Interesting Ideas

With Israel blocking imports of building materials, those rebuilding in Gaza are recycling ruins to make new homes

It is difficult to see through the dust inside the cramped, low-roofed tent on the eastern edge of Khan Younis. Ibrahim al-Aloul works alongside four others, with a piece of fabric tied over his mouth and nose as his only shield against the toxic grey powder as he sifts and grinds.

Outside, a skinny donkey waits with a cart to carry the finished product to the next tent along, where it will be mixed with gypsum, calcium and binding agents before being bagged in flour sacks and sold.

It took a lot longer than I expected, but there are class action lawsuits underway against Tesla in the US and Australia, and they just keep dragging on. In fact, in Australia, Tesla has been dragging things along so much that a judge there is losing his patience. This case ... [continued]

The post Judge In Australia Not Happy About Tesla Dragging Its Feet In Class Action Case appeared first on CleanTechnica.

It might not seem newsworthy for a site that typically covers national news, but every new public EV charger installation counts. Aspen, Colorado will be getting 14 new public EV chargers at seven new charging sites. The source says Aspen currently has 24 public EV charging “plugs,” so adding 14 ... [continued]

The post 14 New EV Chargers To Be Installed In Aspen, Colorado appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Amid soaring fuel prices, the government announced $3.2bn to store a billion more litres of diesel and jet fuel. What about just using less of it?

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It was one of the most extreme tests for an electric truck in Australia – pulling 68 tonnes, loaded with steel, up the notorious Mount Ousley escarpment from Port Kembla to Sydney.

Bo Christensen, a fleet electrification specialist, followed behind the Windrose prime mover in last year’s trial. “It’s a very tough run, but we were overtaking pretty much all the trucks going up the hill,” he says.

Caistor St Edmund, Norfolk: Firebugs congregate in large numbers to feast and mate – and this is the first time we’ve known their revelry on the farm

At this time of year the farm is a popular spot, with people strolling, horse riding or picnicking from dawn till dusk. One of the unexpected joys of opening up public access is the extra pairs of eyes. A broken fence or fallen tree is noticed almost immediately; an otter is spotted slipping into a stream at first light. Recently, Laura, a regular dog walker and keen photographer, shared something new.

Congregating on the sunny side of an old lime tree is a colony of firebugs. There are 50 or so, clustered together, like flames flickering up the trunk. Each is nearly a centimetre long, with ember-bright red backs marked by bold, symmetrical black shapes. These aggregations, typically on lime or mallow, are for mating and feeding. A firebug eats seeds, aphids or even its dead relatives, sucking out moisture with its proboscis.

Exclusive: Commission says alert would trigger coordinated international response that could help avoid millions dying

The climate crisis should be declared a global public health emergency by the World Health Organization, or millions more people will die unnecessarily, leading international experts have said.

The independent pan-European commission on climate and health, which was convened by the WHO, concluded the climate crisis was such a worldwide threat to health that the WHO should declare it “a public health emergency of international concern” (Pheic).

Climate and transport organisations warn ministers not to ‘sleepwalk into crisis’ amid Iran war oil and gas shortages

Private jets should be banned and the speed limit on UK motorways reduced to 60mph as part of a pre-emptive effort to ease the looming fuel supply crisis, according to leading climate and transport organisations.

The group – including Greenpeace and Transport and Environment – are calling on ministers not to “sleepwalk into a crisis” that could lead to severe shortages of jet fuel and spiralling petrol prices at the pump in the coming months.

Thames at Ham designated as one of 13 new swimming areas across England to be monitored for water quality

The first designated bathing water area on the River Thames in London will welcome swimmers for the official start of the bathing season on Friday as one of 13 new monitored swimming areas across England.

The Thames at Ham, in south-west London, has been designated as a new river bathing water area after campaigners gathered evidence to show thousands of people use the river for swimming throughout the year.

Canvey Island foreshore, Essex

East Beach at West Bay, Bridport, Dorset

Falcon Meadow, Bungay, Suffolk

Granville Parade Beach, Sandgate, Kent

Little Shore, Amble, Northumberland

New Brighton Beach (east), Merseyside

Newton and Noss Creeks, Devon

Pangbourne Meadow, Berkshire

Queen Elizabeth Gardens, Salisbury, Wiltshire

River Dee at Sandy Lane, Chester, Cheshire

River Fowey in Lostwithiel, Cornwall

River Swale in Richmond, Yorkshire

River Thames at Ham and Kingston, Greater London

Solar power is being installed faster than any other power source in the world. That’s the case in the United States, and that’s the case globally. Solar power is booming. But not all is perfect in the solar industry, not all is sunshine and rainbows. (Sorry for the weak puns.) ... [continued]

The post NEW! Solar Survey Report 2026 appeared first on CleanTechnica.

