A new global assessment of scientific literature finds that nature-based solutions (NbS) are an economically effective method to mitigate risks from a range of disasters -- from floods and hurricanes to heatwaves and landslides -- which are only expected to intensify as Earth continues to warm.
Breaking Waves: Ocean News
07/16/2024 - 14:12
07/16/2024 - 13:05
Half of Americans live in states without rules restricting disconnections for unpaid or overdue bills, report finds
Millions of low-income households are at risk of having their power disconnected this summer, exacerbating the risk of deadly heat as the climate crisis drives up temperatures.
A new report by the Centre for Energy Poverty and Climate (EPC) and the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (Neada) found that almost half of Americans live in states without rules restricting disconnections for unpaid or overdue energy bills during potentially deadly heatwaves, forcing some low-income families to choose between cooling their homes and paying rent.
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07/16/2024 - 12:31
Nashville and surrounding areas have been hit by severe storms and flooding, overwhelming city’s infrastructure
Residents in Nashville, Illinois, are evacuating their homes after emergency management officials warned the failure of the city’s dam was “imminent”.
Nashville, a small city in Illinois with a population of nearly 3,000 people, and surrounding areas have been hit with severe storms which have caused flooding, overwhelming the city’s infrastructure. More than 5in of rain fell in the region within six hours on Tuesday.
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07/16/2024 - 12:30
Government will also overhaul state laws after Guardian Australia uncovered serious problems with biodiversity offsets scheme
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The New South Wales government says the state’s biodiversity is in crisis and must be put on a path to recovery to reverse the decline of beloved species and ecosystems.
The environment minister, Penny Sharpe, has released the government’s “first steps” in responding to a major review of the state’s nature laws, saying: “We cannot ignore the truth: biodiversity in NSW is in crisis.”
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Introducing legislation next year to enshrine a new state nature strategy with conservation and restoration targets;
Amending laws this year to reform the state’s offsets scheme;
Developing maps that identify current and future areas of high biodiversity value to give “clear guidance” on where environmental impacts should be avoided;
Reviewing other pieces of legislation that affect biodiversity to improve outcomes for the environment.
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07/16/2024 - 11:27
A new study has unveiled surprising findings about mercury pollution: where it comes from and how it moves through the environment vary significantly depending on the ecosystem. In drier regions, most mercury is deposited through rain and snow. In wetter, forested areas, gaseous mercury from the air sticks to leaves, which then fall and carry the toxin into the ground.
07/16/2024 - 09:58
Company insists project should go ahead despite new government saying it had been unlawfully approved
The company behind the first new coalmine in the UK for 30 years has argued in the high court on Tuesday that it would be a “unique net zero” mine.
West Cumbria Mining (WCM) continued to defend the legality of its mine, which will produce 60m tonnes of coking coal in its lifetime, in the court days after the government said its planning permission was unlawful because it had not taken into account downstream emissions from using the coal.
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07/16/2024 - 09:00
Vance’s record shows ‘pattern of prioritizing fossil fuel interests’ over the climate crisis, environmentalist says
JD Vance’s close ties to the fossil fuels industry and eagerness to please Donald Trump pose a major threat to Americans and the planet, environmental advocates have warned.
The Republican nominee for vice-president, a wealthy venture capitalist who was elected to the US Senate in 2022, went from voicing concern about the climate crisis before running for political office to voting to roll back environmental protections and to repeal landmark climate legislation boosting renewables and electric vehicles.
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07/16/2024 - 08:40
Authorities asked residents of small, rural community to leave, nearly a year after deadliest US wildfire struck in Maui
Firefighters have contained a wind-swept wildfire that was threatening about 200 homes on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, nearly a year after an explosive blaze killed more than a hundred people on nearby Maui.
Residents of about 200 homes in a small, rural community on Kauai were told to evacuate on Monday, as firefighters worked to stop the spread of a fire between Hanapepe and Kaumakani.
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07/16/2024 - 07:47
Award for Lawrence Gosden comes after criticism of business plan and attempts to increase bills by 73%
Every water firm in England and Wales under investigation over sewage spills
The chief executive of Southern Water has received a £183,000 bonus despite submitting a business plan that has been criticised by the industry regulator and attempting to raise bills more than any other English water company.
Lawrence Gosden received the bonus as part of a £764,000 pay package, up from £428,000 a year earlier, according to the company’s annual report.
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World Ocean Explorer Wins Gold Medal Serious Simulation Award from Serious Play Annual International Competition
10/26/2023 - 14:35
For Immediate Release October 19, 2023
Sedgwick, Maine USA World Ocean Explorer, a 3D virtual aquarium and educational simulation, was recently cited for excellence, winning a Gold Medal Award in the 2023 International Serious Play Awards Program.
World Ocean Explorer is an innovative 3D virtual aquarium designed for educational exploration of the world’s oceans. With interactive exhibits and a lobby space, visitors can immerse themselves in realistic marine environments, including a DEEP SEA exhibit funded by Schmidt Ocean Institute, showcasing unprecedented deep-sea discoveries off Australia. Targeted at 3rd graders and beyond, this immersive experience offers a range of perspectives on the ocean environment and can be explored through guided tours or user-controlled interfaces. Visit DEEP SEA at worldoceanexplorer.org/deep-sea-aquarium.html.
Serious Play Conference brings together professionals who are exploring the use of game-based learning, sharing their experience, and working together to shape the future of training and education. For more information on Serious Play Award Program visit seriousplayconf.com/international-serious-play-award-programs.
World Ocean Explorer is a transformative virtual aquarium designed to deepen understanding of the world ocean and amplify connection for young people worldwide. Organized around the principles of Ocean Literacy and the Next Gen Science Standards, World Ocean Explorer brings the wonder and knowledge of ocean species and systems to students in formal and informal classrooms, absolutely free to anyone with a good Internet connection. As an advocate for the ocean through communications, World Ocean Observatory believes there is no better investment in the future of the sustainable ocean than through a new approach to educational engagement that excites, informs, and motivates students to explore the wonders of our marine world and to understand the pervasive connection and implication for our future, inherent in the protection and conservation of all aspects of our ocean world.
World Ocean Explorer presents an astonishing 3-dimensional simulated aquarium visit, organized to reveal the wonders of undersea life, with layers of detailed data and information to augment the emotional connection made to the astonishing beauty and complexity of the dynamic ocean. Within each of the virtual exhibits, students visit exemplary theme-based sites with myriad opportunities to understand the larger perspectives of scientific knowledge as organized and visualized to dramatize the impact and change on ocean life as a result of natural and human-generated events. Through immersion among displays, mixed media and 3D models, the experience of an aquarium visit will be brought into classrooms or home school environments as a free, accessible, always available opportunity for teaching and learning. All of this will be available to a world audience without physical limitation or cost. World Ocean Explorer, a project of the World Ocean Observatory, receives support from the Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation, Visual Solutions Lab, the Climate Change Institute, the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, and The Fram Museum Oslo. To learn more about the current and future exhibits of World Ocean Explorer, visit worldoceanexplorer.org.
media contact
Trisha Badger, Managing Director, World Ocean Observatory | [email protected] +12077011069
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