Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Half of Kew tree species at risk of death owing to climate crisis, study finds

admin — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 05:00:25 +0000

Botanical gardens lost 400 trees during 2022 drought, prompting research into potential loss in coming decades

More than half of the tree species at Kew’s Royal Botanical Gardens are at risk of death because of climate breakdown, a study by the public body has found.

John Lewis trials repair service in partnership with Timpson Group

admin — Sun, 21 Jul 2024 23:01:19 +0000

Five stores will offer to alter, clean or mend clothes in service marketed as a way to help prevent waste

John Lewis customers will be able to give their favourite leather jacket a new lease of life or have a cushion cover fixed, as part of a repairs partnership with Timpson Group, the business famed for offering ex-offenders a second chance.

Labour told it will need to defeat ‘net-zero nimbys’ to decarbonise Britain

admin — Sun, 21 Jul 2024 23:01:18 +0000

Opposition in wealthier areas is likely and overcoming it is essential, says Resolution Foundation

The government will need to “take on net-zero nimbys” and ramp up public investment to decarbonise Britain’s homes, transport and electricity system, a leading thinktank has said.

With Keir Starmer promising a rapid transition to decarbonise the power system by 2030, a report by the Resolution Foundation said achieving the target would require more government spending and private investment.

‘No one understands local issues better’: rural councils call for greater role in renewable energy transition

admin — Sun, 21 Jul 2024 15:00:08 +0000

NSW, Victoria and Queensland local governments have limited roles in approving developments but advocates say they’re best placed to keep communities on side

Real-time water quality monitors installed at wild swimming spots in southern England

admin — Sun, 21 Jul 2024 13:00:07 +0000

AI-based system designed to help people assess immediate risk of getting ill from water polluted with bacteria

Real-time water quality monitors are being installed at wild swimming spots and beaches across southern England to help people assess their immediate risk of getting ill from polluted water.

Florida grasshopper sparrow: scientists hail resurgence of endangered bird

admin — Sun, 21 Jul 2024 12:00:06 +0000

Sparrows were taken into captivity after numbers dwindled – and this week experts released 1,000th bird back into wild

Scientists in Florida are hailing the landmark release this week of a tiny bird only 5in tall as an oversized success in their fight to save a critically endangered species.

Where are all the bats? – alarm as numbers fall in England

admin — Sun, 21 Jul 2024 05:00:05 +0000

Decline blamed on washout summer driving down population of insects, butterflies and moths they feed on

Conservation groups across England are seeing more malnourished bats, as wildlife experts warn the washout summer is driving down the insects, butterflies and moths they feed on.

Five protesters and one police officer hurt in French reservoir demonstration

admin — Sat, 20 Jul 2024 16:37:06 +0000

Violence erupts after about 4,000 gather in La Rochelle amid heightened tensions over water resources

A police officer and five protesters were injured when violence erupted after about 4,000 people turned out for a demonstration in La Rochelle over the use of reservoirs to supply large-scale agriculture, local officials said.

Police fired teargas and brought in water cannon trucks and reinforcements to disperse the demonstrators after the unrest broke out on Saturday afternoon, with several shop fronts smashed and at least seven people arrested.

The great pylon pile-on: can councils’ opposition scupper Labour’s ‘clean power’ revolution?

admin — Sat, 20 Jul 2024 16:00:41 +0000

The energy secretary’s plans to install thousands of pylons in unspoiled rural areas is facing a huge backlash

The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, has been warned he faces battlegrounds across the country over plans to install thousands of pylons in unspoilt rural areas to deliver a “clean power” revolution.

Botanists vote to remove racist reference from plants’ scientific names

admin — Sat, 20 Jul 2024 15:36:01 +0000

Offensive term to be replaced as first step towards more changes in unprecedented reform of nomenclature rules

Scientists have voted to eliminate the names of certain plants that are deemed to be racially offensive. The decision to remove a label that contains such a slur was taken last week after a gruelling six-day session attended by more than 100 researchers, as part of the International Botanical Congress, which officially opens on Sunday in Madrid.