Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Why is it so hard to get rid of ultra-processed foods from our diets? A scarcity of time | Lindsey Smith Taillie

admin — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 12:00:39 +0000

Better food labels are a necessary but insufficient step to improve diets and health

Ding.

Giraffe relocation in Kenya – in pictures

admin — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 10:28:18 +0000

In western Kenya, wild giraffes are being relocated to the Ruko Conservancy to maintain peace between the Pokot and Ilchamus communities. Since the first giraffe’s arrival to the reserve in 2011, poaching has ceased, and community relations have improved, creating jobs and regional stability. Before a giraffe’s arrival, an intercommunal welcoming ceremony with dancing and singing is held for them, an inconceivable scene in the mid-2000s

Kamala Harris could set ‘new high bar for climate ambition’, advocates say

admin — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 10:00:38 +0000

Vice-president’s record on climate crisis strikes stark contrast with Trump in potential 2024 election match-up

Kamala Harris has a strong record on the environment that will provide a vivid contrast with Donald Trump, who has vowed to rescind climate change policies should he return to the White House, according to green advocates who have welcomed the prospect of a Harris presidency.

Donkeys in Kenya are dying with stomachs full of plastic – and other animals are at risk

admin — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 07:00:08 +0000

With little grass for grazing on the island of Lamu, donkeys are rummaging through rubbish – and scientists now fear it is a global problem affecting many species

UK may need new gas-fired power stations to decarbonise grid

admin — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 04:00:06 +0000

Report says new nuclear capacity will not be ready in time to provide required increase in baseload electricity

Labour is likely to have to approve new gas-fired power stations in its attempt to decarbonise the UK’s electricity systems by 2030, in what would be a tricky decision for the new government.

Large-scale and intense wildfires carrying smoke across northern hemisphere

admin — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 04:00:04 +0000

Late spring and early summer blazes in Canada, Alaska and eastern Russia add to carbon emissions

The northern hemisphere has had a large number of intense wildfires in the first half of summer, carrying vast amounts of smoke across Eurasia and North America.

Agriculture: Less productive yet more stable pastures

admin — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 19:50:45 +0000

Climate change will have a considerable influence on the biodiversity and productivity of meadows and pastures. However, according to the results of the large-scale climate and land use experiment the extent of these changes depends on the land use. Grassland optimized for high yield responds much more sensitively to periods of drought than less intensively used meadows and pastures.

Genome study informs restoration of American chestnut tree

admin — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 19:49:54 +0000

Researchers use genomes to help restore the American chestnut population and adjust species breeding to the changing climate.

‘Dark oxygen’ in depths of Pacific Ocean could force rethink about origins of life

admin — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 17:49:05 +0000

Charged metallic lumps found to produce oxygen in total darkness in process akin to how plants use photosynthesis

In the total darkness of the depths of the Pacific Ocean, scientists have discovered oxygen being produced not by living organisms but by strange potato-shaped metallic lumps that give off almost as much electricity as AA batteries.

The surprise finding has many potential implications and could even require rethinking how life first began on Earth, the researchers behind a study said on Monday.

Pollution plan ‘must cut intensive farming for Lough Neagh to survive’

admin — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 16:42:29 +0000

Stormont’s rescue proposal for UK’s largest lake criticised by campaigners for dilution of sewage reduction targets