Interesting Ideas

Hogshaw, Derbyshire: Our old Buxton tip is an area rich in nature. It’s depressing out local council wants it developed

Our old Buxton tip might bear the scars of former abuse, but it’s now an entangled, self-willed wood, largely made up of willows and birch, which is surrounded by flowers in summer and has a species list of 870, composed mainly of insects. The diversity arises because these two pioneer trees are among the most invertebrate-friendly in our islands.

Where you find insect abundance, you’ll also hear birdsong, because the music is fuelled largely by invertebrate protein. Recently we organised a dawn-chorus walk and managed 20 early spring vocalists. Song and mistle thrushes, dunnocks and wrens, as well as bullfinches and greenfinches, were among the breeding birds we heard and which are red- or amber-listed by the British Trust for Ornithology.

Leaders say automated mowers’ blades threaten nocturnal animals as studies highlight risks to wildlife

German mayors have called for a nationwide ban on night-time use of robot lawnmowers to protect hedgehogs and other small nocturnal animals from being killed or maimed in the dark.

Recent studies have highlighted the threat lawnmower blades pose to wildlife active between dusk and dawn, prompting growing calls for regulation. Hedgehogs also tend to curl into a ball when threatened rather than running away, making them harder for a robot mower’s sensors to detect.

The 2026 Manila International Auto Show runs from April 9 to 12 across the World Trade Center and the Philippine Trade Training Center, with a noticeably broader electrification footprint than in previous years. The expansion to an additional 3,000 square meters of exhibition space increases both vehicle count and brand ... [continued]

The post Op-Ed: Chinese EV Brands Overwhelm The Manila Auto Show 2026 appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Shahid Bagheri leaking fuel towards Hara mangrove forest, home to migrating birds and endangered turtles

• Middle East crisis – live updates

An oil slick from a stricken Iranian ship threatens to contaminate one of the Middle East’s most important wetlands, satellite image analysis suggests, making it one of a number of spills posing a risk to the livelihoods of coastal communities in the Gulf.

The Shahid Bagheri, a drone carrier, began leaking heavy fuel oil in Iranian territorial waters near the strait of Hormuz after it was hit by a US warplane in the first few days of the US-Israel attack on Iran.

Electric car sales are down significantly this year as the market remains “hung over” from the end of the $7,500 US EV tax credit. Several electric car models are seeing huge drops in consumer demand, and automakers have been pulling models off the market. The Honda Prologue is no exception ... [continued]

The post Honda Offering Up To $8,000 Off The Prologue EV! appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Stock runs low as oil crunch increases enthusiasm for electric vehicles

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When a used vehicle rolls into a car yard, the usual trajectory for its price tag is down if it lingers too long.

That is the (almost) iron law of the secondhand market – until the oil crisis hit and dealers started raising asking prices for used electric vehicles.

Outta Gas. CleanTechnica Press. “This book helps those fighting climate change to clearly understand the challenge we are facing, to focus our efforts on the most effective solutions, and to let go of the distractions, noise, and stress. Focused effort on what is truly working will make an enormous difference, ... [continued]

The post CleanTechnica’s First Published Book — Outta Gas appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The shock of the oil crisis is playing out on Australian streets, where bike sales are up and cycle lanes are busier

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Before the 1970s global oil crisis, city planners in Copenhagen were considering removing bike lanes. Bicycles were considered outdated now car was king, and just 10% of locals were cycling regularly.

But as economic shock waves reverberated around the world, Denmark, which almost entirely relied on imported oil, took a dramatic U-turn, with citizens staging mass protests in the middle of highways demanding better cycling infrastructure.

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As a child, Dominique Bikaba, was displaced by a new national park in the DRC. Now he is helping to secure land for wildlife and Indigenous groups against the backdrop of ongoing fighting

Mist hangs low over the forested slopes of Kahuzi-Biega national park, where the canopy still shelters one of the last strongholds of the eastern lowland, or Grauer’s, gorilla. It is a landscape of immense biological wealth and equally immense political fragility. For 54-year-old Dominique Bikaba, it was once home.

His family was among those displaced when their ancestral land was incorporated into the park in the 1970s. The protected area, in the lowlands of South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), harbours elephants and a remarkable range of wildlife, but it is best known as the principal home of the Grauer’s gorilla, the largest subspecies of primates, known to grow up to 250kg (39st) in weight. It is one of five great ape species found in the DRC’s vast forests, including mountain gorillas, which are also found in other parts of the Great Lakes region, such as Rwanda and Uganda.

India is making a major commitment to renewable energy and battery storage to meet its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2070.

