Interesting Ideas

The US offshore wind industry lives to fight another day, now that a federal judge has voided a key part of US President Donald Trump's offshore wind ban.

The post Federal Judge Vacates Illegal Offshore Wind Order, Says Wind Foes Are “Tilting At Windmills” appeared first on CleanTechnica.

UN GEO report says ending this harm key to global transformation required ‘before collapse becomes inevitable’

The unsustainable production of food and fossil fuels causes $5bn (£3.8bn) of environmental damage per hour, according to a major UN report.

Ending this harm was a key part of the global transformation of governance, economics and finance required “before collapse becomes inevitable”, the experts said.

Every year, 1bn tonnes of food are wasted. I value my meals and the work that has gone into them, so I am now always prepared and ready to take home delicious leftovers

I’ve always loved catching up with friends and family over a meal out. Not only is it a chance to find out the latest gossip and what everyone’s up to, but it’s also an opportunity to try out new foods and share that experience together.

But looking back, I’ve realised that I’ve been guilty of contributing to food waste by leaving meals unfinished. Sometimes, I didn’t realise how big portions would be or I’d get so focused on chatting to everyone that I would forget to eat everything until it was time to go.

If the EU holds firm on the 2035 target, the European auto industry has a real chance to be competitive global EV players. Next week the EU will make an announcement that will decide the fate of its car industry. The revision of the car CO2 law, and the 2035 electrification ... [continued]

The post Technology Neutrality Is Not The Solution To The Car Industry’s Issues appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Inside Presence, the Icelandic-Danish artist’s epic new show in Brisbane, what you see changes based on where you stand or how you look – crucial when it comes to tackling the climate crisis

I gasp as it comes into view: an enormous sun looming above, its surface roiling with what looks like thousands of tiny atomic explosions. It seems to notice me as well: when I stop, it stops too. It’s both awe-inspiring and unnerving.

In the mirrors around the glowing orb, I spot Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson – globally renowned for large-scale installations that challenge your sense of perception – posing for selfies with the crowd.

Was the plant-based meat substitute industry wrong to recommend its products as a climate solution? That’s what Impossible Foods CEO Peter McGuinness insists, saying that the approach severely restricted the company’s potential customer base early on. The approach may have contributed to an inevitable pattern of steadily falling US faux ... [continued]

The post Is The Plant-Based Food Sector Really Too Woke? appeared first on CleanTechnica.

First of all, I want to note that whether Tesla sales are booming in China or not is sort of irrelevant to Tesla’s/Elon Musk’s vision for the company and how it is supposed to succeed now. Musk has all but given up on serious growth from normal automaker improvements, vehicles ... [continued]

The post Are Tesla Sales Really Popping in China? appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Hargatewall, Derbyshire: Cycling towards a frosty Kinder Scout, I was waylaid by a raptor so settled she wouldn’t even move for a passing tractor

North of Hargatewall, the country has an austere quality, a high limestone plateau with a tracery of walls the colour of old bones dividing oblongs of pasture. The hamlet’s name has nothing to do with gates or walls. It’s derived from Old English words meaning “herd farm by the spring” – a clue to the deep roots that farming here can draw on. Wildlife today was limited to the ubiquitous crows and rooks silhouetted against the milky blue sky or else resting on those white walls.

Cycling north, my attention was fixed on the horizon, where, in contrast to the green fields around me, the broad bulk of Kinder Scout was heavily frosted.

Reno, Nevada — Dragonfly Energy Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq: DFLI) (“Dragonfly Energy” or the “Company”), an industry leader in energy storage and maker of Battle Born Batteries®, today announced that World Cat, the world’s largest producer of power catamarans, has expanded its integration of Battle Born® power systems across new models. Following the ... [continued]

The post Dragonfly Energy Expands Marine OEM Footprint with World’s Largest Power Catamaran Manufacturer, World Cat appeared first on CleanTechnica.

