Atlanta-based Southface Institute has partnered with the Sustain Our Future Foundation on Building Improvement Toolkits (BIT) for Resilient HBCU, an initiative aiming to advance sustainability efforts within five historically Black colleges and universities. What will the initiative include? Each participating HBCU will receive $150,000 in grants to help each school reach its sustainability goals, as well as for workforce development, training, and hosting 25 paid student fellows, according to Atlanta Business Chronicle. An essential part of the initiative is an online platform, serving as a central hub for tracking performance
Join our Patreon for extra-long episodes and ad-free content. Techish is taking a short summer break, but we’ll be back in September! In the meantime, we’ve got a fantastic episode to share from our friends over at the IRL Podcast. You might remember we had IRL host Bridget Todd on Techish recently for our Falling in Love With Your AI episode. So trust us, you’re gonna love this one. ———————————————————— Decoding the Planet: From Whales to Whistleblowers From season eight of the IRL podcast: AI and Us. AI may be able to talk
The NAACP and other civil rights groups have filed an appeal against a permit that would allow Elon Musk’s xAI to use gas turbines to power its massive data center. The complaint was filed by The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) on behalf of the NAACP and the youth-led group Young, Gifted & Green. The NAACP appealing a permit against xAI After xAI began operating in Memphis in 2024, the startup stated that the turbines at the data center were temporary and small enough not to require permits. But, residents living near
The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), representing the NAACP, has sent a 60-day Notice of Intent to Sue to Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, over its unpermitted use of gas turbines at a data center in South Memphis. The letter, dated June 17, alleges that xAI violated federal law by installing dozens of methane gas turbines without the required permits or pollution controls. This notice is a necessary step before filing a lawsuit under the Clean Air Act. “Over the last year, these turbines have pumped out pollution that threatens
Nigerian startup Salpha Energy has raised $1.3 million in funding from All On, an impact investment firm supported by Shell. Salpha Energy is the only female-founded startup that runs a solar home system assembly facility in sub-Saharan Africa, according to Distrupt Africa. The company is dedicated to providing affordable and reliable solar power to underserved communities across Africa. Having local manufacturing capacity enables the company to manage product quality and design more effectively, while also generating employment opportunities in the area. $1.3 million funding from All On The fund will be
The NAACP is demanding an immediate shutdown of Colossus, a Memphis-based supercomputer built by Elon Musk’s AI company xAI, citing violations of environmental regulations. NBC News reported that a letter was sent to the Shelby County Health Department and Memphis Light Gas and Water from the civil rights group on Thursday, May 29. In a letter addressed to Dr. Michelle Taylor, director of the Shelby County Health Department, leaders from the NAACP criticized the organization’s “lackadaisical approach to the operation of this dirty data center.” They urged them to “issue
The Nigerian fintech Payhippo, which previously provided SME loans, has rebranded to RIVY and raised $4 million in a pre-Series A funding round to focus on increasing clean energy financing in the continent. The funding was split between $2 million equity and $2 million debt. The seed round was co-led by EchoVC, a Nigerian venture capital (VC) firm through its $2.5 million Eco fund, which focuses on climate, energy, agriculture, and mobility solutions, and Shell’s All On, a climate-focused impact investment organization. Local debt providers supplied the debt. “Renewable energy is
Equator, an Africa-focused venture capital firm, secured $55 million for its first fund to support climate tech startups, particularly in their early stages, as reported by TechCrunch. Africa has less than 3% of global energy-related CO2 emissions but suffers from some of the worst climate impacts. Equator seeks to address that, saying it invests in deals “addressing economic and sustainability challenges emerging from these impacts.” Funding African climate tech startups In African countries, climate tech startups have to navigate a difficult funding landscape compared to their peers in more developed
Solar tech startup GRYD has secured £1 million ($1.2 million) in pre-seed funding, according to Tech Funding News. GRYD was created in 2023 by Mohamed Gaafar, Scott Whiteside, and Tom Jordan to make solar energy accessible to everyone by allowing solar-as-subscription to newly built homes. The trio met at the Antler accelerator program, where they devised the idea for a company that would provide homeowners with zero-cost residential solar systems as energy costs continue to rise in the UK. The pre-seed round saw investments from SFC Capital and Black Seed
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has lodged criminal complaints in France and Belgium against Apple and its local subsidiaries, accusing the tech giant of benefiting from conflict minerals in its supply chain. In a statement, lawyers for the Congolese government allege that these “blood minerals” fuel violent conflict in the region, including atrocities committed by armed groups. Apple has denied the claims. Apple Accused of Covering Up War Crimes Eastern Congo is a major source of tin, tantalum and tungsten—the 3T minerals—which are widely used in electronics like computers
