Interesting Ideas

Washington, D.C. — Today, Sierra Club released a new analysis and interactive dashboard that shows the staggeringly high energy burden low-income households are facing across the country. Sierra Club’s analysis shows that low-income households face the heaviest energy burdens. The Department of Energy defines a high energy burden as spending 6 percent or more of income ... [continued]

The post Low-Income Families Bear Highest Energy Burden — New Analysis appeared first on CleanTechnica.

By Wanjiru Kamotho-Mureithi The recent instability in the Gulf region has reminded African countries and the world of a familiar yet painful vulnerability; oil-dependent economies face recurring crises they cannot control. Kenya offers a clear illustration of this dynamic. Nearly all the country’s fuel is imported, with the nation spending ... [continued]

The post When Oil Shocks Hit Home: Why Africa’s Buses Must Go Electric appeared first on CleanTechnica.

INDIANAPOLIS — NIPSCO GenCo recently signed a 12-year contract with Halldor Energy Company to power new Google (Michigan City) and Amazon data centers with its Merom coal-fired power plant. The Michigan City data center would be Google’s first in the country to contract for a coal plant’s capacity, to Sierra Club knowledge– ... [continued]

The post Merom Coal Plant to Power Google & Amazon Data Centers; Hoosiers at Risk for Footing the Bill appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Nature groups urge people to avoid unauthorised areas to protect birds during nesting season

Nature groups have pleaded with swimmers to give wildlife a wide berth after dozens of people swam in a nature pond on Hampstead Heath among nests of baby birds.

Swans and their 12-day-old cygnets were disturbed by hordes of splashing revellers in the north London park on Monday as London reached record 35C temperatures. In one video, a swan was seen poking an unhatched egg with its beak after it fell into the water during the chaos.

Amy is worried about microplastics. Melanie says she can’t bin everything. Whose argument is toxic? You decide
• Find out how to get a disagreement settled or become a juror

I want to live a healthier life too, but removing all plastics is unrealistic and unaffordable

Joel de Mowbray’s salvage scheme began as a small milk float converted into a logging vehicle – now he’s part of Tipping Point East, a massive site designed to divert valuable waste materials to builders that need it

Joel de Mowbray reached breaking point with UK construction in south London in 2020. He was working on a lovely building project, part of Lambeth council’s scheme to make streets more pedestrian-friendly. De Mowbray was installing a public wooden seating area in an underused stretch of street.

“The council were doing treeworks the entire time we were building, felling trees right next to us,” he says. “But we had to go to Ashdown Forest for our supplies. That felt bonkers to me: they were creating the exact material we needed next to our site.”

True or false? Most large scale solar energy projects in the US encounter relatively few permitting conflicts. Many media stories that spread the perception that opposition to solar development is common. A new study led by University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers says the correct answer to the question is…. True. ... [continued]

The post There Are Many Fewer Solar Installation Permitting Conflicts Than You’d Think appeared first on CleanTechnica.

UPDATE May 27: BLUETTI’s Kickstarter campaign for the new FridgePower battery backup system is coming to an end and they sent along the following couple of updates: The Milestone: We’ve officially surpassed $2M in funding; it’s now the Final 72 Hours (campaign ends May 31). Final Pricing: Solo at $819 ... [continued]

The post The BLUETTI FridgePower: Real-World Review — UPDATES appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Industry figures warn of national security risk and call for ministers to address impact of extreme weather, inflation and Iran war

Britain is “sleepwalking into a food crisis” caused by extreme weather, inflation and the impacts of the Iran war – and the government is failing to take the threat seriously, food experts have said.

Farmers are facing severe strain from the current heatwave following a dry spring, with many crops likely to yield less as temperatures rise beyond their tolerance. Livestock are also suffering heat stress and there is a rising risk of wildfires. Economic losses are likely to be measured in the hundreds of millions of pounds.

