Interesting Ideas

Scientists issue urgent warning about chemicals, found to cause cancer and infertility as well as harming environment

Scientists have issued an urgent warning that some of the synthetic chemicals that help underpin the current food system are driving increased rates of cancer, neurodevelopmental conditions and infertility, while degrading the foundations of global agriculture.

The health burden from phthalates, bisphenols, pesticides and Pfas “forever chemicals” amounts to up to $2.2tn a year – roughly as much as the profits of the world’s 100 largest publicly listed companies, according to the report published on Wednesday.

In June 2024, the European Union (EU) announced big new tariffs on electric vehicles produced in China. Among other details and clarifications, plug-in hybrids were not included. The high tariffs would only apply to fully electric cars. On a continent trying to electrify the auto industry pretty quickly, that seemed ... [continued]

The post The Chinese EV Tariff & Vehicle Sales Backfire In Europe That Was Too Obvious appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Once fairly frequent winter visitors to southern England, they now stay close to their northern breeding grounds

An owl? Or just a gatepost? In my experience, it’s usually a gatepost. So as I drove home across the Somerset Levels, returning from my first starling murmuration of the year, I was convinced that the owl-shaped lump a few yards away was just that. It was also dark brown, unlike the barn owls I sometimes see, which glow like beacons long after sunset.

Stopping the car, I lifted my binoculars and found myself face to face with a real, live short-eared owl (Asio flammeus), a bird I hadn’t seen in Somerset for several years. Once fairly frequent winter visitors to southern England, like so many other species from farther north and east their numbers have fallen as they stay put on, or close to, their breeding grounds.

Hyundai Motor’s work with Healthy Seas has removed 320 tons of marine litter, including abandoned fishing nets from “ghost farm” operations and other plastics Suitable recovered nets are recycled into new products, such as floormats for Hyundai’s IONIQ 5, IONIQ 6, IONIQ 9, INSTER, SANTA FE and NEXO in Europe ... [continued]

The post Hyundai Motor & Healthy Seas Celebrate 5 Years of Global Ocean Conservation & Education Leadership appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Study on skull of Altamura Man could be blow to adaptation theories about Neanderthals and their extinction

One sign of a really cold day is the sharp sting of freezing air in your nose. It was believed that the noses of Neanderthals were better adapted to breathing the cold air of the Ice Age and that when the climate became warmer they were outcompeted by modern humans. This is now being questioned.

The opening in the Neanderthal skull is bigger than ours, with a larger nasal cavity behind it. This was thought to have bony convolutions to warm and moisten the incoming air, similar to those seen on some arctic mammals. These delicate structures would only survive in an exceptionally well-preserved skull though, so it was never clear whether they were actually present.

Yokohama, Japan — Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and Wayve today announced the signing of definitive agreements to collaborate on integrating the next-generation ProPILOT series with Wayve AI technology across a broad range of Nissan vehicles. This partnership will combine Wayve’s embodied AI software with Nissan’s advanced driver-assistance systems to support ... [continued]

The post Nissan & Wayve Sign Definitive Agreements to Deliver Next-Generation Driver Assistance Technology appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Ghana’s capital is a party and entertainment hub but members of the diaspora would do well to experience its spectacular art scene

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After more than 50 editions surfing across the waves of the global Black diaspora with Nesrine, this will be my final dispatch for the Long Wave, as I move on to a new role on the Opinion desk at the Guardian. I am heartbroken to be leaving, but I am so thankful to all of our readers for being so encouraging and engaged throughout the past year.

Any who, time to cut the sad music (this is my farewell tune of choice), as I have one more edition for you. In late autumn, I took my first trip to Ghana for Accra Cultural Week. While there, I visited the historic area of Jamestown, which was reflected in an exhibition by artist Serge Attukwei Clottey.

FIAT says it is bringing its minuscule Topolino EV to the US next year, because people are lusting after its cuteness.

The post Stellantis Says It Will Bring Electric Topolino To US appeared first on CleanTechnica.

If you didn’t have enough reason to dislike Uber before, you probably do now. The app-based ride-hailing company followed Lyft’s lead and made some bold-ish EV targets several years ago, then also provided its drivers with incentives to go electric. However, as the political winds in the US have changed, ... [continued]

The post Uber Abandons EVs & Climate, After Cozying Up With Trump appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Vanadium flow battery technology will be the first to take advantage of a new energy storage test facility hosted by the US Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

The post A New Flow Battery Will Get A Good Look-See From The US Dept. Of Energy 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.

