CTVR Updates for March 25, 2026
"The Planet’s Warning Signs Are Flashing Red" says the New York Times, and many more stories from the climate tech world
The war in the Middle East continues to rage and all the while, our climate continues its inexorable change.
In addition to news from a listed climate tech company we cover, Origin Materials, we have a selection of sometimes horrifying, sometimes hopeful stories this week. I was particularly interested in academic research showing that plowing fields sets up the physical conditions that are perfect for flooding and soil erosion (see the Climate Impact section). One more reason for farmers to use no-till methods such as those discussed in our article Regenified Is Creating The Framework We Need To Save The Planet.
Climate Companies
West Sacramento bottle-cap manufacturer to cut staff by 'little more than half'
Origin Materials (ORGN) a company we featured in several articles (here and here) is struggling to cut costs as implementation of its PET bottle cap manufacturing lines is taking more time and money than it had originally expected. The company announced it would cut about half its California employees, equating to just over 35% of its global employees. The company announced this move will shrink operating expenses by around 25%.
Origin has developed revolutionary technology that enables plastic to be manufactured from wood chips. Building out production capacity for the bioplastics became much more expensive than the company planned, so the management team leveraged their understanding of plastics to switch gears. The firm developed a process to manufacture easy-to-recycle PET bottlecaps, a feat that had never before been acheived. Alas, it’s even hard to get this less ambitious business started. We are still rooting for the company and think that if it can scale this business, generate cash, and build out its biomaterials business, it is a company that could change the world. (MSN)
Climate Technology
Light-activated material offers new approach to carbon dioxide conversion
“Unlike other existing systems, the process does not require precious metals or added chemicals that are consumed during the reaction. It also avoids producing large amounts of hydrogen instead of useful carbon-based products. The new system uses only light, water and CO₂, and produces one single valuable product. Prof Sihai Yang, said, “Our research is still at a fundamental stage, but the findings provide a clear blueprint for designing next-generation catalysts that turn waste CO₂ into useful chemicals.” (Phys.org)
Using cow dung for sustainable carbon dioxide capture
“Cow dung is renewable in nature and available in large quantities daily in countries like India, where cattle are widely raised. In many rural areas, cow dung is commonly used as fertilizer and cooking fuel. In this study, it emerges as a high-value biomass precursor for producing advanced functional materials aimed at environmental remediation.” (Phys.org)
AI model improves flood forecasting with higher accuracy than current methods
“The knowledge-guided approach allows the model to learn from real-world data while still respecting the fundamental laws of hydrology,” said Vipin Kumar, Regents Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and a senior author on the papers. “This is not just about improving statistical accuracy. It is about providing reliable, actionable forecasts that emergency managers and forecasters can trust when making high-stakes decisions.” (Phys.org)
Carbon Capture Technology Is Helping This Pub Make Beer
“To curtail global warming, carbon dioxide will need to be managed like any other waste stream, and direct air capture will most likely play a role in that, said Matthew Realff, a chemical engineer at the Georgia Institute of Technology who is not involved with the brewery. “D.A.C. creates the option to not only address current and future emissions,” he said, “but also to address our historical additions of CO2 to the atmosphere.” (The New York Times)
Climate Science
Pig farms produce a strong gas that harms climate and ozone
“Once ammonia gas leaves pig farm buildings and manure piles, wind carries it downwind and drops it back onto nearby land. In soil, ammonia quickly converts into ammonium, a dissolved nitrogen form that microbes can readily use. Near large farms, this steady nitrogen input can gradually shift soil chemistry, even in nearby areas that remain uncultivated. As microbes process that extra nitrogen, they can produce nitrous oxide – a powerful greenhouse gas. Over a 100-year period, the United Nations estimates that nitrous oxide traps about 298 times more heat than carbon dioxide per pound.” (Earth.com)
The Planet’s Warning Signs Are Flashing Red
“For much of the 20th century, scientists warned that burning fossil fuels relentlessly would lead to an intense rise in global heat. But temperatures climbed only gradually at first, even though we use more fossil fuels each year. So many of the worst effects seemed distant and manageable.” (The New York Times)
