Clean Technology Meets Data Science: News and Articles

The crises of climate change and water scarcity can feel impossibly vast and disconnected. One involves the invisible blanket of greenhouse gases suffocating our planet, while the other is a daily, tangible struggle for billions of people to find clean drinking water. Yet, these two problems are deeply intertwined, and the solutions, it turns out, are increasingly linked through a powerful combination of corporate commitment and technological innovation. Today, we're seeing a new wave of environmental action that goes beyond simple pledges and public relations. Tech giants like Microsoft and Apple, alongside a growing ecosystem of agile startups, are deploying significant capital and cutting-edge technology to address these dual challenges head-on. The Carbon Removal Revolution: Scaling Up a Gigaton Industry To meet global climate targets, simply reducing emissions isn't enough. We also need to remove the carbon dioxide that’s already in the atmosphere. This is where the burgeo...

You’ve heard about rising sea levels, but what if the land itself is also part of the problem? A groundbreaking new study reveals that the U.S. Atlantic coast is facing a "hidden vulnerability" to climate change, one that could put millions of people at greater risk of flooding and erosion. For years, we’ve focused on the steady increase in global sea levels as the primary threat to our coastlines. However, a   study by researchers at Virginia Tech , published in the journal  Nature Communications , shows that this is only half the story. The land along the Atlantic coast is sinking , a phenomenon known as land subsidence , and it's happening at an alarming rate. Using sophisticated satellite data, researchers were able to create high-resolution maps of the entire Atlantic coast. They found that in many coastal areas, the land is subsiding at more than 3 millimeters a year. This downward motion, when combined with the effects of sea-level rise, means that the relative sea...

 We'll be at the California Water Data Summit in a week! Join us to learn about AI in water - especially on how we build models with low-code or no-code.

The SWAN Americas Alliance report , "How Utilities Organize for Digital Innovation,"  was published a short while ago and contains some fascinating information on the state of digital innovation in the water sector. We provide a short summary here, but the full report is well worth a read. The report reveals that while a growing market of smart water technologies exists, the key to successful adoption lies in organizational and human factors . Based on a survey of 38 utility workers from 34 diverse utilities across 10 countries, the report identifies the main drivers and inhibitors of digital innovation. The primary inhibitors are a lack of time and bandwidth, organizational bureaucracy, and an unclear business case or return on investment (ROI) . The report highlights that a strong commitment to innovation builds momentum and helps attract talent. It also emphasizes that innovation shouldn't be the sole responsibility of one department, like IT, but rather a collaborativ...

The start of 2023 presented a unique and challenging environment for startups, with macroeconomic shifts influencing everything from investment strategies to company operations. These trends continued in 2024 - so taking a look back at what happened in 2023, we can paint a more comprehensive picture of the funding landscape and the opportunities that emerged amidst the challenges. The Macroeconomic Reality: A Shift in the Venture Market The "frothy" valuations of the previous years were gone, and the overall VC market was contracting as described by Cervin  in their report for 2023. This was a "déjà vu all over again" moment, with echoes of the 2008 financial crisis. The report noted a significant decline in pre-seed and seed deal value, as well as a drop in the number of active venture firms. In this environment,  "disciplined entrepreneurship," looks even more important and the advice for startups is to focus on building sustainable, scalable businesses....

The global imperative for robust environmental monitoring has never been clearer. From tracking pollution to safeguarding endangered species, the demand for efficient, real-time data collection in diverse and often inaccessible environments is paramount. Fortunately, the field of robotics is delivering innovative solutions, pushing the boundaries of what's possible in environmental sensing. Recent breakthroughs in both origami-inspired robots and bio-inspired micro-fliers are setting the stage for a new era of environmental stewardship. OrigaMechs: Sensing in Extreme Environments Traditional robots often struggle in challenging environments due to the limitations of their rigid, semiconductor-based components. These conventional chips add weight and hinder the ability of robots to be compact or adaptable. However, a multidisciplinary team at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering is changing this paradigm with their "OrigaMechs." Inspired by the ancient art of paper foldi...

When you think of climate tech, it’s easy to picture sleek solar panels, flashy carbon-capture systems, or futuristic gadgets that sound like they belong in a sci-fi film. But some of the most impactful technologies tackling our changing climate don’t look the part. They quietly drift through oceans, perch in trees, or hover above disaster zones—often unnoticed, yet working tirelessly. Let’s talk about the robots and sensors that are turning data into action, from ocean currents to wildfire hotspots. Watching the Ocean’s Pulse (One Glider at a Time) Deep beneath the surface of the North Atlantic, robotic gliders are monitoring the state of our oceans. These uncrewed submarines are part of an ambitious mission to track changes in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)—a system of ocean currents that helps regulate our climate. Why do we care about AMOC? Because if the AMOC weakens significantly (which some research suggests it might), we’re looking at major disruptions: ...