Interesting Ideas

The state saw 33 tornadoes last year and severe flooding as researchers say links to climate change are undeniable

The tornado hit west Ann Arbor at 1.45am on 15 April, passing through Veterans Memorial park, where it knocked several mature oak trees and ripped up baseball field fences before setting its sights on a local ice rink.

“It came up through the parking lot and, in that time, the pressure differential between the tornado and the air inside the rink collapsed the wall,” said Scott Spooner, a manager at Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation.

Animal and Plant Health Agency forced to release reports showing scale and cause of deaths on some fish farms

Millions of fish deaths caused by accidental poisoning and suffocation on Scottish salmon farms have been revealed after the inspection agency was forced to share its reports.

The UK government’s Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) had refused to release inspection reports, claiming it would cause “significant detriment” to companies, including to their reputations.

People sleep outside because their houses are too hot to inhabit, water is scarce and supermarkets are for the wealthy

If you think the temperature uncomfortable today, let me take you to the last day of July 2052, the rays of the climbing sun reveal a city still sweltering in the residual heat of the day before. From the air, London resembles a colossal refugee camp. Streets, gardens and parks are teeming with tents and cobbled-together shelters, within which the city’s residents have spent another uncomfortable night away from the heat traps that their houses and flats have become. After six days when the temperature peaked at about 40C, another scorcher is on the way.

Half-hearted attempts to upgrade insulation across the country’s housing stock ran out of steam and cash decades earlier, and most homes still have few barriers to the infiltrating heat. Almost all the country’s electricity is now from renewables, which has brought the cost down, but the relentless onslaught of extreme weather has driven an ever-deepening economic depression across the world. Many now have air conditioning, but can’t afford to run it.

Over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, many Americans watched auto racing and attended automotive enthusiast events. The Indy 500 was held, the largest single-day sporting event in the world with over 300,000 live spectators. And, while the death of Kyle Busch put an emotional damper on the event and mother ... [continued]

The post EVs Answer Automotive Enthusiasm appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Surpassing all expectations, Colombia’s EV market is once again growing at explosive rates, with sales in April 2026 more than 300% above those in April 2025. BEV market share alone almost reached 20%, compared with 7.4% 12 months ago! The market has grown faster than even the most optimistic of ... [continued]

The post Colombia EV Sales Report: Sales Grow 316% in April, EVs Now +20% Market Share! appeared first on CleanTechnica.

To help support EV sales in the US, the advocacy organization Electric Four All  bought billboard space near gas stations in 15 major cities over the Memorial Day weekend.

The post When Will EV Sales Pick Up In The US? appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Jay Morris denies experts’ claims that he violated ethics rules over land deals near the site of Meta’s Hyperion datacenter

This story is from Floodlight, a non-profit newsroom that investigates the powers stalling climate action

For more than two years, John “Jay” Morris, a Louisiana state senator, helped pave the way for Meta to build one of the world’s largest datacenters, called Hyperion, in Richland Parish.

Without a doubt, one of the top concerns Europeans and Americans bring up regarding Chinese electric vehicles is whether or not they are safe. Is it a legitimate concern in 2026? Not that I’ve seen, especially since Chinese automakers have to meet European and US safety standards to sell cars ... [continued]

The post Geely Ups The Vehicle Safety Game In Europe appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Lack of Pfas regulations raised in parliament after Guardian revealed former Miteni plant bought by Indian company

Protests over the production of cancer-linked Pfas chemicals have spread across India, after an investigation revealed that an Italian factory shut down due to an environmental scandal was bought by an Indian company and partly rebuilt.

At the end of last year, the Guardianrevealed that the former Miteni plant in Vicenza had been acquired by the Indian company Laxmi Organic Industries. The factory produced Pfas and was shut down in 2018 after being linked to one of Italy’s worst environmental contamination scandals.

TIME recognizes Sunrun as one of the world’s most impactful companies for making home solar and battery storage affordable and accessible, and for its distributed power plants that are helping stabilize America’s power grid. Sunrun (Nasdaq: RUN), America’s largest provider of home battery storage, solar, and home-to-grid power plants, has ... [continued]

The post Sunrun #5 on TIME’s 2026 List of World’s Most Impactful Companies appeared first on CleanTechnica.

I recently sat down with SOLARCYCLE CEO Suvi Sharma to discuss the fascinating history of the solar market as well as the next key task for the industry — recycling solar panels. Suvi shared how SOLARCYCLE is leading the charge and working hard to recycle solar panels thoroughly and correctly, ... [continued]

The post Top-Quality Solar Panel Recycling — Scaling Up The Industry appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Campaign comes as Duchy of Cornwall announces plan to expand small pockets of ancient woodland at two sites

Along a steep-sided valley, with the West Okement River roaring at its floor, the woodland emerges like an oasis in a closely grazed bare landscape.

