Interesting Ideas

As Mumbai sees increased energy demand from new datacenters, particularly from Amazon, the filthiest neighbourhood in one of India’s largest cities must keep its major coal plants

Each day, Kiran Kasbe drives a rickshaw taxi through his home neighbourhood of Mahul on Mumbai’s eastern seafront, down streets lined with stalls selling tomatoes, bottle gourds and aubergines–and, frequently, through thick smog.

Earlier this year, doctors found three tumours in his 54-year-old mother’s brain. It’s not clear exactly what caused her cancer. But people who live near coal plants are much more likely to develop the illness, studiesshow, and the residents of Mahul live a few hundred metres down the road from one.

Scarborough and Bognor Regis among places where water is so polluted it is not recommended for swimming

One in seven (13%) of England’s bathing waters are rated as polluted, and one in 14 so polluted they are not recommended for swimming.

Famous beaches including Bognor Regis, Scarborough’s South Bay and Littlehaven Beach in South Shields were all rated “poor” in the latest classifications from the Environment Agency, which means they are not recommended for swimming.

Environmental body says modest investment and changes can help preserve long list of animals, fungi and lichen

Almost 3,000 species ranging from glorious birds to tiny lichen are in peril in Wales because they are clinging on in a handful of locations or even fewer, a groundbreaking report has revealed.

The report from Natural Resources Wales (NRW) highlights that, since the millennium, 11 species have already been lost to Cymru, including the turtle dove and belted beauty moth. It warns that 2,955 other terrestrial or freshwater species are at serious risk because they are confined to five locations or fewer.

OMAHA, Nebraska — Omaha residents may continue to face toxic health risks and environmental effects from the North Omaha power plant due to a new resolution from Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) to keep burning coal. The proposal, scheduled for a vote by the OPPD board on Dec. 18, would undo ... [continued]

The post OPPD Proposes Extending Life of Dangerous Coal Plant appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The Nature inFocus photography competition 2025 announced its winners at the Nature inFocus festival hosted at Jayamahal Palace in Bengaluru, India.

Close to 16,000 images were submitted by more than 1,250 photographers from more than 38 countries.

Scientists are excited by progress so far in a bold project to see if native species can train themselves to survive alongside cats

• Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter here

In the middle of the Australian outback’s arid deserts, many of the country’s distinctive small marsupials – the bilbies, bandicoots and quolls – have been missing for a century or more, wiped out by land clearing and the hunting prowess of feral cats. Felis catus – introduced by European invaders and settlers – was too fast and too agile for the native mammals that had not evolved with this voracious and adaptable new predator.

While efforts to rid the landscape of cats have so far failed, a group of scientists have entered into a bold project to see if small marsupials can train themselves to survive alongside the cats that drove their species almost to extinction.

It took some oblique wording, but Saudi Arabia made a last-minute decision to sign deal that marks departure for Cop

Dawn was breaking over the Amazonian city of Belém on Saturday morning, but in the windowless conference room it could have been day or night. They had been stuck there for more than 12 hours, dozens of ministers representing 17 groups of countries, from the poorest on the planet to the richest, urged by the Brazilian hosts to accept a settlement cooked up the day before.

Tempers were short, the air thick as the sweaty and exhausted delegates faced up to reality: there would not be a deal here in Brazil. The 30th UN climate conference would end in abject failure.

Gagan Dhillon, CEO of Synop, and I sat down recently to discuss why electric school buses are the perfect starter V2G fleet, real-world results from electric school bus V2G programs, making electric school bus (and other EV) fleets pencil out after the federal tax-credit cliff, EV fleet energy management, and ... [continued]

The post Electric School Buses & V2G — Match Made in Heaven appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Joint R&D to deliver extreme-low rolling resistance and high-performance tires using advanced solutions Collaboration to expand virtual development capabilities and Embedded Tire Digital Twin technologies Builds on previous achievements to strengthen technological leadership SEOUL — Hyundai Motor Group has signed a third memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Michelin to accelerate ... [continued]

The post Hyundai Motor Group & Michelin Partner to Accelerate Next-Generation Tire Technologies for Future Mobility appeared first on CleanTechnica.

At Maple Farm, nature is returning in droves: nightingales, grass snakes, slowworms, bats and insects. All due to the vision of a group determined to accelerate its recovery

The manically melodic song of the nightingale is a rare sound in Britain these days, but not at Maple Farm. Four years ago, a single bird could be heard at this secluded spot in rural Surrey; this summer, they were everywhere. “We were hearing them calling all night, from five different territories,” says Meg Cookson, lead ecologist for the Youngwilders, pointing to the woodland around us. A group of Youngwilders were camping out at the site, but the birds were so loud, “we couldn’t sleep all night,” says Layla Mapemba, the group’s engagement lead. “We were all knackered the next day, but it was so cool.” An expert from the Surrey Wildlife Trust came to help them net and ring one of the nightingales the next morning, Cookson recalls: “He’d never held a nightingale in his hands before. He was crying.”