When Sousan Samadani saw a video about soil degradation, she suddenly knew she would commit everything she had to the cause. Soon she was travelling thousands of miles to raise awareness, skydiving, hitchhiking and cycling

Sousan Samadani was watching videos on YouTube one day when she came across a post about how the world’s soil was degrading so rapidly that it was in danger of extinction.

The video – posted by the Save Soil movement – “was like a shock for me”, Samadani says. “I thought: ‘How is it possible that the soil that gives us food is dying?’”

A vast and well-organized campaign is actively underway to suspend global wind energy discourse. The Financial Times calls it the US president’s “crusade against renewable energy.” WindEurope, who describe themselves as “the voice of the wind energy industry,” say attacks on wind power pose a “systemic risk to Europe’s security.” ... [continued]

The post Attacks On Wind Power Make No Sense — It’s Just Another Form Of Solar Energy appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The World Cup is fast approaching, and Waymo has been expanding its service in new cities while also growing its service areas in existing cities in anticipation of the biggest sporting event in the world. “The world’s largest 24/7 autonomous ride-hailing service just got bigger,” as the company wrote a ... [continued]

The post Waymo Reaching 11 Cities & 1,400 Square Miles As World Cup Approaches appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Butterfly Conservation poll is open until 7 June with choice of 60 species from small tortoiseshells to purple emperors

Will it be the rapidly disappearing former garden favourite, the small tortoiseshell? Or the poet John Masefield’s “oakwood haunting thing”, the charismatic purple emperor? Or perhaps the brimstone, the ultimate harbinger of spring?

The question of which is Britain’s favourite butterfly is being put to a popular vote for the first time. The charity Butterfly Conservation is running the poll, which runs until 7 June, giving people the chance to choose their favourite from the 60 species that fly around Britain every summer.

Humpback had been found deceased on Friday after rescue attempt criticised as ‘pure animal cruelty’

Timmy the whale has been confirmed dead by Danish authorities two weeks after the beached humpback was transported to the North Sea in a rescue attempt criticised as “pure animal cruelty”.

Denmark’s Environmental Protection Agency said a whale had been found dead on Friday near ​the small ⁠island of Anholt in the Kattegat, a broad strait between Denmark and Sweden, and confirmed it was Timmy on Saturday.

US gas prices have gone up, and up, and up since the country bombed Iran in late February. In March, I reported that the average price of gas in the country had gone up from $2.89/gallon to $3.48/gallon. Now, the average price of gas in the US is $4.517/gallon. That’s ... [continued]

The post Gas Prices Up 56% In USA appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Agrivoltaics has become one of those ideas that is simple enough to fit on a social media tile and complex enough to be mangled by one. The image that prompted this discussion showed a farmer kneeling beneath solar panels in front of vegetables, sheep, mountains, and an American flag, with ... [continued]

The post Solar & Farming Can Share Land, But The Details Matter appeared first on CleanTechnica.

In this episode of Cleantech Talk, Scott Cooney talks with Britt Zwierzchowski Tisler, COO of the Conservative Energy Network, and Bradley Pischea, National Director of Land & Liberty Coalition (L&LC), a project of CEN. They discuss: Who the Conservative Energy Network is, why they came to the clean energy space. ... [continued]

The post The Importance of Conservative Leadership in Clean Energy appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Despite the ban on disposables, waste professionals say the mountain of discarded devices is a £1bn-a-year issue

It is 2pm and Ana, 47, has just started the afternoon shift at the Suez recycling plant near Birmingham city centre, standing beneath a sign reading “Non-ferrous sorting station” with a bucket of vapes in front of her. Sorting and dismantling them is part of her job as a site operative.

Recycling them is not simple. Each bucket holds between 40 and 50 devices, and over the course of a shift, she gets through about half a bucket. Using a hammer, she has to smash each vape open, pry out the batteries and separate each component into a different container.

This new entrant to the Australian market has shot into the top ten consistently over the last few months — with 1,845 units sold since its launch early this year. Jaecoo is a sub-brand of Chery. For a first-time EV owner’s point of view, I reached out to one of ... [continued]

The post Our New Jaecoo J5 Battery Electric Vehicle! appeared first on CleanTechnica.

When Ethiopia banned the import of conventional cars two years ago, many were skeptical. But the policy has been highly successful.

The post Ethiopia Leads EV Revolution In Africa appeared first on CleanTechnica.