Breaking Waves: Ocean News

It used to be easier to say that the chances of a shark attack were slim. Now I feel as though that pretence of safety has been shattered After nearly a year’s break, I started ocean swimming again this May, delighting in the clarity of the water and the quieter beaches of Sydney’s winter. I’d stopped because of an injury but then found that the longer I was out of the water the harder it was to get back in. It only took that first return swim, however, to remember the absolute euphoria of winter ocean swimming. Part of it is the cold water, how alive it makes you feel, and part is the wildness of it: seeing the variety of underwater marine life, the distant spray of a migratory whale. It is utterly different from swimming laps in a pool. Continue reading...

It is still not totally clear what the government wants but the political mood seems to be shifting towards a decision Thames Water nationalisation moves closer as government objects to rescue deal At last, Emma Reynolds, the environment secretary, has opined on the future of Thames Water. So what’s it to be? A takeover by the company’s creditors? Special administration, which would allow anyone to pitch up with an offer while the state temporarily funds the company? Or even a quick flush to full nationalisation? Well, two years after Thames’s shareholders walked away, and 18 months after the creditors opened talks with regulator Ofwat on the terms on a potential recapitalisation, one still can’t say definitively what the government wants. But we do have a better idea: the political mood seems to be shifting firmly towards administration. Continue reading...

Sea ice is melting fast, worsening the climate crisis, but a bold attempt to rethicken it is showing early signs of success ‘This would have been a wild dream a year ago,” says Andrea Ceccolini, standing on Arctic sea ice just a 4-mile snowmobile ride from the Inuit town of Cambridge Bay, northern Canada. To his left are sky blue ponds of meltwater created in the last few days by a sun that no longer sets in the high north summer. To his right, the sea ice is still a brilliant white, the light dusting of snow on top continuing to sparkle. “It’s incredibly different, the boundary – I mean, you can point to it,” he says. The difference is the result of a bold geoengineering experiment being conducted by Ceccolini’s company, Real Ice, funded by the UK government. Continue reading...

Asda, Amazon and B&Q among retailers in talks to sell devices that feed into household sockets and can cut electricity bills by 30% Spanish homes save €10 a month via renewables expansion Bosses of some of Britain’s biggest retailers are discussing plans with the government to start selling plug-in solar panels as part of a drive to encourage more UK homes to generate their own electricity. Executives from brands including Currys, B&Q and Amazon met Martin McCluskey, the minister for energy consumers, on Tuesday to discuss guidelines for selling “balcony solar panels” to the British public. Continue reading...