How soil microbes may control the future of our planet
“One of the most potentially troubling findings was that during droughts, microbes managed to break down some of the most stable soil carbon that scientists previously thought was locked away in the ground for centuries. That means a warming planet could trigger a massive release of ancient carbon we once considered safe.” (Phys.org)
Groundbreaking climate change study says beavers have big impact
“By slowing water, trapping sediments, and expanding wetlands, the beavers turn streams into powerful carbon “sinks,” which are a key part of the planet’s carbon cycle. Carbon dioxide is the greenhouse gas most responsible for human-caused global warming.” (USA Today)
Climate Policy
Florida Legislature again blocks action on climate change
“The Legislature finds that net zero policies, carbon taxes and assessments, and emission trading programs are detrimental to this state’s energy security and economic interests and inconsistent with the energy policy and the environmental policy of this state,” the bill says. The Sierra Club calls it “one of the most sweeping and preemptive restrictions on local energy freedom in recent years. And it’s all at the behest of one really rich guy.” (Florida Phoenix)
24 States Sue E.P.A. Over Climate Change Decision
“The states are arguing that the Environmental Protection Agency acted illegally when it rescinded a 2009 scientific conclusion that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare. That determination, known as the endangerment finding, formed the legal basis for the E.P.A. to regulate emissions from automobile tailpipes, power plant smokestacks, oil and gas wells, and other sources.” (The New York Times)
Conflict in the Middle East underlines trend to shift away from fossil fuels, says climate change expert
“The reduction in global supply causes prices to go up,” said Kathryn Harrison, a political science professor at the University of British Columbia specializing in environmental and climate change policy. Harrison said the conflict in the Middle East highlights an underlying trend to shift away from fossil fuels. “Until we do, the world is just going to keep warming and that is going to be a source of a lot of pain and a lot of instability, in terms of unpredictable weather, wildfires, flooding, but also geopolitical instability,” said Harrison. (Capital Daily)
Climate Impact
Climate change intensified global heat exposure, study finds
“Nearly 225 million people experienced 30 or more days of risky heat linked to climate change, with 81 percent of those affected living in Africa. The analysis states that human-induced warming-primarily driven by the burning of coal, oil and methane gas-has increased both the frequency and intensity of extreme heat globally” (The Himalayan Times)
Carbon dioxide levels are higher than humans have ever experienced. It could be changing our blood chemistry
“Average blood bicarbonate levels have increased by 7% since 1999, closely tracking the rise of in atmospheric carbon dioxide over the same period, according to the study, published last month in the journal Air Quality, Atmosphere and Health. If these trends continue, bicarbonate in human blood could “reach unhealthy levels” within the next 50 years, the study concluded.” (CNN)
Climate Change Is Exacerbating Africa’s Health Challenges
“Climate change is driving cholera cases in various African countries, particularly in Mozambique, which was hit by two tropical cyclones earlier this year that caused widespread flooding, according to Dr Yap Boum of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Meanwhile, two tropical cyclones in Madagascar resulted in the deaths of 600 people, the displacement of 180,000 others and the destruction of over 120,000 houses. Madagascar is one of the countries worst-affected by cyclones in Africa, and the intensity of these is increasing with climate change.” (Health Policy watch)
Earthquake scientists reveal how overplowing weakens soil at experimental farm
“Tiling is supposed to create holes for water to reach the roots of plants but it breaks these small channels in the soil instead, causing rain to pool on the surface and form a muddy crust. Over time, this can increase erosion and flood risk. The researchers observed this phenomenon in detail using seismological methods.” (Phys.org)
Why some regions are winning the fight against groundwater depletion
“Aquifers are like groundwater bank accounts replenished by deposits from rain, snowmelt and surface infiltration. Right now, there are a lot of dangerously low balances. We can address these by changing our lifestyle and consumption; in other words, enacting policies and creating infrastructure to reduce the demand on groundwater. We can also get a side hustle. Alternative water sources can offset groundwater demand or even be deposited back into our account through aquifer recharge.” (Phys.org)