Tougher laws said to be inspiring clandestine attacks on the ‘property and machinery’ of the fossil fuel economy
It was raining and the sparkling lights of the City of London shone back from the cold, wet pavement as two young men made their way through streets deserted save for a few police and private security. In the sleeping heart of the global financial system, they felt eyes on them from the city’s network of surveillance cameras, but hoped their disguise of high-vis vests and hoods hiding their faces would conceal them.
Reaching Lime Street, they stopped by a maintenance hole and looked around to make sure no one was watching. One took off the cover, located a bundle of black cables and started hacking away. Hours later, an email was circulated to news desks: “Internet cut off to hundreds of insurers in climate-motivated sabotage.”
Last year, the world bought 17.2 million plugin vehicles, and 10.8 million pure battery-electric vehicles (BEVs). Overall, 22% of new auto sales were plugin vehicle sales, more than one out of five, and 14% were BEV sales, almost one out of seven. That’s “a robust rise from the 16% (10% ... [continued]
Under the Clean Air Act, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has historically granted California waivers to set stricter air pollution regulations on vehicles, power plants, and industry within its borders. That deal was reached decades ago so that California wouldn’t be dragged down by more lax federal regulations. Donald ... [continued]
I just wrote yesterday about Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak’s presentation at a big tech conference in Barcelona, Spain. He criticized Big Tech taking over our lives too much and tech billionaires becoming too directly political. On the sidelines of the conference, CNBC interviewed Wozniak (Woz) and got more comments from ... [continued]
As a Floridian, I am quite used to the threat and destruction of hurricanes. However, it seems like one state — a much smaller state — is hit even more and worse than Florida. That would be Louisiana. Interestingly, an unexpected sector of society is taking it into their own ... [continued]
The WA EV Network (Western Australia electric vehicle network) recently “opened.” The EV charging network is the longest in Australia, extending 7,000 kilometers. The network includes 110 charging points across 49 locations. “The initiative is part of the State Government’s Electric Vehicle Strategy and aims to boost EV uptake in ... [continued]
Hubby and I were sitting at our dining room table, eating our dinner and watching the sun dip over the Intracoastal Waterway. Then a ball appeared in the sky, heading west to east — a swirling mass of vapors with what looked like a nebula around it. Gold sparks were ... [continued]
Dozens of previously sidelined agency staffers are now being recalled but lack access to essential information. Will they be able to do their jobs?
By Aman Azhar
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recalled dozens of environmental justice staffers who were previously placed on administrative leave pending possible termination, three former senior agency officials told Inside Climate News.
The first Trump trade war was a disaster for US cleantech, and it looks like 2025 is setting up to be an encore performance. Between 2018 and 2020, Trump’s tariffs on solar panels cost the US an estimated 10.5 GW of lost solar capacity, delaying the transition to clean energy ... [continued]
The terminology will be stricken in classes for future officers in a service that confronts global warming every day, a move some say will weaken it.
By Marianne Lavelle
The missions of the U.S. Coast Guard propel its members across changing and sometimes perilous waters, into neighborhoods damaged by ever-more-intense hurricanes and around the melting ice of the Arctic.
An international team of scientists has synchronized key climate records from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to unravel the sequence of events during the last million years before the extinction of the dinosaurs at the Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary. New high resolution geochemical records for the first time reveal when and how two major eruption phases of gigantic flood basalt volcanism had an impact on climate and biota in the late Maastrichtian era 66 to 67 million years ago.
Trump pulls out of Cop28 loss and damage deal that recognises harms done by richer, polluting economies to vulnerable nations
The Trump administration has withdrawn the US from a global agreement under which developed nations most responsible for the climate crisis pledged to partly compensate developing countries for irreversible harms caused by global heating.
The loss and damage fund was agreed at the Cop28 UN climate summit in Dubai – a hard-won victory after years of diplomatic and grassroots advocacy by developing nations that bear the brunt of the climate crisis despite having contributed least to greenhouse gas emissions. The fund signalled a commitment by developed, polluting countries to provide financial support for some of the irreversible economic and noneconomic losses from sea level rise, desertification, drought and floods already happening.
Researchers found that climate change induced glacial melt increases the heavy metal content and changes the microbiome of habitat-forming brown algae in Arctic fjords. As algae are at the basis of the food web, this will likely have cascading ecological and economic consequences.
'Forests are among the most important ecosystems in nature, constantly evolving, yet their monitoring is often delayed,' says an expert. Climate change, pests, and human activity are transforming forests faster than we can track them -- some changes become apparent only when the damage is already irreversible.
