Interesting Ideas

Exclusive: Some scientists say many detections are most likely error, with one high-profile study called a ‘joke’

High-profile studies reporting the presence of microplastics throughout the human body have been thrown into doubt by scientists who say the discoveries are probably the result of contamination and false positives. One chemist called the concerns “a bombshell”.

Studies claiming to have revealed micro and nanoplastics in the brain, testes, placentas, arteries and elsewhere were reported by media across the world, including the Guardian. There is no doubt that plastic pollution of the natural world is ubiquitous, and present in the food and drink we consume and the air we breathe. But the health damage potentially caused by microplastics and the chemicals they contain is unclear, and an explosion of research has taken off in this area in recent years.

Being invited to participate in Ofgem’s eight-part Inside Energy podcast series available through their Youtube channel was an opportunity to step briefly inside the thinking of a regulator that sits at the center of the UK’s energy transition. Sharing an episode with Ofgem’s CEO Jonathan Brearley was a privilege, and ... [continued]

The post From Britain to the World: What Ofgem’s Energy Debate Looks Like in Global Context appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Britain’s winter thrushes, the swallows and swifts of the season, were strangely absent until recently

Just as swallows and swifts are the constant sight and sound of spring and summer, so our two winter thrushes – fieldfares and redwings – are usually ever-present during the autumn and winter months.

Last autumn, however, the fields and hedgerows around my Somerset home were unusually devoid of these birds, while their favourite food – the hawthorn’s bright scarlet berries – remained uneaten.

The international swan census takes place this weekend, with volunteers helping count whooper and Bewick’s swans

Volunteer birders across the UK and Ireland will be among those taking part in the six-yearly international swan census this weekend, counting numbers of the countries’ two wintering species, whooper and Bewick’s swans.

The survey, which last took place in January 2020, aims to track changes in the populations of these charismatic wildfowl in the UK and Ireland. The whoopers have mainly travelled from Iceland and the Bewick’s from Siberia.

Energy company also under pressure from worse oil trading performance and weaker oil prices

• Business live – latest updates

BP has said it expects to write down the value of its struggling green energy business by as much as $5bn (£3.7bn), as it refocuses on fossil fuels under its new chair, Albert Manifold.

The oil company said the writedowns were mostly related to its gas and low-carbon energy divisions in its “transition businesses”, but added that wiping between $4bn and $5bn off their value would not affect its underlying profits when it reports its full-year results in February.

NewYork GreenCloud (NYGC) announced the acquisition of the Buena Vista Biomass Power (BVBP) facility in Ione, California. The site will become NYGC’s first large-scale carbon negative AI Factory, integrating biomass-to-pyrolysis energy systems with behind-the-meter, liquid-cooled AI compute. “The Buena Vista Biomass Power facility is the beginning of a national platform ... [continued]

The post NewYork GreenCloud Acquires Buena Vista Biomass Power Facility to Launch First Carbon-Negative AI Factory appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Hyundai Motor’s all-electric SUV IONIQ 9 was praised for its innovation, performance and luxurious features Selected by 84 female automotive journalists from 54 countries across five continents IONIQ 9 is now a contender for the WWCOTY Supreme Winner title, set to be announced in March Hyundai Motor Company’s all-electric SUV ... [continued]

The post Hyundai IONIQ 9 Hailed as World’s Best Large SUV at 2026 Women’s Worldwide Car of the Year Awards appeared first on CleanTechnica.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul is reportedly working on legislation to open the pathway for robotaxis across New York — well, everywhere except New York City. “New York Governor Kathy Hochul plans to introduce legislation that would effectively legalize robotaxis in the state — except for its most populous metropolis: ... [continued]

The post New York Governor Opens Pathway for Robotaxis … Except in NYC appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Pressure mounting for use of glyphosate, listed by WHO since 2015 as probable carcinogen, to be heavily restricted

Children are potentially being exposed to the controversial weedkiller glyphosate at playgrounds across the UK, campaigners have said after testing playgrounds in London and the home counties.

The World Health Organization has listed glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen since 2015. However, campaigners say local authorities in the UK are still using thousands of litres of glyphosate-based herbicides in public green spaces.

Data leads scientists to declare 2015 Paris agreement to keep global heating below 1.5C ‘dead in the water’

Last year was the third hottest on record, scientists have said, with mounting fossil fuel pollution behind “exceptional” temperatures.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said 2025 had continued a three-year streak of “extraordinary global temperatures” during which surface air temperatures averaged 1.48C above preindustrial levels.

When US President Donald Trump declared an “energy emergency” on January 20 of last year, he tapped the nation’s hydropower industry for preferential treatment alongside coal and other fossil fuels. And so, it is no surprise to see the US Department of Energy issuing a new report that outlines the ... [continued]

The post The Coal-Killing Combo Of Hydropower & Battery Energy Storage Systems, Brought To You By US President Donald Trump appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The comparison between Germany’s hydrogen backbone from nowhere to nowhere and China’s reported 1,000km-plus hydrogen pipeline keeps resurfacing, often framed as evidence that Germany is simply early rather than wrong. It is a fair question, because at a distance both projects appear similar. Both involve long-distance hydrogen pipelines. Both are ... [continued]

The post Same Length, Different Logic: China’s Industrial Hydrogen Pipeline Versus Germany’s Backbone appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Subsidies awarded to eight new projects help keep UK on track to decarbonise by 2030

• Nils Pratley: Labour faces risks on energy despite ‘record’ wind power auction

• Will Great Britain’s offshore wind subsidy auction mean lower energy bills?

