Interesting Ideas

After her sister died, Victoria Bennett left Cumbria for the remote Scottish archipelago, where she learned to go with the ebb and flow of life

It was during her first winter in Orkney that the nature writer Victoria Bennett experienced the joy of baying into the sea during a storm. “There’s something very physically releasing about howling,” she says. “It’s quite animalistic and powerful.” On a stormy beach, when waves are crashing on the rocks, “you can really let rip”, she says. “The sound just disappears.”

Until that moment, Bennett had been struggling with her decision to move to the remote archipelago off the north coast of Scotland. “I was beginning to feel like I was in a fight against the sea, and against the weather.”

TAMPA, Fla. – Tampa Electric Company’s (TECO’s) rising utility bills are forcing Tampa families to choose between essentials like food, rent, and medicine and access to power. In response, TECO customers have written letters to the utility’s Board of Directors detailing their personal experiences with increasingly unaffordable energy bills. Sierra Club ... [continued]

The post TECO Customers Issue Letters to Utility’s Board Members Addressing Bill Increases appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Guangzhou — XPENG (NYSE: XPEV, HKEX: 9868), a leading China-based high-tech company, recently officially released its X-World Technical Report, providing a comprehensive breakdown of the model’s construction and deployment across data, architecture, training, validation, and application. X-World is a controllable, multi-view generative world model designed for autonomous driving. Built on ... [continued]

The post XPENG Releases World Model Technical Report, Powering VLA 2.0 Model R&D And Verification appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Researchers found the loss of just a few eggs to opportunistic predators could greatly increase the songbird’s risk of extinction within 20 years

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Captured on one of Bianca McBryde’s tree-mounted cameras, the brush-tailed possum crawls into the frame, lowers its head into the nest and bites into the egg.

The snack was a shop-bought quail’s egg and the nest was artificial – a crafty construction made of half a tennis ball, some brown paint and fibres from the husks of coconuts.

The bizarre vertical flight pattern has long puzzled experts but new research reveals why it may play a crucial role in the insect’s survival

On a spring evening along the banks of the River Thames, thousands of mayflies can be seen engaging in what may be one of the world’s oldest dances. In the fading light, the males make a steep vertical climb, flip over and float back to Earth – wings and tail outstretched in a skydiving posture so as to drop slowly through the sky.

Mayflies are among the world’s oldest winged insects, emerging roughly 300m years ago – long before dinosaurs walked the Earth. Even the Mesopotamian poem the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest pieces of literature, makes reference to the short-lived mayfly. Over the epochs, the insect’s basic design has changed very little compared with the fossils of their ancestors.

A KCL study has found that exposure during the first trimester of pregnancy delayed speech development

Babies exposed to higher levels of air pollution in the early stages of pregnancy take longer to learn to speak than those exposed to lower levels in the womb, new research suggests.

A study by researchers from King’s College London found exposure to nitrogen dioxide and fine and ultra-fine particulate matter during the first trimester of pregnancy delayed speech development at 18 months.

West Dartmoor, Devon: On the moor, every puddle and pool is quivering with whirligig beetles, carving circles and rotating in pairs

A calm, clear morning on Dartmoor and the shallow pools I pass are smooth as glass – scattered wedges of sky reflected between the grass and gorse. I am wandering the western edge of the moor, close to the village of Lydford, best known for its plunging gorge and waterfall. This is a place shaped by rain, from the peat bogs blanketing high ground to the rocky gullies carved by streams.

There are endless puddles and pools, and on this windless day they appear completely flat and still. Only when I look closely, I see that something is agitating the surfaces of the water. Every one of them quivers with life: whirligig beetles.

Heatwaves reach 45C across India as unseasonably cold weather affects parts of central Canada

Widespread heavy rain is sweeping over southern China. By Wednesday, rainfall totals are expected to exceed 100mm across many parts of Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Hunan provinces, and in some areas as much as 150-200mm.

As a result, the Office of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters and the Ministry of Emergency Management have been holding meetings with meteorological and hydrological departments to emphasise the importance of reinforced patrols and emergency responses to mitigate against the probable flooding that the intense rainfall is expected to bring. In particular, reservoirs with known safety concerns must remain empty during the period, as well as through the coming rainy season.