Rewilding is by definition a slow business, but here at Maple Farm, after just four years, the results are already visible, and audible. The farm used to be a retirement home for horses. Now it’s a showpiece for the Youngwilders’ mission: to accelerate nature recovery, in one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, and to connect young people (18-30-year-olds) with a natural world they are often excluded from, and a climate crisis they are often powerless to prevent. Global heating continues, deforestation destroys natural habitats, and another Cop summit draws to a disappointing conclusion in Brazil – so who could blame young people for wanting to take matters into their own hands?

Campaigners say closure of loophole making it cheaper to export rather than recycle will boost circular economy

The UK could end its reliance on exporting plastic waste by 2030 to support the creation of 5,400 new jobs and take responsibility for the environmental impact of its waste, according to research.

The report said up to 15 new recycling facilities could be built by the end of the decade, attracting more than £800m of private investment. The increase in capacity would help generate almost £900m of economic value every year, providing at least £100m in new tax revenues annually.

It was touch-and-go during the final days of COP30 — would there be a declaration on hunger, poverty, and human-centered climate action? Yes! 43 countries and the EU agreed to address the “unequal distribution of climate impacts” through actions including expanding social-protection systems and supporting climate adaptation for small farmers. ... [continued]

The post The Symbiosis Of Food And Climate Arise At COP30 appeared first on CleanTechnica.

In a time when there is a US president who opposes clean energy and sustainable transportation, combined with the loss of federal EV incentives, it has been encouraging to see many new public EV charger installations going forward. These “small” EV charger installation projects matter in their local areas, and ... [continued]

The post New Fast EV Chargers Installed In Kansas City & Pittsburgh Downtown Areas appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Washington, DC — The US House of Representatives passed H.R. 1949, Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act of 2025, which would limit federal action to review the impacts of expanded liquefied methane gas exports on the economy, consumer energy costs, the climate, and local communities. More than 150 climate and environmental justice ... [continued]

The post US House Bill Would Allow Rubber Stamping of Dangerous LNG Gas Exports appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Blazes that smoulder in the permafrost, only to reignite, are extending fire season though winter, leaving vegetation struggling to recover

In May 2023, a lightning strike hit the forest in Donnie Creek, British Columbia, and the trees started to burn. It was early in the year for a wildfire, but a dry autumn and warm spring had turned the forest into a tinderbox, and the flames spread rapidly. By mid-June, the fire had become one of largest in the province’s history, burning through an area of boreal forest nearly twice the size of central London. That year, more of Canada burned than ever before.

The return of cold and snow at the close of the year typically signal the end of the wildfire season. But this time, the fire did not stop. Instead, it smouldered in the soil underground, insulated from the freezing conditions by the snowpack. The next spring, it reemerged as a “zombie fire” that continued to burn until August 2024. By then, more than 600,000 hectares (1.5m acres) had been destroyed.

Although natural gas generation still provides more electricity than any other source in California, electricity generation from natural gas has decreased over the past several years while generation from solar has increased. According to data from our Electric Power Monthly, electricity generation from January through August 2025 (the latest data in ... [continued]

The post California Natural Gas Use for Electricity Falls as Solar Generation Rises appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Evidence that the whales and other marine animals are particularly vulnerable to sound is driving calls for quieter vessels

The delicate clicks and whistles of narwhals carry through Tasiujaq, locally known as Eclipse Sound, at the eastern Arctic entrance of the Northwest Passage. A hydrophone in this shipping corridor off Baffin Island, Nunavut, captures their calls as the tusked whales navigate their autumn migration route to northern Baffin Bay.

But as the Nordic Odyssey, a 225-metre ice-class bulk carrier servicing the nearby iron ore mine, approaches, its low engine rumble gives way to a wall of sound created by millions of collapsing bubbles from its propeller. The narwhals’ acoustic signals, evolved for one of Earth’s quietest environments, fall silent.

Community solar is awesome. Talk about a feel-good story. The savings from community solar can be enjoyed by renters and homeowners alike, whether they have a roof of their own to mount solar panels to or not. People can “subscribe” to a community solar project, which can be located somewhere ... [continued]

The post Climatize Facilitates Community Solar Projects in Minnesota and Illinois with Pre-Construction Financing appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The YANGWANG U8 can apparently operate on water for up to 30 minutes. At a recent BYD E-Journey in Zhengzhou, China, the company showed off the feature in a giant pool. “The YANGWANG U8 demonstrated its floating capability, maintaining controlled movement on water for up to 30 minutes during emergency ... [continued]

The post BYD Highlights YANGWANG U8’s Floating Ability In Short Video appeared first on CleanTechnica.

While at a media event, I saw a camouflaged prototype of a SUV/CUV testing outside of XPENG’s new headquarters in Guangzhou. The next day, the same vehicle appeared outside of XPENG’s factory, where media had assembled for the production of their millionth vehicle, an X9 EREV. This fastback crossover has ... [continued]

The post XPENG Compact SUV Prototype Spotted Outside of Facilities in Guangzhou appeared first on CleanTechnica.