The post Battery Energy Storage Key To India Emissions Reduction Goal appeared first on CleanTechnica.

With no end in sight to Trump's war in Iran, transportation stakeholders in Japan are forging new green hydrogen alliances and laying plans for a hydrogen truck freight corridor.

The post Trump Breathes New Life Into Old Green Hydrogen Dreams appeared first on CleanTechnica.

With its largest-ever product campaign for electric vehicles, the Volkswagen Group is consistently implementing its “In China, for China” strategy—starting with “Auto China 2026” in Beijing. Under the motto “Rise Up”, the Volkswagen Group will present ten models from four brands at its Media Night on April 21, while also ... [continued]

The post “In China, for China”: 4 World Premieres and the Latest AI-Powered Systems Make Their Debut at the Volkswagen Group Night in Beijing appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The state of Michigan is not an electric vehicle leader among US states. However, we have seen some progress in EV charger installations in the state. Most recently, the Michigan Department of Transportation announced new National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) funds are now available. “MDOT is now authorized to begin ... [continued]

The post $51 Million In New EV Charger Funding Available In Michigan appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Glass Lewis says blocking of proposal to share company’s longer-term strategy at AGM raises transparency issues

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BP shareholders should vote against its new chair over his decision to exclude a climate resolution from the company’s next annual meeting, a major proxy adviser has recommended.

Glass Lewis has advised investors to vote against Albert Manifold, who has been in his post for just six months.

Passed in May 2024, the Vermont Climate Superfund Act allows the state to recover financial damages from the impacts of climate change to Vermont caused by the fossil fuel industry. These funds are targeted for climate adaption projects. Not surprisingly, in September 2025, the Trump administration filed suit in federal ... [continued]

The post Coming To You From Big Oil Profits: The Vermont Climate Superfund appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Harsh weather is nothing new in Kenya but the country’s climate is showing clear signs of getting hotter and drier

The day is hot and dry but the soil underfoot is soft. “After four months of drought, we received the first rains yesterday,” says Maasai elder Abraham Kampalei. “All we can do now is pray that they continue.”

Kampalei has lived for more than 50 of his 70 years with his family and animals in Oldonyonyokie, a hamlet in southern Kenya’s Kajiado county. He has witnessed the slow decline of the pastures. “I came here because of the abundance of grass for my livestock to graze. Today, there is almost nothing left of it,” he says.

Worst polluters hold world’s future in their hands as they benefit from higher fossil fuel prices, but global trends favour renewables

Oil stands at about $110 a barrel and some forecasts have predicted it could reach $150. Food prices are on the rise and are expected to leap further owing to the fertiliser supply crunch, leading the World Food Programme USA to warn that global food insecurity could reach record levels, with 45 million more people pushed into acute hunger. Industries from steel to chemicals have alerted markets that they face shortages and soaring costs, while households across the world are feeling the pinch – people have been told to turn down their thermostats, take the bus or cycle, and cut their speed on motorways.

The impact of the US-Israel war on Iran – the third global shock in six years, after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the Covid-19 pandemic – has laid bare how reliant our economies still are on fossil fuels. Simon Stiell, the UN climate chief, said in March: “Fossil fuel dependency is ripping away national security and sovereignty and replacing it with subservience and rising costs.”

Covering how different electric vehicles have been faring in the US market this year compared to last, we’ve seen some huge drops in performance, but I was also happy and surprised to see Hyundai’s EVs performing even better! How about sibling (or cousin?) Kia? Well, Kia’s EV sales are a ... [continued]

The post Kia EV Sales Holding Up Okay In 2026 In USA appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Marcos Orellana, a special rapporteur, found lax environmental standards and lack of oversight allowed pollution to accumulate

• Revealed: Mexico’s industrial boomtown is making goods for the US. Residents say they’re ‘breathing poison’

Mexico is facing a “toxic crisis” and has become a “garbage sink” for the US, exposing Mexican communities to dangerous pollution, a UN expert has warned.

In an interview with the Guardian and Quinto Elemento Lab, an investigative outlet, Marcos Orellana, an environmental specialist, said pollutants ranging from imported waste to dangerous pesticides were affecting people’s right to live healthy lives.

Tesla’s stock price continues to slide. It was down 2.15% today after a clear slide and then a leveling off at the lower level. It was definitely a “down and out” day rather than the roller-coaster ride you often see with stocks like TSLA. This follows months of decline. In ... [continued]

The post Why Tesla’s Stock Price Has Dropped Nearly 20% In 6 Months appeared first on CleanTechnica.