Interesting Ideas

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Dominion Energy South Carolina (DESC)’s proposed 2026 IRP doubles down on volatile fracked-gas while continuing to cling to expensive coal power, asserts Sierra Club’s analysis of the utility’s filing, which was made publicly available in the docket on Wednesday. “While South Carolina families feel the squeeze of energy costs like ... [continued]

The post Dominion SC IRP “Doubles Down on Costly Fuels” — Sierra Club Analysis appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Lawsuit claims Trump’s use of ‘Extinction Committee’ violates law in numerous ways. Washington D.C. — Gulf and environmental groups sued the Trump Administration today over its decision to strip Endangered Species Act protection from imperiled species threatened by oil-and-gas offshore drilling activities in the Gulf of Mexico. The unprecedented blanket-exemption would leave numerous Gulf species and ... [continued]

The post Advocacy Groups Sue Trump Administration Over Decision to Exempt All Oil & Gas Activities in Gulf from Endangered Species Act appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Rivian ended up delivering 10,365 vehicles to customers in the first quarter of 2026. That was around 700 units above Wall Street estimates (9,678 according to Visible Alpha). Still, naturally, 10,365 vehicle sales in one quarter is very niche. For comparison, in a very down month for Tesla, one of ... [continued]

The post Rivian Beats Wall Street Sales Expectations, But Still Niche appeared first on CleanTechnica.

In this week’s newsletter: From pollution in the upper atmosphere to mounting debris, experts warn the rapid expansion in space could threaten our planet

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Our relationship with space is changing rapidly.

For almost all of human history, the space above us was an unreachable frontier. Yet in a single human lifetime, Earth’s orbit has gone from largely empty to congested with satellites.

Rubbish and recycling in England: what’s changing

Drive slower, work from home: the world responds to Iran war energy crisis

Exclusive: UK looks to relax planning rules for factory farms after lobbying

Lunar prospectors: the businesses looking to mine the moon

‘This feels fragile’: how a satellite-smashing chain reaction could spiral out of control

‘This was the real thing’: Meet the woman who alerts the world when an asteroid could hit

Vibrant seagrass meadows once flourished around the UK but most have been destroyed. Now, communities and scientists are working to restore them

“There’s not many jobs where you get to be a sea gardener,” says Dr Oliver Thomas, senior science officer at Project Seagrass. He’s looking for flashes of eel grass that have survived the winter in the wide golden sand of Penrhyn beach on Ynys Môn (Anglesey), in north Wales.

But growing a meadow in the sea is not an easy job. Vast swathes of the gorgeous underwater swards, vital nurseries for fish such as cod, have been wiped out around the UK in the past century. Up to 92% have been lost. Restoring them – and their water-cleaning, carbon-storing, coast-protecting benefits – is a colossal challenge.

Let’s start with the hard numbers on this one. The Q1 2026 delivery numbers are officially out, and Tesla managed to deliver 358,023 vehicles. If you’re keeping track at home, that’s a pretty rough drop compared to the 386,810 cars they moved back in Q1 of 2024. Zach already put ... [continued]

The post Were Elon’s Politics A Significant Part of Cruddy Q1 Sales? appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Sensory organ in male cephalopod able to detect female hormone progesterone, even if male cannot see partner

Sex might seem an intimate act, but scientists have shed fresh light on how octopuses manage it at arm’s length.

Male octopuses use a specialised arm called the hectocotylus to place a package of sperm inside the female’s reproductive system.

Britain’s swift population fell by two-thirds between 1995 and 2023. Make their lives a little easier with a bit more food and more places to nest

Swifts are wheeling, screaming endurance athletes. They don’t touch the earth for nine months of the year and fly about 14,000 miles annually – travelling from sub-Saharan Africa to nest in the UK, then back again. In Britain, they’re the sign that summer is coming or taking its leave. In between, they provide a heart-soaring display of beauty. No wonder they’re beloved.

“Swifts spark joy,” says Hannah Bourne-Taylor, a passionate swift advocate and author of Nature Needs You: The Fight to Save Our Swifts.

ALBUQUERQUE — This week, the Trump administration advanced the process of increasing oil and gas drilling on a landscape considered sacred by Pueblos and Tribes. On Tuesday, the Trump administration began a 7-day Public Scoping period, the next step in its proposal to open the Greater Chaco Region to oil ... [continued]

The post The Trump Administration’s Attempt to Expand Drilling at Chaco Canyon appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Former government adviser Polly Billington urges bigger steps to shield people in UK from effects of Iran war

• Middle East crisis – live updates

Keir Starmer should convene a global energy summit of the same order as Gordon Brown’s response to the 2008 financial crisis and put Britain on a “war footing” to reduce its exposure to fossil fuels, a Labour MP and former government adviser has said.

