Solar row halts Évora visit
Portugal's environment minister cancelled a trip to Évora after protests against three mega solar projects near the UNESCO city.
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Seven days of the Pulse, curated into one weekly read.
Pulse
20 July 2026
Good morning! Today's Pulse moves from wildfire foresight and coastal access battles to threshing festivals and a charity bike ride down the EN2.
Renewables with real safeguards
Ten environmental groups urge strict scientific criteria for renewable acceleration zones, warning that a 1% municipal cap could backfire.
Fifteen thousand signatures for public access
The 'Deslarrrguem a Arrábida!' movement gathered citizens, green groups and parties over five contested beaches and blocked public paths.
Reviving the Castelo de Bode link
Almada's crisis has reopened an old plan to bring water across a bridge from Castelo de Bode, easing reliance on the Tejo-Sado aquifer.
Mapping wildfire risk by moisture
A new free platform tracks daily plant moisture across Iberia to anticipate where wildfire risk is building.
Gardens that resist fire
Practical tips for fire-resistant gardens, with cork oak, olive and succulents to create defensible space around homes.
If you find a stranded animal
Zoomarine's rehab centre advises keeping calm and your distance, noting the location and calling the 24-hour emergency lines.
Swimming from wind farm to shore
Six swimmers crossed 20 km from the WindFloat Atlantic offshore farm to Viana do Castelo, marking the project's sixth anniversary.
Coimbra shifts road to save trees
A 70-centimetre shift in the Metrobus corridor on Rua Lourenço Almeida Azevedo will preserve more trees and add new plantings.
Pombal invests in its beaches
Around 700,000 euros are going into a full-service facility at Osso da Baleia beach to boost sustainable coastal tourism.
Algarve railcars head north and east
With the Algarve Line electrified, its diesel railcars are being reassigned to the Oeste and Alentejo lines.
Cork Museum reopens in Silves
Over 250 visitors returned to the Museu da Cortiça at Fábrica do Inglês, with a concert and local producers on show.
Open-air green cinema at Pedrógão
A Cine-Eco session on 21 July screens four short films on water, agriculture, rural memory and activism.
Madeira's livestock fair praised
PSD deputies highlighted the Feira do Gado for linking farmers to new technology and support, and the value of family farming.
A bike ride down the EN2 for charity
Two cyclists rode 738 km from Chaves to Faro, raising 1,530 euros for Leiria charities, part delivered as food donations.
Portugal tops food resilience
The Economist ranked Portugal first of 60 countries for food system resilience, while noting climate and soil erosion challenges.
Green hydrogen stuck in limbo
An opinion piece argues Portugal's incentives favour battery vehicles over hydrogen, leaving big announcements like Sines unfulfilled.
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A short read every morning — what's happening across sustainable Portugal.
Recent
- Good morning. Today the wild side of Portugal takes the lead — a heavy bird, a night-flying moth and a lithium mine that keeps dividing a valley — before we settle into markets, mid-August fairs and one wooden lunchbox that goes straight into the oven.
- Bom dia. Today's Pulse leans towards land and water: fire prevention on the commons, a contested farm in the Alentejo, solar plans weighed against habitats, and a good handful of gentler things to do before the summer slips away.
- Good morning. Today the Gerês keeps the country talking, solar quietly takes the lead in our electricity mix, and there is honey, wheat and a sea hare along the way.
- Good morning. Today's Pulse looks at wolves and monk seals, cork festivals and shared bicycles, plus a solar eclipse that will briefly dim the country's panels.
- Good morning. Today's Pulse looks at nature restoration promises waiting to be kept, two islands testing what their technology and their vines can do, and new homes opening their doors from the Azores to Celorico de Basto.
- Good morning. Today's Pulse leans towards water and waste: a record-dry July, urgent repairs beneath Leiria, and a region rethinking where its rubbish goes.
- Good morning. Today's Pulse is shaped by water — a dry July, planned cuts and new investment — alongside grape growers making their voices heard, and small community projects quietly showing what circular living can look like.
- Good morning. Today's Pulse takes in wildfire prevention and water use, a giant frog made of rubbish in Ponte de Lima, salt marshes turned into laboratories, and quiet steps towards cleaner transport across the country.
- Good morning. Today's Pulse leans towards water, wildfire and wild things: protection plans for six Azorean islands, rabbits returning to the Côa, and a steady drumbeat of energy and water investment across the country.
- Bom dia. Today's Pulse runs from estuary protection and reservoir levels to a deposit-return deadline that lands next week, with a few small delights along the way.