Interesting Ideas

A new aquifer thermal energy system in St. Paul, Minnesota promises to lower utility bills for residents by 50 percent or more.

The post Aquifer Thermal Energy System Comes To Minnesota appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation could also force ultra-rich to pay global wealth tax

Fossil fuel companies could be forced to pay some of the price of their damage to the climate, and the ultra-rich subjected to a global wealth tax, if new tax rules are agreed under the UN.

Negotiations on a planned global tax treaty will resume at the UN headquarters in New York on Monday, with dozens of countries supporting stronger rules that would make polluters pay for the impact of their activities.

Der neu unter Druck gesetzte Abschnitt von Deutschlands Wasserstoff-Backbone ohne Lieferanten und ohne Abnehmer wird oft als klarer Bruch mit der Vergangenheit beschrieben, als notwendige frühe Investition in eine künftige Wasserstoffwirtschaft. Der Stahl erzählt eine andere Geschichte. Trasse, Durchmesser, Alter und Wirtschaftlichkeit der Pipeline verweisen zurück auf russisches Erdgas, nicht ... [continued]

The post Deutschlands Wasserstoff-Backbone und der lange Schatten des russischen Gases appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Events such as Storm Chandra take a terrible toll on ecosystems, but nature can be part of the solution for mitigating flood waters

“The flood waters are only good for scavenger species,” says Steve Hussey, searching hard for a silver lining to last week’s deluges brought by Storm Chandra. When the waters recede, crows and ravens will feast on the carrion of hedgehogs, dormice and other small animals unable to escape the rising water, he says.

“It sounds very apocalyptic, doesn’t it?” says Hussey, a communications officer with the Devon Wildlife Trust.

Inspired by YouTube creators, some people are limiting beef to a handful of ‘feast days’ a year to cut their climate impact

“I love beef,” says Vlad Luca, 25. But unlike most other self-proclaimed steak lovers, Vlad eats it only four times a year, on designated “beef days”.

The “beef days” phenomenon has been popularised by the brothers John and Hank Green, known collectively as vlogbrothers on YouTube. John, 48, is better known for his YA fiction, including The Fault in Our Stars, while Hank, 45, is a self-described science communicator and entrepreneur.

Exclusive: Formal validation for claret reflects hotter conditions, falling consumption and shift towards chillable reds

Bordeaux’s wine industry has historically adapted to consumer habits. In the 1970s the region leaned towards white, but by the 2000s was famed for powerful oak-aged reds.

Now it’s turning to a much older form of red with a name familiar to anglophones: claret. With origins in the 12th century, when it was first shipped to Britain, claret was soon our favoured wine, an unofficial byword for bordeaux red, which in recent decades has become increasingly full-bodied.

SpaceX has a plan to put a million solar powered data centers into orbit around the Earth to power the next generation of AI.

The post SpaceX Proposes One Million Solar Powered Data Centers In Earth Orbit appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Canada and South Korea are working toward a new trade deal that would bring more auto manufacturing to that country.

The post Canada & South Korea Discuss Trade Deal As BYD Eyes India appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Das deutsche Wasserstoff-Backbone ohne Kunden oder Lieferanten — eine Pipeline von nirgendwo nach nirgendwo — ist realer Stahl im Boden, unter Druck gesetzt und als unvermeidlich verteidigt, doch sie wird für ein Energiesystem gebaut, das sie nicht braucht. Diese Aussage klingt provokant, bis die Energieflüsse vollständig offengelegt werden. Betrachtet man ... [continued]

The post Unter Druck gesetzter Stahl, fehlende Nachfrage: Deutschlands Wasserstoff-Backbone in den Energieflüssen* appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Recently, there has been some encouraging EV charger news for passenger vehicles, with new chargers announced for retail outlets owned by Kroger and Walmart in a variety of states. Sheetz and WaWa also have an impressive number of EV chargers operating at some of their stores. Pilot is recognized as ... [continued]

The post Tesla Semi Chargers Planned For Pilot Travel Centers appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Two major utilities are protesting a federal order requiring them to operate the Craig Unit 1 coal power plant in Colorado, originally scheduled to retire on December 31 of 2025.

The post Fighting Back: Utilities Challenge Coal Emergency Order appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Bruce Friedrich argues the only way to tackle the world’s insatiable but damaging craving for meat is like-for-like replacements like cultivated and plant-based meat

For someone aiming to end the global livestock industry, Bruce Friedrich begins his new book – called Meat – in disarming fashion: “I’m not here to tell anyone what to eat. You won’t find vegetarian or vegan recipes in this book, and you won’t find a single sentence attempting to convince you to eat differently. This book isn’t about policing your plate.”

