Interesting Ideas

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”.

FREESKY celebrates five years of all-terrain electric performance. Built on 20 years of manufacturing expertise and trusted by over 120,000 riders, the brand unveils its most powerful chapter yet: the 60V Warrior Ultra M-530, arriving August 2026.

The post Five Years of No Limits: Meet the 60V Warrior Ultra M-530 appeared first on CleanTechnica.

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.

The energy-efficient desalination system produces fresh water without chemical additives and transforms leftover salts into useful materials. Big takeaways A new desalination method produces drinking water from seawater without chemical additives. The solar-powered system uses specially engineered black metal to absorb sunlight. Its self-cleaning surface separates and collects salts, instead of dumping them as harmful ... [continued]

The post New Method Turns Ocean Water into Drinking Water, without Waste appeared first on CleanTechnica.

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.

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.

In conjunction with the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment’s (MSE) Go Green SG 2026, Hackathon was hosted by HMGICS and Hyundai CRADLE Singapore in partnership with Temasek Foundation, with support from the National University of Singapore (NUS) Fifth edition rallied the largest cohort of 91 students from nine local ... [continued]

The post Hyundai Go Green Hackathon Showcases Best of Youth-Led Innovative Solutions on Community Heat Resilience & Smart Mobility 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.

This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world

The SunZia Wind Project, the largest wind farm in the United States, is slated to begin commercial operations this month. The wind farm, located in New Mexico, has a total net summer generating capacity of 3,650 megawatts (MW) and is composed of 916 wind turbines. SunZia’s capacity is more than three ... [continued]

The post Largest Wind Farm in the United States Slated to Begin Commercial Operations 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

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.

Ocean Cleanup is collecting plastic trash from 10 rivers around the world as it seeks to clean up the world's oceans.

The post Ocean Cleanup Targets Plastic Trash In Southern California 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.

A university in Hawaii is launching into phase two of a big solar project on its campus, and when completed, it should mean that the university is getting 100% of its electric from solar power. Actually, the clean solar electricity will go even beyond that. The university is Brigham Young ... [continued]

The post Hawaii University Nearly 100% Solar Powered appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Just yesterday, I wrote about T1 Energy CEO Dan Barcelo contending that the US needs serious solar permitting reform. Now we have another warning about how much this is holding back solar power growth in the state. In the latest US Solar Market Insight report, SEIA and Wood Mackenzie pointed ... [continued]

The post Yup, US Solar Growth Hurting from Solar Permitting Delays appeared first on CleanTechnica.

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.

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.

Search should ensure pension mandates are awarded only to firms with credible climate-risk management and responsible stewardship. NEW YORK, NY — New York City Comptroller Mark Levine and trustees of the City’s five public pension systems today announced a search for asset managers to provide passive indexing services, opening a review of major ... [continued]

The post Sierra Club Welcomes NYC Pension Search for Asset Managers, Urges Strong Climate Accountability appeared first on CleanTechnica.

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.