🌱 The Grumpy Optimists #147
Your weekly dose of climate optimism, music, and mildly grumpy honesty.
Happy Monday. 👋
Welcome back to another week of the Grumpy Optimists. You may have noticed that I wasn’t in your inbox last week, it was my birthday and I thought I’d treat myself to the whole of Sunday away from a laptop. Shocking, I know.
Since then, I’ve had a busy few weeks wrapping up the year with Zevero and planning for a big 2026…more on that soon 👀. I’ve also spent some time in the countryside, hit a 91 sleep score on my Garmin for the first time in forever and feel recharged ready for a busy few weeks before Christmas.
I hope you all have a wonderful week.
👀 News to make you feel good this week
🌋 AI helps uncover major new geothermal system in Nevada. AI doesn’t get the best press for its climate impact, rightly so, but I also believe it has incredible powers to create positive climate action. This example of a startup using AI to locate a hidden geothermal system in Nevada with no surface indicators is exactly that. It’s the first discovery of its kind in more than 30 years. The models reduced failed wells and increased accuracy in picking productive sites, lowering exploration risks and unlocking new clean baseload energy potential.
🌞 Solar panels on farms can improve crop yields and resilience. New research shows that agrivoltaics can boost crop yields by reducing heat stress, retaining soil moisture, and creating cooler microclimates. Surprisingly, crops benefit even when the panels are not generating electricity. It is a powerful example of dual land use making agriculture more climate resilient.
💭 My thoughts. In this case, food and energy systems do not need to compete for space at all. This is a win for both farmers and the grid. Take that NIMBYS.
🌀 Ozone hole over Antarctica shrinks to smallest since 2019. The ozone hole this year was the smallest and shortest lived since 2019, closing earlier than usual. Scientists attribute long-term improvements to the Montreal Protocol, although natural variability still plays a role. It is a rare global environmental success story.
🥛 The oat milk problem: why ship 90 percent water. My good friend in climate, Adam, found out about a very cool product, oat milk powder…90% of oat milk in a carton is just water, this means we are effectively shipping water around the world at huge emissions cost. Concentrated or powdered formats could dramatically reduce supply chain footprints. We’ve already done it with cleaning products, we may as well do it with other items too.
🐾 Ultra rare white Iberian lynx caught on camera in Spain. A white coated Iberian lynx, named Satureja, was photographed in southern Spain. The colouring is neither albinism nor classical leucism, making it exceptionally rare. Once critically endangered, the species has improved enough for such genetic diversity to reappear.
📘 EFRAG publishes simplified sustainability reporting standards. European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) has released a simplified version of the ESRS framework to reduce reporting burden on smaller firms. It keeps core transparency but removes unnecessary complexity.
💶 EU invests more than €5 billion in net zero technology. The EU has announced more than €5 billion in new funding for hydrogen, industrial decarbonisation, and net zero technology projects. The focus is on scaling solutions already showing commercial promise.
👟 UK watchdog bans Nike and Lacoste ads over misleading claims. Regulators banned ads from Nike, Superdry and Lacoste for overstating sustainability benefits. The ruling points to a tougher stance on green claims and rising expectations for transparency. If you work in marketing, you better get ready to back up your facts and be ready for the updated regulations. You can chat to me more about that here…
🌍 Africa moves toward a global Wildlife for Climate Declaration. African leaders are pushing nature based solutions up the global agenda. At COP30, Zimbabwe and Gambia backed plans for a Wildlife for Climate Declaration to launch at COP31. The commitment builds on the African Union’s Gaborone Declaration, which recognises wildlife as a vital ally in climate action. From elephants dispersing seeds to blue carbon ecosystems along coasts, wildlife drives natural carbon storage. Yet new research warns of a continent-wide decline in these animal populations.
🧱 LEGO rolls out recyclable paper-based bags to replace plastic. LEGO has started replacing plastic bags inside its sets with recyclable paper-based alternatives. The change removes thousands of tonnes of plastic waste annually. It’s not perfect, but it’s progress. If only it wasn’t for all of those plastic bricks.
That’s all from me folks. Signing off with my Spotify wrapped top Artists so you can see the Granola Boy that I am. Last year it was Coldplay, so we’re making progress.
I want to know, what was your number one song of the year? Consider it being added to a Grumpy Optimist playlist…a couple of good options from me
1. “Ben Howard – Keep Your Head Up”
Something I wish people in London would do more often while walking rather than being on their phones.
2. “Bon Iver – Holocene”
Because you can’t listen to this and not want to be in nature.
George, the Grumpy Optimist 💚