Madeleine Cuff

Solar energy is going to power the world much sooner than you think Solar electricity is growing rapidly, but can it really dominate the global energy system? Here is what it will take for us to power the planet on sunshine

The future of solar power is bright, finds @tinymaddie.bsky.social

*Solar panels are cheap, and getting cheaper
*Batteries are good, and getting better
*Economic case for solar will overwhelm political apathy

In short, we're going to run the world on sunshine

www.newscientist.com/article/2500...

Exclusive: Climate scientists expect attempts to dim the sun by 2100 An exclusive New Scientist survey of leading scientists reveals widespread concern that schemes to tweak Earth’s atmosphere could launch within decades in a risky bid to cool the planet

Here is our exclusive survey asking leading climate scientists to give their views on solar geoengineering:

*66% believe we will see it attempted this century
*52% say it will probably be done by a "rogue actor"
*81% want an international treaty to manage risk

www.newscientist.com/article/2498...

Exclusive: Climate scientists expect attempts to dim the sun by 2100 An exclusive New Scientist survey of leading scientists reveals widespread concern that schemes to tweak Earth’s atmosphere could launch within decades in a risky bid to cool the planet

Climate scientists believe humans will launch risky schemes to block radiation from the sun in a desperate bid to cool global temperatures before the end of the century - read more in our @newscientist.com excl from myself & @jamesdinneen.bsky.social www.newscientist.com/article/2498...

YouTube video by New Scientist Earth’s Coral Reefs Just Crossed the Point of No Return

We talk about tipping points a lot. But it is truly devastating to see that we are in the midst of one. The end of warm water corals? www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9pq... with @tinymaddie.bsky.social

For those interested in this topic, @jamesdinneen.bsky.social wrote a great feature on the faltering land carbon sink this month for @newscientist.com www.newscientist.com/article/2497...

This open invitation to the @nebriefing.bsky.social was published in the @financialtimes.com today. Please check whether your MP can make it here: www.nebriefing.org and if not ask them to!

We will be briefing on national security, tipping points, food security, nature and more.

CO2 levels in Earth's atmosphere jumped by a record amount in 2024 The global average concentration of CO2 surged by 3.5 parts per million to reach 423.9 ppm last year, fuelling worries that the planet’s ability to soak up excess carbon is weakening

This is.... not good www.newscientist.com/article/2500...

Particularly because scientists increasingly suspect that the planet is locked in a vicious feedback loop, where climate impacts like drought & marine heatwaves are dampening the planet's natural ability to take up carbon

CO2 levels in Earth's atmosphere jumped by a record amount in 2024 The global average concentration of CO2 surged by 3.5 parts per million to reach 423.9 ppm last year, fuelling worries that the planet’s ability to soak up excess carbon is weakening

Aargh! Needless to say, a record rise in CO2 is really bad. By @tinymaddie.bsky.social 🧪

I think this means the CO2 rise was even higher than forecast by the Met Office, but that's based on a different measure so I'll need @richardabetts.bsky.social to confirm

www.newscientist.com/article/2500...

Serum based on plant extracts boosts hair growth in weeks Applying a daily serum that contains extracts of a tropical plant improved hair density and strand thickness in just 56 days

A hair-growth serum based on plant extracts has noticeable results in less than two months.

Salary sacrifice for rooftop solar panels in new tax-break scheme The policy may feature in the Government’s Warm Homes Plan, which is expected this month, The i Paper has been told

Exclusive @theipaper.com: Ministers are looking at introducing salary sacrifice schemes for rooftop solar panels as part of efforts to cut energy bills inews.co.uk/news/politic...

My home dropped £100,000 in value after insulation ordeal - green schemes still need regulation Previous green-home schemes have been marred by confusion and shoddy workmanship - this must change for net-zero transition is to be successful

I wrote about this issue for @theipaper.com a few years back - read about Linda's nightmare via link. This kind of thing really undermines public confidence in energy efficiency measures just as we're asking people to make major changes to their homes to deliver net zero inews.co.uk/news/insulat...

Solid wall insulation installed under ECO4 and GBIS: Statistical audit results

Astounding figs just out from UK gov: Audit reveals >90% (!!!) of solid wall insulation installed under gov-backed insulation schemes suffer from at least one "major technical non-compliance" - ie it won't work as promised & could leave residents w/ health & safety issues www.gov.uk/government/p...

This is the “official” triggering of the first climate tipping point for one of Earth’s ecosystems. By @tinymaddie.bsky.social

Coral reefs are at a tipping point after surging global temperatures Record-breaking ocean temperatures have caused widespread bleaching and death among warm-water corals, which could have far-reaching consequences

The demise of reefs: World has entered first global climate tipping point with coral reefs in crisis due to warming oceans www.newscientist.com/article/2499...