Squat, tightly clustered, with root systems heavily covered in thick lichens and mosses, the oak trees of Black-a-Tor copse are a tiny surviving cluster of European temperate rainforest dating back to the bronze age.

Like so many Britons, I usually consult a weather app before venturing out of the house – and often cancel plans if I don’t like what I see. Here’s what happened when I went cold turkey for a week

When I heard on the radio that more than half of British people would consider cancelling an outing if they saw a 40% chance of rain all day on their weather app, I felt seen. I, too, am a slave to my app. Not that I would ever make a decision based on one whole-day percentage. I pore over three-hourly breakdowns for chances of rain versus minutes of sunshine. If rain is on the cards, I check the probable millimetres. Less than one? I may well throw caution to the wind. Speaking of which, wind speed and direction must also be considered, along with overall and “feels like” temperatures. For the cherry on top, I’ll compare notes with a loved one’s app if they use a different one, quietly mistrusting theirs, and simmering in silent rage if theirs wins.

I’ll admit, though, that my compulsion to check my app (I long ago chose WeatherPro, which I knew nothing about, but liked its layout and name) is borderline neurotic; I fret over probabilities and outfit appropriateness, when I could simply step outside for real-time hyper-local accuracy. I can lose procrastinatory hours consulting long-range forecasts, or checking the weather in Melbourne (where my sister lives) and holiday destinations I have no immediate plans to visit.

Investigation finds number of dairy farms where cows cannot go outside has more than doubled since 2015

There has been a huge rise in factory-style dairy farming of “battery cows” in the UK as farmers struggle with increasing costs and face selling milk at a loss.

The number of intensive dairy farms that permanently confine some of their cattle indoors has more than doubled in the past 10 years, an investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ) has found. Data suggests there are now at least 180 dairy farms where cows have no access to the outdoors, up from about 70 in 2015.

High unemployment and a lack of support mean life can be tough in Grimsby, but 19-year-old Cohen is determined to make the best of life in this coastal town

It’s mid-afternoon in the Lincolnshire seaside town of Cleethorpes and Cohen is sitting in the back seat of a car putting on an Easter bunny outfit. A group of teenagers nearby stare in amusement. Cohen isn’t fazed. He is hoping we can take some new photographs that he can use to advertise his mascot business for the upcoming holidays.

Cohen, 19, lives with his parents a couple of miles down the road in neighbouring Grimsby and set up Co Co Mascots last year as one of his many attempts to find work. People can hire him in one of the outfits for birthday parties, events and doorstep surprises for children. He’s done a few paid gigs so far, which has been a boost for his confidence, he says, but what he really wants is a permanent job.

Cohen, who is looking for a permanent job, makes money as a mascot at birthday parties and events

Ann Esselstyn has been using a plant-based diet for over 40 years. She also just set a world record for the longest dead hang achieved by the oldest female. Her record time is two minutes and 52 seconds, a time that surpassed the previous record set by an 81-year-old American ... [continued]

The post 90-Year-Old Vegan Lady Sets World Record appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Temperature reaches 35.1C at Heathrow on Tuesday after 34.8C high at Kew Gardens in London on Monday

• Tell us: how are you coping in the UK heatwave?

The UK has recorded its highest ever May temperature for the second consecutive day, as thermometers hit 35.1C at Heathrow and Kew Gardens in London, the Met Office has said.

The latest high was recorded the day after the country’s provisional hottest meteorological spring temperature, of 34.8C in Kew Gardens in south-west London. The previous May peak of 32.8C had stood since 1922.

The XPENG GX definitely excited our own Larry Evans at Auto China 2026, and analysts obsessively tracking vehicle sales in China think it’s going to be a big hit. Deutsche Bank analysts expect that orders for the XPENG GX will give XPENG enough of a boost that it will have ... [continued]

The post XPENG GX Popularity Jacks Up XPENG Orders To ~50,000 Vehicles In May? appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Energy, retail, transportation, food, and other corporate sectors are backing away from their original sustainability goals. For example, US automakers have announced tens of billions of dollars in losses attributable to their EV investments, but many of them had lobbied vigorously for rolling back vehicle emissions regulations. The refusal to ... [continued]

The post Why Is There Such A Male Fascination With Fossil Fuels? It’s Called Petromasculinity appeared first on CleanTechnica.

SpaceX plans to go public next month. Will new investors see substantial gains or covering Elon's losses from his misadventures?

The post SpaceX IPO — Boon Or Boondoggle? appeared first on CleanTechnica.