Auto China (aka the Beijing Auto Show) was an eye-opening experience. There was a sense of continued progress. Vehicles were refined and well-sorted. Material quality and fit and finish continue to improve, even over models that impressed just a few months ago. Competition continues to be fierce. Meanwhile, the vehicles ... [continued]

The post Chinese Brands Project Confidence at the Beijing Auto Show: Large Premium SUVs (Gallery) appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Amidst a surge in interest in electric vehicles in Australia, it looks like the charging networks are keeping up. We have high-speed chargers in supermarket carparks and airports along with Level 2 pole-mounted chargers in dense inner-city suburbs. Just walking through the local supermarket carpark gives you a glimpse into ... [continued]

The post Chargers Multiply in Australia appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Annual reports show progress toward net-zero goals NEW YORK — The Sierra Club applauds New York City Comptroller Mark Levine and trustees of three of NYC’s public pension systems for releasing new climate reports showing continued progress toward their net-zero by 2040 goals. The reports from NYCERS, TRS, and BERS affirm the pension systems as ... [continued]

The post Sierra Club Applauds NYC Pensions for Continued Climate Progress, Calls for Stronger Implementation appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Familiar name, new era – with timelessly clear design, efficient drive, many innovations and excellent value for money Maximum versatility – the new ID. Polo will impress in future with three output levels (85 kW, 99 kW, 155 kW), two battery sizes and a range of up to 454 km Compact but spacious – thanks to the new ... [continued]

The post Much More Than A City Car: World Premiere Of The All-New Electric ID. Polo appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Authorities are yet to decide how they will move the body of the massive creature, which is attracting humans, eagles – and plenty of sharks

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Thin strips of flesh hang down like rotten tinsel, swaying in the wind. Glistening fluid trickles on to the stone where insects buzz. On the windward side, the odour is masked by the salty air. But step downwind, and you enter a sickly, sour-sweet blend of garbage and rotting fish. A passing couple pull their T-shirts tight over their noses.

On a rock shelf at the southern end of Era beach, the estimated 25-tonne body of a sperm whale rests like a melted candle. Looking down at the rock pools, floating chunks of white fat bob in the water.

Pace of sea-level rise has turned Outer Banks coastal area into a ‘canary in the coalmine’ for other east coast communities

Moving house has a more literal meaning on Hatteras Island, the slender hook of land that juts off the coast of North Carolina. After a slew of houses toppled spectacularly into the Atlantic Ocean recently, entire buildings are now being lifted on to wheels to flee the rapidly eroding coastline.

Since September, 19 homes have been lost to waves that tore them from their pilings, sending them crashing into other structures like bumper cars before breaking up in the ocean. Spooked homeowners have turned to the unusual services of Barry Crum, a lifelong Hatteras resident who has become the island’s main house mover.

The first quarter of 2026 saw plugin EVs take 64.9% share in Sweden, up from 58.0% in Q1 2025. BEV share grew strongly year on year (YoY), while PHEV share dipped slightly. Overall Q1 auto volume was 61,960 units, down some 2% YoY. The Volvo EX40 was the best-selling BEV ... [continued]

The post EVs Take 64.9% Share In Sweden – Volvo EX60 Finally Debuts appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Exclusive: 839,000 homes in urban areas face threat of surface-water flooding, with social housing tenants most vulnerable to costs

Eight in 10 of the homes that are at high risk of flooding in England are now in towns and cities, according to analysis by the National Housing Federation (NHF), which said social housing tenants are disproportionately vulnerable to the financial cost.

Research found that 839,000 homes in urban areas are now classed as being at high risk of surface water flooding, a threefold increase since 2018.

Scientists find annual sea surface temperatures across Europe reached highest levels recorded, while deadly wildfires set large parts of continent ablaze

The Nordic heatwave that pushed temperatures above 30C (86F) in the Arctic Circle in July was part of a record-breaking year that saw abnormal heat sear more than 95% of Europe, a report has found.

Parts of Scandinavia were scorched last summer by 21 days of punishingly hot weather that led to “tropical nights” in typically cool countries such as Norway, Sweden and Finland, according to a scientific report campaigners said showed “all the emergency warning lights are flashing red”.

With all the news about mostly declining sales of new electric vehicles in the US, there has been an unexpected “silver lining.” That is a steady stream of new public EV charger installations, including many fast chargers. Within the new installation trend, there is more of a “golden lining,” which ... [continued]

The post 150 New Fast EV Chargers To Use 100% Renewable Energy appeared first on CleanTechnica.

CATL and HyperStrong have inked a deal for 60 GWh of sodium-ion battery cells for energy storage systems over the next three years.

The post CATL Inks Deal For 60 GWh Of Sodium Energy Storage Batteries Over Next Three Years appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The US drone manufacturer Heven Aerotech has earned a streamlined contract with the US Army for its hydrogen fuel cell UAV and associated hydrogen systems.

The post Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars No; Fuel Cell Combat Drones Yes appeared first on CleanTechnica.