• Ed Miliband: With this record wind power auction, we’ve proved the rightwing doubters wrong

A make-or-break auction for the UK government’s goal to create a clean electricity system by 2030 has awarded subsidy contracts to enough offshore windfarms to power 12m homes.

In Great Britain’s most competitive auction for renewable subsidies to date, energy companies vied for contracts that guarantee the price for each unit of clean electricity they generate.

US$5.9M awarded to 11 organisations and high schools from the UAE, Brazil, Canada, Nepal, Switzerland, Uganda and across six sustainability categories From AI-enabled diagnostics to Cooling-as-a-Service, this year’s winners deliver locally adapted innovations that empower millions In 18 years, the Prize has scaled solutions reaching more than 411 million people ... [continued]

The post Zayed Sustainability Prize Honours Global Pioneers Advancing Progress appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Colombia’s EV market has been setting record after record lately, reaching 10% market share in November and rising to 12.9% (10.7% BEV) in December! Last month, EV sales reached an all-time high of 3,905 units, 80% more than a year prior, and 60% above the previous record from October 2025. ... [continued]

The post Colombia EV Sales Report: Market Share Reaches 12.9% in December, Prior to Tesla’s Upcoming Tsunami appeared first on CleanTechnica.

St Kew, Cornwall: Midwinter is the best time for us to visit heritage sites and speculate on legends, starting at the secluded St Winnow’s church

The stained glass window of St Kew’s church, with a tamed bear at the saint’s feet, is temporarily out of sight, penned in by a jumble of scaffolding. On a chilly hilltop a few miles to the south, St Mabyn’s tower features weathered carvings of heraldic beasts, including a muzzled bear pointing its snout northwards; inside, bears feature on crests of the Prideaux, Barratt and Godolphin families. Midwinter, when Cornwall is relatively free of visitors’ traffic, is a time to visit historic sites and speculate on legends, Arthurian myths and associated early reverence for the pole star encircled by the constellation of the Great Bear.

Secluded St Winnow, further south alongside the tidal River Fowey, is first on our itinerary, reached along narrow, winding lanes. The church is dedicated to a Celtic missionary who is depicted with a handheld grindstone – this holy man neglected the task of milling the monks’ flour in favour of more prayer time.

Arthur D. Little’s Blue Shift institute has published its latest report, AI’s Hidden Dependencies. This in-depth report, involving more than 50 experts, explores AI’s resource dependencies and the consequent direct systemic vulnerabilities for businesses and lays out strategic actions in response. With AI’s adoption and usage expected to remain on its ... [continued]

The post Blue Shift Report Highlights Systemic Vulnerabilities Caused by the Hidden Cost of AI appeared first on CleanTechnica.

In countries such as South Sudan, the great herds have all but disappeared. But further south, conservation success mean increasing human-wildlife conflict

It is late on a January afternoon in the middle of South Sudan’s dry season, and the landscape, pricked with stubby acacias, is hazy with smoke from people burning the grasslands to encourage new growth. Even from the perspective of a single-engine ultralight aircraft, we are warned it will be hard to spot the last elephant in Badingilo national park, a protected area covering nearly 9,000 sq km (3,475 sq miles).

Technology helps – the 20-year-old bull elephant wears a GPS collar that pings coordinates every hour. The animal’s behaviour patterns also help; Badingilo’s last elephant is so lonely that it moves with a herd of giraffes.

Tesla FSDS (Full Self Driving Supervised) is all over the media and Facebook in Australia. I was privileged to be part of a conversation about the similarities between FSDS and commercial flying on both Facebook and then continued by email. It is surprising that FSDS is being not just accepted ... [continued]

The post How Does Tesla FSDS Compare with Commercial Airliner Autopilot? appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Whether it’s the financial crash, the climate emergency or the breakdown of the international order, historian Adam Tooze has become the go-to guide to the radical new world we’ve entered

In late January 2025, 10 days after Donald Trump was sworn in for a second time as president of the United States, an economic conference in Brussels brought together several officials from the recently deposed Biden administration for a discussion about the global economy. In Washington, Trump and his wrecking crew were already busy razing every last brick of Joe Biden’s legacy, but in Brussels, the Democratic exiles put on a brave face. They summoned the comforting ghosts of white papers past, intoning old spells like “worker-centered trade policy” and “middle-out bottom-up economics”. They touted their late-term achievements. They even quoted poetry: “We did not go gently into that good night,” Katherine Tai, who served as Biden’s US trade representative, said from the stage. Tai proudly told the audience that before leaving office she and her team had worked hard to complete “a set of supply-chain-resiliency papers, a set of model negotiating texts, and a shipbuilding investigation”.

It was not until 70 minutes into the conversation that a discordant note was sounded, when Adam Tooze joined the panel remotely. Born in London, raised in West Germany, and living now in New York, where he teaches at Columbia, Tooze was for many years a successful but largely unknown academic. A decade ago he was recognised, when he was recognised at all, as an economic historian of Europe. Since 2018, however, when he published Crashed, his “contemporary history” of the 2008 financial crisis and its aftermath, Tooze has become, in the words of Jonathan Derbyshire, his editor at the Financial Times, “a sort of platonic ideal of the universal intellectual”.