One thing electric vehicle proponents have long argued is that, due to EVs requiring many fewer parts, they should need service much less, be more reliable, and cost less to maintain. A new study from J.D. Power, the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Vehicle Dependability StudySM (VDS), surprisingly, finds full electrics ... [continued]
Founded in 1947 in Belgium, Van Hool was a storied name in bus and coach manufacturing, known for producing a range of vehicles spanning diesel, hybrid, battery-electric, and hydrogen fuel-cell models. For decades, it supplied public and private transport fleets across Europe and beyond, cementing its reputation as an innovative ... [continued]
Chris Wright’s remarks were welcomed at a time when countries across the region have felt whipsawed by cuts to longstanding African energy initiatives.
The Swiss government has been told it must do more to show that its national climate plans are ambitious enough to comply with a landmark legal ruling.
The Council of Europe’s committee of ministers, in a meeting this week, decided that Switzerland was not doing enough to respect a decision last year by the European court of human rights that it must do more to cut its greenhouse gas emissions and rejected the government’s plea to close the case.
Our own King Wordsmith Steve Hanley wrote a story yesterday about how upcoming changes to the European New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) will require physical controls, not touchscreen controls, for 5 key functions of a car — using the horn, operating the windshield wipers, activating turn signals, engaging the emergency ... [continued]
A proposal to eliminate the governing board that oversees educational public television programs in Arkansas is not likely to advance further in the legislature.
Brendan Carr, the newly appointed chair of the FCC, has made no secret of his antipathy for mainstream press—including NPR, which he recently alleged may be violating the law by broadcasting commercial messages. It’s an unusually timed claim, but as Carr made clear in a conversation with Semafor’s Ben Smith last week, he’s out for […]
Lots of moving and shaking at MSNBC these days. And you can see why. For starters, the network continues to try to close the gap in the cable news ratings […]
The February auto market saw plugin EVs take 96.2% share in Norway, up from 92.1% year-on-year. BEVs continue to squeeze out other powertrains, though diesels and HEVs are now outperforming PHEVs. Overall auto volume was 8,949 units, an increase of 21% YoY. The best-selling BEV in February was the Nissan ... [continued]
The freeze of $1.2 million in federal grants has paused the work of a group that maintains a wildlife preserve, provides seeds for wildfire recovery and restores watersheds—and is the second-largest employer in the area.
Tesla has started offering its end-of-quarter incentives to stimulate more demand, at the beginning of March. It feels a bit early to be pushing these out, but it has been similar in recent quarters. I received an email today that Tesla Cybertruck financing is at its lowest to date. They’ve ... [continued]
As a continuation to Types Of Power Converters In A PV System (yes, published 11 years ago), let’s discuss the power converters relevant to residential solar application. Aside from this power converter, one might need to consider available roof space, number of facets (which depend on the type of house), ... [continued]
We’ve reported on Tesla sales dropping in China, in Europe, and in the US recently, but now we have data out of Australia, and it shows Tesla crashing hard there. Reportedly, Tesla sales dropped 72% in Australia last month. In the US and Europe, one of the most common explanations ... [continued]
Recently I published a simple debunker for many of the hydrogen for energy claims that perpetuate the hype, Cranky Stepdad vs Hydrogen for Energy: How to Respond to Enthusiasts. In the style of John Cook’s Cranky Uncle vs Climate Change — illustrative cartoons and colorful analogies illustrating the debunk — ... [continued]
The US solar energy manufacturing profile keeps growing, now with the leading US materials firm Corning lending its firepower to the solar startups Suniva and Heliene.
As I write, Australia’s national icebreaker, RSV Nuyina, is steaming south-west from Hobart, heading to Antarctica on its first dedicated marine science voyage.
Onboard are more than 60 scientists and technicians, many on their first research cruise, gingerly gaining their sea legs as the ship navigates multimetre swells and swirling Southern Ocean lows.
We’ve published a few articles about the European Union’s move to delay CO2 emissions requirements. Overall, we see it as a weak, harmful move that is not required. Now the CEO of Volvo Cars, Jim Rowan, has come out and torched the EU over this as well. Rowan says that ... [continued]
Economist Impact has conducted a new survey on the mobility preferences of young people (18- to 30-year-olds) living in urban areas. The survey was commissioned by Nissan and included responses from 3,750 people in 15 global cities. Most of the respondents (57%) indicated that they would change their travel habits ... [continued]
Speaking at a tech conference in Barcelona this week, Mobile World Congress, Apple legend Steve Wozniak (Woz) made some interesting comments on the tech industry today. Well, the key points are right there in the headlines — tech companies have gotten too big, and now they’re getting too political. They ... [continued]
Trump’s funding freeze for the Inflation Reduction Act is now paused, but only for the 23 states and the District of Columbia that sued to restore the flow of funds.
By Wyatt Myskow
A federal judge Thursday blocked the Trump administration’s freezing of congressionally approved federal funding, which has affected a variety of services and programs across the country, including climate and conservation work approved under the Inflation Reduction Act.