CleanTechnica.

In this week’s newsletter: We began writing Down to Earth in 2021, but the global political, economic and environmental landscape has changed drastically in the past five years

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The Cop26 UN climate summit in Glasgow in 2021 represented a high-water mark in climate diplomacy, and in hope for global unity. Two weeks in Scotland that year resulted in all countries affirming they would strive to limit global heating to 1.5C, with most setting net zero goals and national plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions, halt deforestation, protect nature and boost renewable energy.

It wasn’t perfect: the plans would still result in about 2.8C of heating, though they agreed to work on strengthening them, and a commitment to phase out coal was weakened at the last minute to a phase down instead. But the direction of travel was clear: the whole world agreed on how to fight the climate crisis. The Paris agreement of 2015 bound countries to keep temperatures “well below” 2C above preindustrial levels, with 1.5C as an aspiration, but at Glasgow the 1.5C limit – in line with scientific advice, which warns of dire consequences beyond that threshold – was adopted as the clear goal.

‘It’s getting hotter and it’s not stopping’: dealing with the heat in five of Europe’s capitals

‘My head spins with the heat’: India’s gig workers battle exhaustion amid soaring temperatures

Climate crisis is accelerating antibiotic resistance across world, study says

Researchers find breathing more air pollution can slow lung development all the way up to early adulthood

Research shows that air pollution is slowing the lung growth of children in the UK. Scientists tracked the lung function of more than 5,000 peoplewho were born in and around Bristol in the 1990s. The health of the Children of the 90s cohort was assessed from birth onwards and their lungs were tested as they grew up, at eight and 15 years old and then as adults, aged 24, when their lung function should have reached its maximum.

Prof Anna Hansell, of the University of Leicester, who led the study, said: “Much of the evidence on health effects of air pollution relates to adults or pregnancy, but we think it’s highly plausible it has impacts on growth and development of children.

The Marches, Shropshire: You never know what kind of parasites you might find lurking in an old tree

“Oak apple day, the 29th of May,” is a rhyming reminder of the public holiday ordered by Charles II to celebrate the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. After his escape from parliamentarians by hiding in an oak tree at Boscobel in Shropshire, it is no great leap of imagination to associate a hidden king with oak apples: parasitic galls are strange, uncanny fruit that encourage satire at least.

A month ago, the oak galls on this ancient tree were as shiny as cherries. Today they are bigger, browner and mottled, like weird little apples. They were formed when an agamic, wingless, female oak apple gall wasp, Biorhiza pallida, burrowed out from a gall in the oak’s roots, climbed the tree and injected a cluster of eggs and a drop of venom into a leaf bud. The hatched grubsthen produced substances that caused a tumour-like effect on the oak cells, forming the apple, inside which the larvae fed in their chambers.

The MINI Paul Smith Edition blends Paul Smith’s signature “classic with a twist” aesthetic with MINI’s iconic design elements. This special edition is available for the MINI Cooper 3-Door, MINI Cooper 5-Door, and MINI Cooper Convertible. Munich. MINI and Paul Smith bring together what defines both brands: iconic form, meticulous ... [continued]

The post British Collaboration, Reinterpreted: The MINI Paul Smith Edition. appeared first on CleanTechnica.

On May 28, BYD launched its “Dare to Be” intelligent strategy, which taps into their deep vertical integration. BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu stated, “The first half of electrification is all about batteries, while the second half of intelligentization is all about chips.” At the event, BYD unveiled China’s first 4nm ... [continued]

The post BYD Technology Strategy Highlights Hardware With China’s First 4nm Intelligent Driving Chip appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Jacksonville Community Shared Testimony on Coal Ash Pollution and Demanded Stronger Protections JACKSONVILLE, Florida — Yesterday, Jacksonville residents joined advocates and environmental leaders from across the country to participate in a public hearing regarding EPA’s attempt to roll back its Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) rule, a move which experts warn would ... [continued]

The post Local Residents, Environmental Advocates Spoke Out at EPA Coal Ash Public Hearing appeared first on CleanTechnica.