Trump’s next target, tomato-powered planes and what killed all the hobbits?
In this issue:
Top 10 climate-induced weather events cost over $200bn in 2025
The 10 most financially severe extreme weather events in 2025 notched up an aggregated cost of US$122 billion (NZ$212bn), according to a new report from Christian Aid. The largest single most costly event was the California wildfires, which cost around US$60bn (NZ$104bn) on its own. Cyclones and floods in South East Asia rank second at a cost of US$25bn (NZ$43bn) and third on the list is flooding in China, which cost US$12bn (NZ$21bn). The charity is calling for immediate climate change action to curb these events.
Trump’s next target
While wider, geopolitical and resource grabbing activities have dominated the headlines from the US President recently, domestically, he has also set his sights on the National Centre for Atmospheric Research. Claiming the organisation is being alarmist on climate change, the intent is to break up the entity which employs around 830 people and is often referred to as the global “mothership” of climate forecasting.
Tomato-powered planes
Scientists at Graz University of Technology, Austria, are establishing a facility to generate sustainable aviation fuel from waste from the tomato growing industry. Rather inaccurately, the group cites the tomato as the second most commonly consumed vegetable in the world (it is, of course, a fruit unless you are in the US where it is taxed as a vegetable), with 17 megatonnes grown in Europe each year. The team believes Europe’s tomato waste could provide 3% of its SAF needs by 2030.
24/7 solar window
Scientists from Korea University have developed a solar window that not only generates electricity from sunlight during the day but also from electric lighting inside the building at night, giving it 24-hour capabilities. An excellent concept but, surely, you’d save more power by simply switching off at night than is generated by the tech?
Self-powered stormwater management
Also from Korea, this time the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, we hear of a self-powered drainage and flood warning system. The team of scientists has been able to capture sufficient electricity from raindrops to power a stormwater management system. The Superhydrophobic Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Droplet-Based Electricity Generator, or S-FRP-DEG, harvests energy as soon as rain hits its surface. A single raindrop with a volume of around 92 microlitres can generate up to 60 volts along with a few microamps of current. However, the system is scalable. When four of the units are connected in series, the system briefly powers 144 LED lights. Of course, it only works in the rain but is ideal for applications that involve flooding and drainage. Now, that is useful.
Did you know ……
Severe drought caused by climate change killed all the hobbits? Over 60,000 years before J R R Tolkein dreamt up hobbits, there was a species of early-humans in Indonesia called Homo floresiensis. They were typically around three feet tall and have, since Mr Tolkein made the name famous, become known as hobbits. Unfortunately, they are no longer with us with scientists now believing their extinction around 61,000 years ago resulted from drought caused by climate change.