Interesting Ideas

Fears are growing that the new far-right president will slash environmental protections in favour of foreign investment

In Chile’s most northerly region, Arica y Parinacota, Andrea Chellew, 62, relies on tourists for her cafe. They usually travel from the coastal city of Arica to the unique biosphere of the Andean highlands, which rise well above 5,000 metres and host nature reserves and wetlands.

At 3,000 metres (9,800ft) above sea level, along Highway 11, she lives by the trade route that brings raw materials and goods between Bolivia and Chile. Yet the cafe remains empty as fewer tourists come, amid more reports of increased mining activity near environmentally protected areas, such as the Lauca national park.

The starting point for evaluating Oʻahu’s waste-to-energy plant is the fully electrified energy system developed earlier in this series. Once overseas aviation fuel, international maritime bunkering, and military energy consumption are removed from the accounting, and once transportation, buildings, and industry are electrified, the island’s civilian electricity demand settles at ... [continued]

The post Burning Plastic Isn’t Renewable: Rethinking Waste & Power In Hawaii appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Recent attack on plants led to fears of escalating strikes, but Iran knows drought has left it equally vulnerable

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In 1983, the CIA determined that the most crucial commodity in the Gulf was its desalinated potable water.

Although the loss of a single plant could be handled, “successful attacks on several plants in the most dependent countries could generate a national crisis that could lead to panic flights from the country and civil unrest”. And the greatest threat to the region’s water supply? “Iran.”

Analysis has found more than 3,000 mining operations within the most naturally precious areas of the planet, a much bigger footprint than previously thought

Weda Bay is just one example of a global trend that could see the mining industry expand into some of Earth’s last areas of wilderness in search of minerals and materials to feed the global economy.

Analysis produced for the Guardian by a group of academic researchers found more than 3,267 mining operations within key biodiversity areas (KBAs), accounting for nearly 5% of the mining sector’s global footprint. China, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico top the rankings for total surface mining area within key biodiversity areas, the most naturally precious areas of the planet.

Scientists from the Nature Conservancy have published a study in the journal Environmental Research — Health that finds nearly a third of people alive today are unable to work outdoors safely in the higher temperatures prevalent in much of the world. Rising temperatures, driven by the continued burning of fossil ... [continued]

The post Extreme Heat Limits Outdoor Activities For One Third Of Human Population appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Bainton, Cambridgeshire: Villagers gather each year on Palm Sunday to celebrate these scented flowers

Beside the lichen-encrusted churchyard wall, a robin sings from the dark heart of a yew, its clear notes rising above the gruff calls of nesting rooks. Along the path, a bank of buttery primroses glows beside the bright stars of lesser celandine, offering early forage to the first pollen-dusted solitary bee. Across the gravestones, small points of colour are beginning to appear. St Mary’s churchyard stirs in readiness for the annual Bainton primrose festival, when villagers gather on Palm Sunday to celebrate this quiet herald of spring.

The primrose has long symbolised renewal. In earlier times, landowners would open their woods on Good Friday so that parishioners could gather the scented flowers for Easter decorations. Here in Bainton, their abundance owes much to a thoughtful former churchwarden who delayed mowing until early June, allowing the plants to set and shed seed. Since then, primroses have spread beyond the churchyard and on to the verges of this Fen‑edge village.

The death of the EV1 was reported prematurely according to GM, which is preparing to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the 1990's electric car this year.

The post Did GM Just Use The EV1 To Troll Ford, Again? Or Tesla? Or Both? appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Our February update on EV sales shows: Australian plugin penetration grew from 16% in January 2026 to about 19% in February. That is a sales total of 11,100 battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and 5,854 plugin hybrid EVs (PHEVs). Almost 17,000 Australian motorists joined the electric vehicle ecosystem, a significant increase ... [continued]

The post Plugin Vehicles Achieve 19% Penetration in Australian Auto Market in February appeared first on CleanTechnica.

But weakening carmakers’ next target in 2030 is likely to delay EVs reaching price parity with combustion vehicles. The average price of an electric car in the EU has fallen for the first time since 2020, driven by the release of more affordable models to comply with the bloc’s car ... [continued]

The post Electric Car Average Price Falls by €1,800 as Carmakers Release Affordable Models to Meet EU Target — Analysis appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Rome did not only organise its agriculture in tune with the rhythm of the seasons, it also fought its wars that way

March is named for the Roman god Mars. He was among other things the god of agriculture, and the month was marked by ceremonies to protect new crops from bad weather.

Mars was the god of war too, and better weather also meant the start of the campaigning season. The roles sometimes merged. In one of the oldest Roman ceremonies, the “leaping priests” of Mars, 12 young men from noble families would dress as ancient warriors and parade around the city singing in an archaic form of Latin for a good beginning to the planting season.

