Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Week in wildlife – in pictures: amorous frogs, battling stallions and an overaffectionate jaguar

admin — Fri, 17 May 2024 07:00:31 +0000

The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world

UK government adviser on disruptive protest accused of conflict of interest

admin — Fri, 17 May 2024 05:00:29 +0000

John Woodcock, whose review proposes bans for protest groups, has lobbying links to firms in arms and fossil fuel sectors

Activists have accused the government’s independent adviser on political violence of a conflict of interest, after it emerged that he had lobbying links to companies that would benefit from curbs to protesting.

Tokyo battles surge of destructive raccoons that went from pet to pest

admin — Fri, 17 May 2024 04:42:24 +0000

Hotline set up in Japan’s capital to report sightings of raccoons, which became popular as pets after success of 1970s TV anime series

Having won the battle to tackle Tokyo’s population of giant, ravenous crows, the city’s authorities are now embroiled in an even tougher campaign: to rein in another animal menace, the North American raccoon.

Environmental Defenders Office did not breach funding rules while opposing Santos gas project, review finds

admin — Fri, 17 May 2024 02:10:00 +0000

Tanya Plibersek ordered investigation after judge accused law firm of ‘subtle coaching’ of Tiwi Island traditional owners during legal challenge

Union urges Labour not to ban new North Sea licences without plan for jobs

admin — Thu, 16 May 2024 23:01:21 +0000

Unite launches bid to persuade Keir Starmer to invest more in north-east Scotland

The UK’s oil and gas workers risk becoming “the coal miners of our generation,” Unite’s general secretary, Sharon Graham, has warned, urging Labour not to ban new North Sea licences without a clear plan to safeguard jobs.

Unite is launching a billboard campaign in six Scottish constituencies aimed at persuading Keir Starmer to commit more investment to north-east Scotland, the centre of the offshore oil and gas industry.

Biden proposes end to new leases in US’s largest coal-producing region

admin — Thu, 16 May 2024 19:41:19 +0000

Republicans opposed to plan from Bureau of Land Management affecting Powder River Basin area of Wyoming and Montana

The Biden administration on Thursday proposed an end to new coal leasing from federal reserves in the most productive coal mining region in the US as officials seek to limit climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions from burning the fuel.

The Bureau of Land Management proposal would affect millions of acres (millions of hectares) of federal lands and underground mineral reserves in the Powder River Basin area of Wyoming and Montana.

What are Labour’s six pledges and how likely is their success?

admin — Thu, 16 May 2024 16:56:09 +0000

Commitments range from cutting NHS waiting times to delivering economic stability – and are united by a lack of detail

Swallow, swift and house martin populations have nearly halved, finds UK bird survey

admin — Thu, 16 May 2024 16:46:56 +0000

Reduction in insect numbers contributes to drop, and there are declines across more than a third of bird species surveyed

Swallows, swifts and house martins were once a common sight over UK towns and cities, dextrously catching insects on the wing. But these spring and summer visitors are becoming increasingly rare, according to the definitive survey of the country’s birds.

Consumer groups criticise energy companies charging solar panel owners for exporting power

admin — Thu, 16 May 2024 15:00:14 +0000

Critics argue change could lead to people installing smaller solar power systems so they aren’t penalised for exporting excess energy during the day

Fire management in Victoria amounts to de facto native logging industry, conservationists say

admin — Thu, 16 May 2024 15:00:11 +0000

Campaigners accuse Forest Fire Management Victoria of ‘knowingly’ killing endangered wildlife after greater glider found dead