Interesting Ideas

As the US shuts its doors to most refugees, there’s little hope of a new system to help those forced from home by climate impacts

• Trump targets migrants from countries hit most by climate shocks

Millions of people around the world are having their lives upended by floods, storms and heatwaves worsened by the climate crisis. Those forced to flee their home countries, however, are finding that the door to the US is more firmly shut than ever.

Neither US nor international law recognizes environmental hazards, such as climate-related displacement, as a valid cause to claim asylum or gain entry through other migration pathways, despite the mounting toll of disasters caused by an overheating planet.

Geely is a brand to watch as it storms the barricades of the rEVolution. Geely owns many other brands, but the focus in this article is one brand, and one particular model: the Geely Xingyuan, recently launched in Australia as the Geely EX2. According to CleanTechnica’s Jose Pontes in his ... [continued]

The post Geely EX2 — There Is Only One In Australia, For Now! appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Waymo has long been considered the US leader in self-driving vehicles, and parent Google before it when Waymo wasn’t yet a brand. Well, I guess there are many people who have considered Tesla the leader for the past several years, but that is based on the assumption that Tesla’s approach ... [continued]

The post Waymo Premier — Ah, This Is Where The Company’s Headed! appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Long-awaited course to examine human effects on natural world and explore everyday ways to aid biodiversity

School pupils will learn how to plant a wildflower-friendly garden, according to long-awaited plans announced on Thursday for a natural history GCSE in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Campaigners have for more than a decade called for the study of biodiversity loss and global heating to be introduced as a dedicated subject in classrooms across the country, but despite a curriculum being previously drawn up, its launch has faced repeated delays.

This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world

Imperial College scientists analysed health records before and after introduction of air pollution reduction zones

Low emission and clean air zones attract controversy whenever they are proposed, but there is growing evidence that they work in improving air quality. The Bradford zone was followed by a reduction of about 25% in GP visits for heart and breathing problems and survey data shows that the central London zone was followed by a reduction in the likelihood of a person taking sick leave.

Now analysis of health records has found emergency admissions to hospital reduced after the introduction of the T-charge and ultra-low emissions zone (Ulez) in central London.

BYD is planning to install 3,000 new “Flash” EV chargers in Europe by 2027. These are ultrafast chargers that can charge an EV in about 5 minutes, depending on the EV model. About 600 of the new chargers will be installed in the UK. Apparently, the new chargers will be ... [continued]

The post 3,000 Ultrafast EV Chargers Planned For Europe — Just From BYD appeared first on CleanTechnica.

More than 20,000 votes cast in Butterfly Conservation’s poll of 60 native species to find nation’s favourite for first time

The votes are in on Britain’s favourite butterfly, and it is one of the most ubiquitous yet spectacular backyard beauties that has flown to victory.

With its lavender, yellow and maroon eye spots and luscious rusty red and black colouration, the peacock butterfly is both beautiful and commonplace, flying throughout spring, summer and autumn in all corners of the British Isles.

While La Calera faced severe water rationing, local springs were being drained by the drinks giant’s franchise. So the residents fought back

When a severe drought struck La Calera near Bogotá, many of its residents lost their water for drinking, cooking and farming and faced up to 15 days of strict water rationing each month. Yet the area is home to Chingaza reservoir, which supplies about 70% of the drinking water for Colombia’s capital.

As the drought stretched from April 2024 to April last year, people began to look more closely at how their water was being managed.

Despite plunging border crossings, the Trump administration is circumventing laws to expedite building in a vast, pristine wilderness

The Trump administration has waived a slew of environmental and historical preservation laws that would allow it to build a towering border wall that cuts through Big Bend national park, a vast protected wilderness in south Texas.

Congress poured a whopping $46.5bn for border wall construction into the “Big, Beautiful” bill last year, supercharging Donald Trump’s ambition to wall off the southern border with Mexico. The longest unwalled stretches lie along a roughly 500-mile (800km) section of west Texas that Customs and Border Protection calls the “Big Bend sector”.

With the forthcoming GLC electric SUV, Mercedes-Benz is among the automakers anticipating healthy demand in the US luxury EV market, despite the sharp u-turn in federal energy policy.