Caistor St Edmund, Norfolk: Adult swallows travel across the world to breed in Britain’s supposedly temperate climate. Instead, this week’s temperatures have been deadly

Mouth gaping, the swallow chick leans perilously over the edge of the nest cup. It is young, just a scrap of body, and at least a week away from being ready to fledge. But under the tin roof the heat is rising, becoming unbearable.

The chick perches on the edge of the nest, opening and closing its mouth, trying to stay cool in the absence of sweat glands. Then, it’s hard to tell if it overbalances, seeking cooler air, or makes a decision. Either way, it plunges down, dropping with no hope of flight. Somehow it misses the hard breezeblock ledge, and fortunately lands on the horse bedding.

Investigators are still searching for what caused the recent deaths of a mother and her calf, but conservationists say the animal’s shrinking habitat may be the first place to look

The two elephants were found dead in the Indonesian province of Bengkulu, in an area of “production forest” in southern Sumatra. The mother and her calf were lying side by side with their tusks still intact.

Unlikely to be poachers, the cause of their deaths – and that of a tiger nearby – at the end of April is still being investigated but conservationists say this is not an isolated case. It is estimated that seven wild elephants have died in Bengkulu since 2018.

Many parts of the world are sweltering in record heat, but research shows people don't want to hear about the causes.

The post Unprecedented Heat Is Cooking The Earth This Year appeared first on CleanTechnica.

When you think about heat pump installation time, you probably think of the work that happens onsite. But what about the days, weeks, or even months it takes for permitting? Or, when a distributor only stocks gas heaters, so the shipping lead time is half a year? Data on these ... [continued]

The post How Long Do Heat Pump Installations Take? appeared first on CleanTechnica.

At least nine people have died in recent days as people have tried to cool off in Britain’s waterways

Water safety experts have warned about the dangers of outdoor swimming after a number of drownings in recent days as people try to escape soaring temperatures by cooling off in rivers, lakes, reservoirs and other bodies of water.

Emergency services have reported at least nine deaths because of water-related incidents in the past few days, seven of them young people, as Britain’s heatwave sends crowds of people to the seaside and other swimming spots.

The WasteBar food truck hopes the eye-catching deal will change people’s attitude to waste in the Netherlands

Using cigarette butts to buy buttery Dutch pancakes? That is the deal one food truck is offering at festivals in the Netherlands as a way to get people thinking about litter.

Cigarette butts are the most common form of plastic waste in the world, with more than 4.5tn butts produced every year. In the Netherlands the estimated figure is in the hundreds of millions.

The US Army has been slow to adopt EVs, but the combination of range extender hybrids and crewless, robotic applications could provide an opening.

The post Maybe, Just Maybe, The US Army Wants EVs After All appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Global temperature record could be broken as soon as 2027, with El Niño expected later this year

A record-breaking hot year is almost certain by 2030 as the climate crisis intensifies, the UN’s World Meteorological Organization has warned.

With an El Niño event expected later this year, the global temperature record could fall as soon as 2027.

For some it’s ‘the music of May’. For others, it’s an antisocial irritation. But wherever you stand, be careful – or you could fall foul of the law

Name: Lawnmower hum.

Age: Getting steadily louder since 1830.

At the start of 2026, I predicted that Africa would surprise a lot of observers with solar deployment this year. That was in my 2026 energy predictions article, and the prediction was not based on one giant solar park, one government announcement, or one development bank programme. It was based ... [continued]

The post Africa’s Solar Boom May Be Hiding In The Import Data appeared first on CleanTechnica.

I’ve been following the African electric motorcycle sector for almost 10 years now, from the time of early pilots to present day commercial rollouts and ramp-ups in production. The sector was always going to flourish in the long term based on several factors: A large addressable market of over 30 ... [continued]

The post Africa’s Electric Motorcycle Manufacturers Get Ready for the Next Phase as Adoption of Electric Motorcycles Accelerates appeared first on CleanTechnica.