Polly Billington, who was an aide in Brown’s government, warned that economic pain was “hurtling down the tracks” and a bigger response was needed to protect the British people from the consequences of the US-Israeli war on Iran.

IONIQ 6 N named 2026 World Performance Car, marking the second time in three years that Hyundai’s N brand has secured the award after IONIQ 5 N in 2024 This marks the fifth consecutive year Hyundai Motor has been honored at the World Car Awards Hyundai Motor Company has achieved ... [continued]

The post Hyundai IONIQ 6 N Crowned 2026 World Performance Car appeared first on CleanTechnica.

US states from California to Georgia are promoting induction stoves for climate, health and cost benefits

Marcos Ramos hasn’t been able to cook a full meal at home in nearly four years, after a gas leak resulted in a lengthy supply cut off for his New York City apartment building.

Now, though, Ramos will be able to cook again thanks to a technology that is gradually advancing in the US after being embroiled in an unlikely culture war – the electric induction stove.

Though there is much interest in the electric vehicles used for personal transportation, it just may be large fleet vehicles electrifying that signals the beginning of the end for gas and diesel. Fleet vehicles typically are driven far more miles and put through more demanding use situations. Additionally, electric motors ... [continued]

The post 100% Of Copenhagen’s City Buses Are Now Electric appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The most useful way to think about the Strait of Hormuz in a decarbonized future is not as an oil story that fades away as the energy transition advances. It is a systems story about where risk sits in the architecture of the economy. In the fossil era, Hormuz matters ... [continued]

The post Two Options for the Strait of Hormuz in a Decarbonized World appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Study shows reducing vulnerability to pollution, including by expanding healthcare access, saves millions of lives

Reductions in vulnerability to air pollution since 1990 saved the lives of about 1.7 million people in 2019, according to new research.

Particle pollution improved in 139 out of 193 countries. The greatest gains were achieved in Europe and North America, with smaller reductions across Africa and Asia.

It was a slow ascent: I needed to check for wasps, snakes and scorpions

I was born in Tawau, a Malaysian city on the island of Borneo, and grew up around logging camps – my dad worked in the industry. In the early 90s, a lot of the forest here started being cleared for commercial use. At the time, I just thought that was the way things were.

That changed when I began working in conservation as a teenager at the South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership in the nearby Danum Valley. My job was to plant seedlings in places where the forest had been cut down. I began to learn about the importance of keeping the forest safe.

Document shows partial felling last year, which led to legal action against Toby Carvery, was done by Ground Control

A mystery contractor who chainsawed an ancient oak in north London for the Toby Carvery restaurant chain has been identified by the Guardian, prompting more questions about the incident.

The unauthorised partial felling of the 500-year-old oak a year ago on Friday in Whitewebbs Park, Enfield, prompted widespread public outrage and questions in parliament.

Texas power plant would emit 4.5m tons of carbon dioxide per year, more than that of the entire city of San Francisco

Google’s plan for a partnership with a natural gas power plant that could provide energy for one of its datacenters in Texas was unearthed by new research and confirmed by the company. The move is part of an ongoing about-face for the tech giant, which once pledged to be carbon neutral by 2030 and has long been seen as a pioneer in clean energy.

The gas power plant is slated to be built in Armstrong county, a sparsely populated area in the Texas panhandle. According to a report by the research organization Cleanview, the project is being led by Crusoe Energy, which partnered with Google to develop the datacenter campus known as “Goodnight”, named after a nearby town.

ASCENSION PARISH, LA — A coalition of labor unions, community and climate groups have written to the Hyundai CEO asking the company to ensure its proposed $5.8 billion steel mill in Donaldsonville meets strong health and environmental standards, while providing quality jobs. The letter follows a meeting in the Lemann ... [continued]

The post Labor Unions, Community, and Climate Groups Demand Hyundai Answers on Louisiana Steel Mill appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Or 47 ways to say the “w-word” Over 13,000 kilometers (~8,500 miles) away from Washington and we here in the Philippines feel the effects of the White House’s war on Iran. Oh! It’s that word! It’s that deplorable word — a banned word, in the same league as woke, trans, ... [continued]

The post The Greenwashing of War appeared first on CleanTechnica.