Get a heat pump, get a job installing insulation or selling EVs, go to local council meetings in support of bike lanes or solar parks or dense housing near public transport. Run for political office, or at least vote. Recommend flight-free holiday destinations to others. (Delete as applicable).

20 bird species can understand each other’s anti-cuckoo call Several species of birds from different continents use and understand similar alarm calls when they see an invader that might lay an egg in their nest – this shared call hints at the origin of languag...

Really cool story - bird species from across the world make the same sound to warn against cuckoos, and they can even understand each other. Feeds into ideas Darwin had about the origin of language! www.newscientist.com/article/2498...

Emergency in Antarctica; How movement changes the brain; Why women live longer than men Spotify video

Podcast!
🇦🇶 Emergency in Antarctica
🧠 Brain swivel
🧬 Why women live longer than men

open.spotify.com/episode/1Afl... with @pennysarchet.bsky.social @tinymaddie.bsky.social

This is worth a read 🧪

NEW: Something remarkable happened recently and hardly anyone noticed – GB electricity demand was 100% covered by clean power

We took a look at the data and this has happened for a record 87 hours in 2025 to date, twice as often as ever before

🧵

www.carbonbrief.org/...
1/7

Two climate scientists on how to use emotion in the climate crisis From anger to hope, Kate Marvel and Tim Lenton explain how to tackle the tricky feelings aroused by climate change and harness them to take action

More climate positivity today from Tim Lenton and @drkatemarvel.bsky.social - positive tipping points and harnessing emotions around climate change. Interview by @tinymaddie.bsky.social and me www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...

Could we have cracked one of the world's toughest climate problems? It is almost impossible to make cement without emissions, but carbon-capture-and-storage technology is finally being deployed to decarbonise the sector

Carbon capture technology has promised much, but delivered relatively little. But now it's finally being rolled out to cement plants, offering a decarbonisation route for one of the economy's dirtiest sectors www.newscientist.com/article/2497...

China announced a new target: reduce economy-wide emissions by 7–10% by 2035, compared to its “peak” levels. But the peak year was not clarified. buff.ly/5k1HEcQ

In a UN speech today, President Trump said that "all of these [climate] predictions were wrong".

Back in 2019 I led a research effort to digitize old climate model projections and assess how well they did. Turns out they got future warming pretty spot on!

Atmospheric hydrogen is rising, which may be a problem for the climate Ice core records of atmospheric hydrogen reveal a huge rise in concentration since the Industrial Revolution which has contributed to global warming – and could sway the debate over hydrogen as a fuel

Whoa! First long-term ice core record of atmospheric *hydrogen*, which amplifies warming effects of methane, shows there has been a 60% rise since the industrial revolution.
rt/ @tinymaddie.bsky.social
www.newscientist.com/article/2497...

Covid-19 vaccine benefits worth up to $38 trillion in first year alone The global health and economic benefits of covid-19 vaccines came to between $5 trillion and $38 trillion in their first year, showing an incredible return on investment

In the first year alone, covid vaccines are estimated to have delivered between $5 trillion and $38 trillion in global benefits in terms of averted sick days, avoided hospitalisations and prevented deaths 🧪

They cost $69 billion to develop and deliver

www.newscientist.com/article/2496...

Is Earth’s climate in a state of 'termination shock'? Cleaning up air pollution has saved millions of lives, but it has also given us an inadvertent taste of a nightmare climate scenario. The race is on to understand how bad it could be – and how to swer...

Cutting air pollution has been good for public health, but it has unleashed a surge in climate warming... My latest feature for @newscientist.com explores how dirty air has been cooling the planet, and what happens when that cooling effect is ripped away www.newscientist.com/article/2494...

Nick Clegg says nothing at all in new book How to Save the Internet During his time as a Meta executive, Nick Clegg witnessed some of the biggest decisions to ever affect the online world. But this collection of tired tropes offers little insight, says Chris Stokel-Walker

During his time as a Meta executive, Nick Clegg witnessed some of the biggest decisions to ever affect the online world. But this collection of tired tropes offers little insight, says Chris Stokel-Walker

in a few weeks I'll be hosting a special live episode of our @newscientist.com podcast "The world, the universe and us" at @royalsociety.org. it's going to be all about spaceflight and the human body, with some amazing guests!

sign up here www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-world-...

We may have 10 times less carbon storage capacity than we thought Storing carbon dioxide underground is seen as a way to mitigate climate change, but the world could run out of safe storage space within 200 years if we keep on burning fossil fuels

Much less CO2 can be safely stored underground than we thought, scientists warn

If we simply dump ongoing fossil fuel emissions underground, we may run out of space…

www.newscientist.com/article/2494...

This is... not good

The global ocean absorbed significantly less CO2 than anticipated during the unprecedented marine heatwave in 2023

ethz.ch/en/news-and-...