Breaking Waves: Ocean News

10/28/2024 - 03:00
The harm to babies and mothers is one of the warnings being sent to Cop29 decision-makers by leading scientists Miscarriages, premature babies and harm to mothers caused by the climate crisis are a “blind spot” in action plans, according to a report aimed at the decision-makers who will attend the Cop29 summit in November. Potential collapse of the Amazon rainforest, vital Atlantic Ocean currents and essential infrastructure in cities are also among the dangers cited by an international group of 80 leading scientists from 45 countries. The report collects the latest insights from physical and social science to inform the negotiations at the UN climate summit in Azerbaijan. Continue reading...
10/28/2024 - 02:43
Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility alleges Santos’s plan to reach net zero by 2040 is ‘little more than a series of speculations’ Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast A world-first greenwashing case that seeks to hold oil and gas company Santos accountable for its net zero commitments began in the federal court today, brought by one of its own shareholders, the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR). The organisation claims Santos did not have a proper basis for saying it had a clear pathway to reduce emissions by 26% to 30% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2040, which constituted misleading or deceptive conduct in breach of Australian corporate and consumer laws. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...
10/28/2024 - 01:00
GMB raises safety concerns amid rumours of budget cuts across sites and Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Rachel Reeves has been urged not to carry out mooted funding cuts for nuclear sites including Sellafield amid safety concerns, as it emerged that the number of incidents where workers narrowly avoided harm had increased at the Cumbrian site. The GMB union has written to Reeves, the chancellor, before Wednesday’s budget to raise safety concerns after rumours emerged that the budget for the taxpayer-owned Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) could be reduced, which could result in cuts at nuclear sites including Sellafield and Dounreay in Scotland. Continue reading...
10/28/2024 - 00:00
Study says harmful gases linked to heart and lung disease shave nearly two years off a person’s life Gas stoves kill 40,000 Europeans each year by pumping pollutants into their lungs, a report has found, a death toll twice as high as that from car crashes. The cookers spew harmful gases linked to heart and lung disease but experts warn there is little public awareness of their dangers. On average, using a gas stove shaves nearly two years off a person’s life, according to a study of households in the EU and UK. Continue reading...
10/27/2024 - 10:00
As a new glamping development seeks to open in the region hammered by extreme weather, Mariposa locals are fighting back Kathleen Armstrong saw the smoke curling above the tree-covered horizon and turned on her scanner with bated breath. Mariposa was on fire again. It was the Fourth of July, a high-risk time in the California mountain town near Yosemite national park that had already seen its fair share of emergency evacuations. Memories still fresh from the destructive 2022 Oak fire, Armstrong and her husband rushed to pack up their four dogs as the sky began to glow red and flames raced toward the back door. “It was traumatizing,” she recalled in a recent interview. “It’s a miracle we are still here.” Continue reading...
10/27/2024 - 09:00
Pledge signed by experts from nine countries reflects concerns that offsets generated from forest-related projects may not have cut emissions Carbon offsets used by corporations around the world to lower their reportable greenhouse gas emissions are “ineffectual” and “hindering the energy transition”, according to more than 60 leading climate change scientists. A pledge signed by scientists from nine countries, including the UK, the US and Australia, said the “only path that can prevent further escalation of climate impacts” was “real zero” and not “net zero”. Continue reading...
10/27/2024 - 09:00
Researchers gain deeper understanding of bird migration in study that could have ‘profound’ implications for windfarms Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The yearly travel plans of birds up and down Australia’s east coast have been revealed for the first time, using the same tool that tracks the weather – a development experts say could have “profound” implications for conservation as more windfarms are built. Scientists have used weather radars to show that bird migration across eastern Australia occurs in structured patterns. While many Australian bird species are known to be seasonally migratory, scientists previously did not know to what extent a distinct system existed. Continue reading...
10/27/2024 - 09:00
The Institute for Contemporary Art in San Francisco has curated a show of ‘alchemized’ toothpaste caps, zip ties, broken computer keys and perfume spray tubes As a young artist, Miguel Arzabe visited art shows around the US to learn from others’ work. But his biggest source of inspiration were the exhibit catalogues. Fascinated by the documents, he decided to make his own work out of the books themselves. He cut the pages into thin strips and wove them into a large, intricate Andean tapestry called Last Weaving – because the strips would make a timeless and lasting work of art – completed in 2018. Continue reading...
10/27/2024 - 08:00
A haul of 8,000 items from 150 shipwrecks is to be auctioned after the closure of a Cornish museum They are some of the most evocative historic artefacts that fate ever consigned to the bottom of the sea. Now, coal from the Titanic, a piece of rope from the Mary Rose and musket flints from the shipwreck that inspired William Wordsworth to write one of his greatest works are to be sold at a very rare auction. The artefacts are among the 8,000 objects salvaged from 150 wrecks that will go under the hammer for the first time next month. Continue reading...
10/27/2024 - 06:00
Destruction caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton bring climate crisis to top of mind, especially for young voters The climate emergency was already a hot-button political issue in Florida long before devastating back-to-back hurricanes named Helene and Milton barreled into the state in recent weeks. Ron DeSantis, the Republican governor who considers global warming “leftwing stuff”, angered environmental advocates by signing a bill in May scrubbing the words “climate change” from state statutes and in effect committing Florida to a fossil fuel-burning future. Don’t miss important US election coverage. Get our free app and sign up for election alerts Continue reading...