Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Advocates say bill weakens safety reviews, boosts industry influence and shields pesticide makers from legal liability Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox The newly proposed, Republican-led farm bill includes a range of provisions opponents say constitute a “pesticide industry wishlist” that would kill protections for humans, the environment, wildlife and endangered species, while also shielding industry from legal liability. Among other measures, they said the bill would delay safety reviews, give industry a prominent role in determining endangered species’ protections and grant the US Department of Agriculture new veto power over health safeguards for children, farm workers and the public. Continue reading...

In the race to meet the demands of the energy transition, biodiversity hotspots such as Palawan in the Philippines are being increasingly mined for critical elements How nature is being sacrificed for mining across the world – a data visualisation Moharen Tahil Tambiling lowers himself from the fishing boat into the water and gingerly picks his way over the reef circling the bay. At low tide here in Brooke’s Point on Palawan, a long, rugged island in the south-west of the Philippines archipelago, the coral is just under the surface, and it looms suddenly under the waves, scraping at the boat’s wooden hull. Beneath his feet are brain-like mounds and curling fingers of coral. Leaning over the side of the fishing boat, the men point out different kinds: some which were once vibrant orange and others that should be delicate pink. Now, almost everything is the same dull khaki, covered by a thick film of silt. Another man jumps overboard, stirring the sediment. A cloud rises like thick smoke over the reef. Continue reading...

Two international tourists travelling to flood-ravaged North Burnett region from Brisbane thought to be first flood-related deaths Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Two bodies have been discovered in the search for backpackers missing in Queensland flood waters, marking the first flood-related fatalities in the region. Police on Thursday said they believed the bodies were of two international tourists who had been travelling to Queensland’s flood-ravaged North Burnett region from Brisbane but failed to arrive at their destination. Continue reading...

The Guardian reporter Leyland Cecco visits an almost 100ft-tall snow mountain, one of six created in Toronto to store all the snow cleared from roads and paths across the city. Toronto has spent more than C$1bn dollars over a decade to successfully re-naturalise the mouth of the Don River. But this is at risk because the salt contained in the snow mountains is likely to end up in water systems, causing an 'ecological crisis'. More than 130,000 tonnes of salt were used during the winter's record snowfall and remains trapped in the snow mountains, along with oil, metals and dirt. Once the mountains thaw in the summer, the salt will make its way to the groundwater and become toxic to fish in freshwater systems Continue reading...