Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Wild-born birds recruited to teach critically endangered regent honeyeaters their lost songs

admin — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 14:00:04 +0000

Researchers hope restoring the original song will improve breeding prospects for birds released into the wild

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Scientists have rescued the lost song of the critically endangered regent honeyeater – one of Australia’s rarest birds.

Albanese government rejected advice on Tasmanian salmon farming impact before passing pro-industry laws

admin — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 14:00:01 +0000

FOI documents show ministers ignored recommendation for fresh inquiry that could have reduced or paused farming

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‘A viable alternative’: UN rapporteur outlines plan for redistributive global economy

admin — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 13:16:10 +0000

Olivier De Schutter says ‘frivolous and destructive demands’ of ultra-rich restrict fight against inequality

The global economy must be reordered to ensure it serves ordinary people around the world rather than the “frivolous and destructive demands of the ultra-rich”, according to a leading UN figure.

Tech firms and AI farming tools ‘playing with the food system’, warns thinktank

admin — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 10:31:08 +0000

Google, Microsoft and Amazon among companies using algorithms and AI to influence what crops are grown and how, say critics

Tech companies and industrial agriculture are “playing with the food system” by using AI and algorithms to undermine farmers in choosing what the world eats, leading food security experts have warned.

Ferries emit ‘more sulphur pollution than cars’ in several EU capitals

admin — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 23:01:22 +0000

Dublin, Helsinki, Stockholm and Tallinn among port cities more choked by sulphur oxides from ferries, analysis shows

Fume-belching ferries spew more sulphur pollution than cars in several EU capitals, analysis has found.

Dublin, Helsinki, Stockholm and Tallinn are among 13 of Europe’s 15 biggest port cities choked more by sulphur oxides (SOx) from ferries than road vehicles, data shared exclusively with the Guardian shows.

UK slashes climate aid programmes for developing countries

admin — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 16:37:46 +0000

Exclusive: Schemes worth hundreds of millions of pounds to protect biodiversity and oceans likely to be substantially reduced

UK programmes to protect nature and the climate in developing countries are suffering swingeing budget cuts despite ministers’ promises, the Guardian has learned.

The cuts belie the government’s claims to be fulfilling international obligations on climate finance and are veiled behind a system that experts have criticised as opaque.

Scotland becomes first UK country to legalise water cremations

admin — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 15:24:46 +0000

Hydrolysis uses alkaline and water to break down body in a few hours and is part of demand for more sustainable funerals

Scotland has become the first part of the UK to legalise hydrolysis, an environmentally friendly alternative to cremation or burial, reflecting increasing demand for more sustainable funeral arrangements.

Also known as water cremation or aquamation, the process is already available in many parts of the world, and regulations approved by the Scottish parliament on Monday mark the most significant change to funeral law since cremation was introduced in 1902.

Australian wildlife in ‘harm’s way’, with volunteers left to ‘pick up the pieces’ amid climate crisis, fires and floods

admin — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 14:00:13 +0000

Ken Henry leads push for federal government to do more to protect animals as biodiversity declines

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‘I love midges because I know what their hearts look like’: is the passion for taxonomy in danger of dying out?

admin — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 08:00:04 +0000

Insect taxonomist Art Borkent has described and named more than 300 species of midges but fears his field of science is dying out, despite millions of insects, fungi and other organisms waiting to be discovered

Shark culls brought in after fatal attack causes division and anger in New Caledonia

admin — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 04:20:27 +0000

Authorities say capture of bull and tiger sharks necessary to protect lives as environmentalists launch urgent legal challenge

Some beaches in areas of New Caledonia are closed to swimming and the authorities have begun shark culling off the capital, Nouméa, after a fatal attack in the popular tourist spot – prompting a legal challenge to stop the operation and reigniting debate over public safety and marine conservation.