TL;DR — Public charging is expensive and messy because the business model is wrong. Instead of selling electricity, charging operators should just provide infrastructure — and utilities should bill drivers directly at their home rate. A single API can make this happen and unlock the kind of seamless experience Tesla ... [continued]

The post A New Billing Architecture To Transform EV Charging Economics appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Tapanuli orangutans survive only in Indonesia’s Sumatran rainforest where a mine expansion will cut through their home. Yet the mining company says the alternative will be worse

A small brown line snakes its way through the rainforest in northern Sumatra, carving 300 metres through dense patches of meranti trees, oak and mahua. Picked up by satellites, the access road – though modest now – will soon extend 2km to connect with the Tor Ulu Ala pit, an expansion site of Indonesia’s Martabe mine. The road will help to unlock valuable deposits of gold, worth billions of dollars in today’s booming market. But such wealth could come at a steep cost to wildlife and biodiversity: the extinction of the world’s rarest ape, the Tapanuli orangutan.

The network of access roads planned for this swath of tropical rainforest will cut through habitat critical to the survival of the orangutans, scientists say. The Tapanuli (Pongo tapanuliensis), unique to Indonesia, was only discovered by scientists to be a separate species in 2017 – distinct from the Sumatran and Bornean apes. Today, there are fewer than 800 Tapanulis left in an area that covers as little as 2.5% of their historical range. All are found in Sumatra’s fragile Batang Toru ecosystem, bordered on its south-west flank by the Martabe mine, which began operations in 2012.

Copernicus deputy director says three-year average for 2023 to 2025 on track to exceed 1.5C of heating for first time

This year is “virtually certain” to end as the second- or third-hottest year on record, EU scientists have found, as climate breakdown continues to push the planet away from the stable conditions in which humanity evolved.

Global temperatures from January to November were on average 1.48C higher than preindustrial levels, according to the Copernicus, the EU’s earth observation programme. It found the anomalies were so far identical to those recorded in 2023, which is the second-hottest year on record after 2024.

Measures to keep ETS2 prices affordable. Weakening the car CO2 standards will only make the ETS2 more expensive. Here’s why: The Council and the European Parliament agreed to delay ETS2 by one year. Before the prospect of an ETS2 delay emerged, 2027 carbon price projections under the MSR reform ranged ... [continued]

The post Making ETS2 Work appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Zoox, the robotaxi startup owned by Amazon, has expanded a bit recently, and it is ready to scale up enough that it has secured an EV battery supplier for more EV production. Starting in early 2026, Zoox will be receiving batteries from Panasonic Energy. It will be using 2170 cylindrical ... [continued]

The post Panasonic to Supply Batteries for Zoox appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Kia says it won't bring the EV5 to the US but will offer it in Canada, while Scout will sell mostly plug-in hybrids.

The post Kia EV5 For Canada, Scout Pre-Orders Heavily Favor PHEV Option appeared first on CleanTechnica.

‘Destructive’ marine heatwaves driving loss of microalgae that feed coral, says Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network

Caribbean reefs have half as much hard coral now as they did in 1980, a study has found.

The 48% decrease in coral cover has been driven by climate breakdown, specifically marine heatwaves. They affect the microalgae that feed coral, making them toxic and forcing the coral to expel them.

As the days grow shorter and darkness descends, tropical varieties can struggle. But there’s a clever fix that nature can’t provide

The problem
In the dark days of winter, the whole house is darker, days are shorter, skies are greyer and our tropical houseplants receive far less light than they would in their natural habitat. Leaves fade and growth slows as plants struggle to photosynthesise.

The hack
Grow lights offer a clever fix, topping up what nature can’t provide. But with prices ranging from £15 to £100, are they really worth it?

Charity worker had joined 40 demonstrators ‘bearing witness’ to the loss of three lime trees in Falmouth

A charity worker suffered a head injury when police tried to remove her from a protest against trees being felled in a Cornish seaside town.

Debs Newman, 60, was “bearing witness” to the loss of three mature lime trees in Falmouth when she was seized by officers.

Indianapolis, Indiana — A new ad in downtown Indianapolis reminds Hoosiers that their high utility bills are thanks to coal. According to a new report, Indiana is the state with the highest year-over-year electric bills, as bills have increased more than 16% in the last year, and Indiana’s energy prices have ... [continued]

The post ICYMI: Indianapolis Billboard Calls Out Coal for Hoosiers’ High Utility Bills appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Consumers spent £1.7bn on festive lighting last year and much of it is treated as disposable

UK households have thrown away an estimated 168m light-up Christmas items and other “fast-tech” gifts over the past year, a study suggests.

The research by the non-profit group Material Focus found about £1.7bn was spent last year on Christmas lighting, including 39m sets of fairy lights.