T&E and partner NGOs have published guidance on the Performance Regulation — a key law shaping how climate and environmental spending will be tracked in the next EU budget. The ‘technical reference document’ was developed together with WWF, CEE Bankwatch Network, ClientEarth, CAN Europe, HEAL and the European Environmental Bureau, ... [continued]

The post How to Fix Greenwashing Risks in the EU’s Next Long-Term Budget appeared first on CleanTechnica.

If you’ve been watching the news, you know things are chaotic overseas. With the current conflict effectively shutting down the Strait of Hormuz and tankers taking massive detours around Africa, the global energy market is having a complete meltdown. We’re already seeing the impact at the pump, and many people ... [continued]

The post Stop Waiting for Gas Prices to Go Back to Normal. The Volatility Is the Real Problem. appeared first on CleanTechnica.

In the race to meet the demands of the energy transition, biodiversity hotspots such as Palawan in the Philippines are being increasingly mined for critical elements

• How nature is being sacrificed for mining across the world – a data visualisation

Moharen Tahil Tambiling lowers himself from the fishing boat into the water and gingerly picks his way over the reef circling the bay. At low tide here in Brooke’s Point on Palawan, a long, rugged island in the south-west of the Philippines archipelago, the coral is just under the surface, and it looms suddenly under the waves, scraping at the boat’s wooden hull.

Beneath his feet are brain-like mounds and curling fingers of coral. Leaning over the side of the fishing boat, the men point out different kinds: some which were once vibrant orange and others that should be delicate pink. Now, almost everything is the same dull khaki, covered by a thick film of silt. Another man jumps overboard, stirring the sediment. A cloud rises like thick smoke over the reef.

Amid Soaring Energy & Gas Prices, Trump Admin Draws Far Fewer Bids Than Dec. Sale NEW ORLEANS — Gulf and environmental groups responded to the Trump administration’s latest large-scale sell-off of public waters to the oil-and-gas industry in the Gulf of Mexico today. The Trump administration’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management ... [continued]

The post Gulf & Environment Groups Respond To Public Waters Sell-off To Oil Industry appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Cycle lanes, electric cars and other interventions have helped 19 global cities slash levels of pollutants by more than 20%

London, San Francisco and Beijing are among 19 global cities that have achieved “remarkable reductions” in air pollution, analysis has found, having slashed levels of two airway-aggravating pollutants by more than 20% since 2010.

The analysis found interventions such as cycle lanes, uptake of electric cars and restrictions on polluting vehicles had helped to drive the improvements.

In 2023–2024, I wrote a TON of articles about the NEVI program, or the money from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that was supposed to massively expand highway EV charging in the United States. Having at least one charging station every 50 miles (with some exceptions) was going to be a ... [continued]

The post The NEVI Funds Are Finally Unfrozen, But The Administration’s Chaos Goes Unpunished appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The Australian artist was a relentless self-promoter, prolific painter and pro wrestler. He loved a tall tale – but his true story was remarkable

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If you checked out the Archibald prize finalists back in 1983, one painting in particular might have caught your eye. Taking up seven feet of wall space, Dr Brown and Green Old Time Waltz is a psychedelic portrait of Bob Brown, rendered in rich colours and filled with hidden details: from faces smuggled into the trees to little green men walking around Brown’s feet.

But just as noteworthy as the painting was the man standing next to it. Clad in hand-painted clothes, with painted false teeth in his mouth and a walking stick he didn’t really need in his hand, stood Harold “the Kangaroo” Thornton, the artist and self-described “greatest genius that ever lived”.

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Climate change committee finds move to renewable energy would also bring health, economic and security benefits

Achieving the UK’s net zero target by 2050 will cost less than a single oil shock and bring health and economic benefits while insulating the country against future costs, the government’s climate advisers have forecast.

Eliminating the UK’s reliance on fossil fuels by adopting renewable energy and green technologies, such as electric vehicles and heat pumps, would be the best and most cost-effective option for the future economy, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) found.

Hemmed in by the sea and poor transport links, many young people from the Yorkshire town feel trapped, but there is also a pride in the area

It’s the morning after a wet and stormy day in the Yorkshire seaside town of Scarborough. The waves, which the previous day had been crashing dramatically on the harbour walls, have calmed and a few brave souls have entered the water with surfboards. There is a man throwing a ball for his dog on the beach and a kayaker bobbing on the waves.

Just up from the seafront in the centre of town, Jack and Charlie, both 17, are leaning forward listening to a story from 19-year-old Keane about his recent visit to a drama school in London, where he is hoping to apply for a place on an actor training course once he has saved enough money.

Scarborough, on the North Yorkshire coast, was one of England’s first seaside resorts

Legacy automakers just can’t help themselves it seems. If one of them isn’t acting out, it’s another’s turn, and progress is always too much, too fast, and too scary. The news this time is that Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kallenius has decided to altruistically warn the European Union that overhauling auto ... [continued]

The post Mercedes Is Fear Mongering On EV Policies Again appeared first on CleanTechnica.