Australians produced 3.2m tonnes of plastic waste in 2023-24, up from 3m tonnes the previous year
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Plastics recycling rates in Australia have flatlined as the amount of waste continues to grow, the latest government data reveals.
Australians produced 3.2m tonnes of plastic waste in 2023-24, up from 3m tonnes the previous year, according to Australian plastics flows and fates data released on Friday.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
08/23/2025 - 15:00
08/23/2025 - 10:00
The close call in Tracy Arm 50 miles south of Juneau on 10 August is the latest sign that as glaciers melt, risks may rise
The landslide that triggered a powerful tsunami in Alaska’s Inside Passage early on 10 August was a close call, say scientists, tour operators and agency officials, with the risk of such events apparently increasing as glaciers retreat because of climate change.
“It’s a historic event,” said scientist Dennis Staley from the US Geological Survey of the slide, which occurred in the Tracy Arm fjord 50 miles (80km) south of Juneau.
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08/23/2025 - 07:30
Pausing changes to Construction Code, establishment of ‘strike team’ within environment department and use of AI in planning among reforms
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The Albanese government has promised to cut red tape and fast-track environmental approvals for new homes in an effort to address Australia’s housing crisis.
On Saturday, the government announced plans to pause further residential changes to the National Construction Code and to streamline the assessment of more than 26,000 homes under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
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08/23/2025 - 07:00
Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ were found at a level 10 times higher than people who did not work in contaminated zone
New research shows alarming levels of Pfas in the blood of people living or working near a US air force base responsible for polluting drinking water with high levels of the dangerous “forever chemicals”, a new state regulatory report has found.
The levels are high enough in those who lived and worked near the Cannon air force base in Curry county to raise health concerns – about 10 times above the levels of those in the region who did not work in the contaminated zone. The pollution stems from a type of Pfas-laden firefighting foam the military has used across the nation, and the types of compounds found at high levels in participants’ blood were also commonly used in foam.
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08/23/2025 - 06:00
Leading researcher forecasts ‘beginning of the age of non-tourism’ despite industry returning to pre-pandemic highs
It was a prediction nobody wanted to hear. On the main stage of the world’s biggest tourism fair, Stefan Gössling, a leading researcher in sustainable transport, had just calmly announced the looming death of the holiday industry.
“We have already entered the beginning of the age of non-tourism,” said Gössling, to an uneasy audience of travel agencies, car rental companies, cruise operators and hoteliers.
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08/23/2025 - 05:00
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08/23/2025 - 04:33
A new study reveals that the majority of Earth’s species stem from a few evolutionary explosions, where new traits or habitats sparked rapid diversification. From flowers to birds, these bursts explain most of the planet’s biodiversity.
08/22/2025 - 21:49
More than 20 places across New South Wales have already surpassed their highest August rain on record
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More than 20 places across New South Wales have already surpassed their highest August rain on record, with more than a week left of the month to go.
Upper Allyn township, in the Hunter, has already recorded its highest August rain in 38 years, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. As of 9am Friday, the town had received 277mm of rain, exceeding the previous record of 202mm, which was set back in 1987. The average for August was 46mm.
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08/22/2025 - 19:02
Flames and a tower of smoke rose above an automotive supply company 50 miles north-east of Baton Rouge
An explosion and fire Friday at an automotive supply company in southeast Louisiana sent flames into the air and a tower of thick black smoke billowing above rural communities, forcing nearby residents and an elementary school to evacuate.
Officials said no injuries had been reported in the fire at Smitty’s Supply just north of the town of Roseland, but that everyone living within a one-mile (1.6km) radius must evacuate. Roseland, which is home to about 1,100 people, is roughly 50 miles (80km) north-east of Baton Rouge.
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08/22/2025 - 13:43
Lawsuit brought by two non-profit law firms have had previous wins in Montana and Wisconsin
Fifteen young climate advocates, aged eight to 17, on Friday sued the state of Wisconsin over its pro-fossil fuel policies.
The case provides the opportunity for state officials to “make the correct step to decarbonize Wisconsin” because of the “climate harms they’ve caused youth”, said Kaarina, 17, who is the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit.
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