We found reusable wrapping clothes, garlands made from invasive species, and solar-powered lights that you’ll want to use season after season

• Nine eco-minded gifts for Americans that actually make a difference

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The holiday season is a time for joy, togetherness and generosity, but it can also be a time for overflowing waste bins. According to Oklahoma State University, families tend to generate about 25% more trash during this season, and it’s easy to see how. From disposable gift wrap to novelty decor destined for the landfill by New Year’s Eve, short-lived festivities can unintentionally generate long-term trash.

But that doesn’t mean you need to endure a drab and joyless December in a cave: a few thoughtful swaps can make for magical holiday celebrations with less waste, and some of them even help communities in need. Here are nine sustainable purchases that can help fill the season with intention, and maybe even inspire those around you to do the same.

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.

While this is a kind of “gee-wiz” story that just catches one’s attention, it does bring up an interesting point or three. Increasing Passenger Safety via Robotaxis First, the news: A lady hailed a Waymo robotaxi to the UCSF (University of California–San Francisco) Medical Center on Monday, and on the ... [continued]

The post Now A Woman Has Given Birth In A Waymo appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Tebay, Cumbria: We have 30 acres of Roman remains underground here, but thanks to recent storms and a redirected river, I fear they’re not safe

Today I am out in freezing temperatures photographing a riverbank. Mist, which we call “clag”, swirls over the higher ground and I cannot see any of our livestock that are overwintering on the hills.

The reason I’ve turned photographer may come as a surprise: on Low Borrowbridge farm we have a Roman fort and civilian settlement dating to the first and second century AD, including what is thought to be a Roman parade ground and cemetery. The remains are extensive, covering at least 12 hectares (30 acres) under the ground. Since Victorian times, there have been successive excavations, most recently in 2011-12 when a mansio (a guesthouse for people visiting the fort) was found. A geophysical survey has also located the headquarters building and the commander’s house.

PARIS — Pension funds and other asset owners are exposing clients and beneficiaries to growing climate-related financial risks by failing to stop asset managers supporting fossil fuel expansion, according to new analysis published today by Reclaim Finance and endorsed by AnsvarligFremtid, Fossielvrij NL, Sierra Club, SOS UK, and Urgewald. Read ... [continued]

The post Sierra Club Endorses Report Revealing Pension Funds Failing to Stop Asset Managers Backing Fossil Fuel Expansion appeared first on CleanTechnica.

A fin whale washed ashore in Anchorage and was left there for months. Then a self-described ‘wacko’ museum director made a plan

When a whale dies, its body descends to the bottom of the deep sea in a transformative phenomenon called a whale fall. A whale’s death jump-starts an explosion of life, enough to feed and sustain a deep-ocean ecosystem for decades.

There are a lot of ways whales can die. Migrating whales lose their way and, unable to find their way back from unfamiliar waters, are stranded. They can starve when prey disappears or fall to predators such as orcas. They become bycatch, tangled in fishing lines and nets. Mass whale deaths have been linked to marine heatwaves and the toxic algae blooms that follow.

Kolahoi is one of many glaciers whose decline is disrupting whole ecosystems – water, wildlife and human life that it has supported for centuries

From the slopes above Pahalgam, the Kolahoi glacier is visible as a thinning, rumpled ribbon of ice stretching across the western Himalayas. Once a vast white artery feeding rivers, fields and forests, it is now retreating steadily, leaving bare rock, crevassed ice and newly exposed alpine meadows.

The glacier’s meltwater has sustained paddy fields, apple orchards, saffron fields and grazing pastures for centuries. Now, as its ice diminishes, the entire web of life it supported is shifting.

T&E, Greenpeace and a coalition of 12 other environmental organisations asks the European Commission to keep article 20 in the EU Air Services Regulation (ASR). Two years ago, the European Commission’s implementing decision (EU) 2022/2358 confirmed the French measure establishing a limitation on the exercise of traffic rights due to serious environmental ... [continued]

The post T&E, Greenpeace and 10+ Organisations Call on the EU to Maintain the Law Promoting Alternatives to Short-Haul Flights appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Critical minerals, such as copper, cobalt, and silicon, are vital for energy technologies, but most critical minerals markets are less transparent than mature energy markets, such as crude oil or coal. Like other energy markets, many supply-side and demand-side factors influence pricing for these energy-relevant critical minerals, but critical minerals supply chains contain ... [continued]

The post Energy Minerals Observatory: The Data Deficits in Critical Supply Chains appeared first on CleanTechnica.