There’s more. Friedrich, a vegan for almost four decades, says meat is “humanity’s favourite food”.

If you’ve been reading CleanTechnica for a while, you probably remember the Charge to the Parks Project (we’re also on Bluesky and on Facebook), where I aimed to visit all of the national parks possible on all-electric power. Along the way, I tried crazy things, like pulling a trailer full ... [continued]

The post Charge To The Parks Is Back! (Silverado EV Long Term Review Begins Now) appeared first on CleanTechnica.

About 190,000 are still without power in the south-east as states scramble to prepare for more winter weather

Dozens of people have died in the teeth of a severe winter storm across the US south, with further freezing temperatures, snow and blizzards set to assail the east coast on Saturday.

At least 85 people have died across multiple states, according to an Associated Press tally, with frigid conditions and icy roads causing car crashes, hypothermia and other fatal incidents.

Der 400 km lange Abschnitt des deutschen Wasserstoff-Backbones ist inzwischen unter Druck gesetzt, mit fossilem Wasserstoff gefüllt und wartet. Es sind keine nennenswerten Lieferanten angeschlossen und keine vertraglich gebundenen Abnehmer entnehmen Moleküle. Allein diese Tatsache rechtfertigt es, innezuhalten und die Rechnung sorgfältig aufzumachen, denn große Infrastrukturentscheidungen werden nicht automatisch klimapositiv, ... [continued]

The post Wenn Stahl Strategien überdauert: Die Klimakosten von Deutschlands Wasserstoff-Pipeline* appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Honduras is one of the most dangerous countries for environmentalists – and the release of Juan Orlando Hernández has reinforced its ‘crisis of impunity’, say critics

When Donald Trump announced that he would pardon the former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, only the second world leader to be convicted of drug trafficking, Anna*, an environmental defender, was shocked.

In 2022, Hernández, also known as JOH, was extradited to the US and later convicted, along with his brother, on drug trafficking and weapons charges. He was sentenced to 45 years in prison for conspiring to smuggle more than 400 tonnes of cocaine into the US, becoming the first Honduran head of state to be tried and sentenced abroad for running a narco state. He was also accused of grave human rights violations.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is banking millions on US Senate hopeful Nate Morris in Kentucky, though the move could backfire as the Epstein scandal grows.

The post Elon Musk Wants To Buy Another Election, Pitting Republicans Against Each Other appeared first on CleanTechnica.

As rivers swell and homes are cut off, scientists say UK winter rainfall is already 20 years ahead of predictions

When flooding hit the low-lying Somerset Levels in 2014, it took two months for the waters to rise. This week it took two days, said Rebecca Horsington, chair of the Flooding on the Levels Action Group and a born-and-bred resident. A fierce barrage of storms from the Atlantic has drenched south-west England in January, saturating soils and supercharging rivers.

Plastics make up the majority of litter across the country. In the absence of regulation, the public are taking matters into their own hands

• Change by degrees offers life hacks and sustainable living tips each Saturday to help reduce your household’s carbon footprint

• Got a question or tip for reducing household emissions? Email us at changebydegrees@theguardian.com

Neil Blake weighs a paper bag of fake grass fragments he has collected from a stormwater gutter near Darebin Creek in Melbourne’s north.

Over the past three years Blake has conducted 56 collections of synthetic turf in the waterway alongside the KP Hardiman Reserve hockey pitch.

A wave of affordable Chinese-made EVs is accelerating the shift away from petrol cars, challenging long‑held assumptions about how transport decarbonisation unfolds

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Last year, almost every new car sold in Norway, the nature-loving country flush with oil wealth, was fully electric. In prosperous Denmark, which was all-in on petrol and diesel cars until just before Covid, sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) reached a share of 68%. In California, the share of zero-emissions vehicles hit 20%. And at least every third new car now bought by the Dutch, Finns, Belgians and Swedes burns no fuel.

These figures, which would have felt fanciful just five years ago, show the rich world leading the shift away from cars that pump out toxic gas and planet-heating pollutants. But a more startling trend is that electric car sales are also racing ahead in many developing countries. While China is known for its embrace of electric vehicles (EVs), demand has also soared in emerging markets from South America to south-east Asia. BEV sales in Turkey have caught up with the EU’s, data published this week shows.

The Fukushima towns frozen in time: nature has thrived since the nuclear disaster but what happens if humans return?

The UK government didn’t want you to see this report on ecosystem collapse. I’m not surprised

The 16-month battle to reveal the truth about Sydney Water’s poo balls

Powering up: how Ethiopia is becoming an unlikely leader in the electric vehicle revolution

‘My Tesla has become ordinary’: Turkey catches up with EU in electric car sales

The electric vehicle revolution is still on course – don’t let your loathing of Elon Musk stop you joining up