The post Mercedes-Benz Unveils New Luxury EV Design Details…In Arizona appeared first on CleanTechnica.

With the launch of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Waymo is on a publishing spree this week. Yesterday, it published a scientifically oriented article on a “new reference model for human collision avoidance.” This is the result of joint research with TU Delft, and a resulting paper was published in ... [continued]

The post Waymo: Aim to Become “World’s Most Trusted Driver” and “New Reference Model for Human Collision Avoidance” appeared first on CleanTechnica.

CleanTechnica produced the first ever Electric Home Show at the Blaisdell Expo Hall in Honolulu, HI, in April this year. It was … fun AF. As sustainability truly is. There were about 75 eco-friendly vendors ranging from EV/hybrid repair shops to ebike vendors to farm-to-table restaurants to solar to battery ... [continued]

The post CleanTechnica’s First Sustainability Expo & Electric Home Show appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Intricate tests show hair-trigger detection causes cells on outer surface of leaf to soften, prompting closure

The Venus flytrap is one of nature’s most impressive predators, luring insects with the intoxicating scent of nectar before capturing them with a snap of its jaw-like leaves.

Now, scientists have revealed the mechanism that allows the carnivorous plant to react with lightning speed, resolving a problem that stumped Charles Darwin and many researchers after him.

“Balcony solar” has been one of the more popular stories of the past year. More and more locations are allowing plug-and-play solar. No need for a permit. No need to wait for months to install solar. No need for a solar installer at all. You just plug in your solar ... [continued]

The post Balcony Solar Bill Moving Forward in California appeared first on CleanTechnica.

With the addition of on-site solar cell fabrication, the US branch of Qcells has achieved full, vertical, Made-in-the-USA status for its solar factory in Cartersville, Georgia (cropped, courtesy of Qcells).

The post Yet Another Red State Solar Cell Factory Will Drink Trump’s Milkshake appeared first on CleanTechnica.

As Europe transitions to sustainable energy alternatives and away from fossil fuel dependence, the aviation sector and airports must follow. As described in our response to the Aviation Strategy, airports form an important part of the aviation transition. Not only must airports themselves reduce their own emissions, they must also support ... [continued]

The post Draft Guidelines on State Aid to the Air Transport Sector — T&E Consultation Response appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Cardiff: I still remember my first otter sighting, on a bog in the mid-90s. This, in a lab on a stainless steel table, is something else

Otter No 4,888 was found at the side of the road near the River Cefni on Anglesey in November 2024. The collector froze her body and sent it, as every dead otter in the UK should be, to Cardiff University’s Otter Project for a postmortem. The vast majority of the 200 or so animals dissected here annually are roadkill.

On one of the hottest days of the year, we put on lab coats, gloves and masks. Otter No 4,888 is laid out on the stainless steel table. Aside from a mark on her hind left leg and some bleeding from the nose, this young female’s body looks intact. I take the rare opportunity to look closely at her cat-like whiskers, the white patch under her chin, and the round black pads of her webbed feet.

The new Alberta pipeline deal should be read as political strategy first and infrastructure second, if second at all. Prime Minister Mark Carney gets something real from it: a “Canada is open for business” signal, a trade-diversification pathway to point at, and a way to undercut opponents who want to ... [continued]

The post Carney’s Alberta Pipeline Deal Is Strategy, Not A Funded Pipeline appeared first on CleanTechnica.

In this week’s newsletter: Joining a research team on the Darwin and Wolf Islands off the Ecuadorian coast revealed how critically endangered species are reacting to their rapidly changing ocean environment

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Darwin and Wolf Islands in the Galápagos archipelago are the kinds of places scuba divers and marine biologists dream of visiting, myself included. I even wrote a children’s book imagining a team of scientists exploring the underwater wonders of the Galápagos islands on a beautiful sailing ship.

That’s why I’m still pinching myself that earlier this year I got to take part in a real expedition to Darwin and Wolf.

‘Super-rich’s assets cause outsized amount of climate harm’

‘An equal and habitable world is possible’: academics set out sweeping vision for planetary survival

‘This may be our last chance’: rising sea levels threaten Kiribati’s World Cup dream | The Hotspot