Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Hundreds of military families sickened by contaminated Pearl Harbor water
12/03/2021 - 15:48
Key Honolulu aquifer may also be at risk as residents say they face stomach pain and headaches Cheri Burness’s dog was the first to signal something was wrong with their tap water. He stopped drinking it two weeks ago. Then Burness started feeling stomach cramps. Her 12-year-old daughter was nauseous. “It was just getting worse every day,” said Burness. Continue reading...
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Martin Rowson on Shell’s exit from the Cambo oil field – cartoon
12/03/2021 - 15:00
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The Guardian view on North Sea oil: keep it in the ground | Editorial
12/03/2021 - 13:27
Britain won’t convince anyone else to ditch fossil fuels when it won’t do so itself Does the decision by oil giant Royal Dutch Shell to pull out of the Cambo oilfield mark the end of oil and gas investment in the North Sea? For the planet’s sake, one would hope so. However, it may be more realistic to see Shell’s act as a first victory in a longer war to keep hydrocarbons in the ground. Campaigners say that there are dozens more offshore oil and gas fields coming up for approval in the next three years. To keep the climate safe and limit global temperature rises to 1.5C, none ought to go ahead. Oil majors have lost the battle for public opinion in Scotland and this has dramatically altered the calculations for the ruling Scottish National party, which for decades ran on oil. Without supportive politics, and with the science against them, oil majors – this time – bowed out. Despite that, and despite brandishing its credentials as a climate champion at Cop26 in Glasgow last month, the UK government still wants extractive industries to suck the seabed dry. Rather than joining an alliance of nations – led by Denmark and Costa Rica, and including France and Ireland – which have set an end date for oil and gas production and exploration, Boris Johnson will allow companies to keep exploring the North Sea for new reserves. Continue reading...
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Shell U-turn on Cambo could mean end for big North Sea oil projects
12/03/2021 - 12:55
Industry sources say Siccar Point will struggle to find new partner to take on Shell’s 30% stake in oilfield Shell’s decision to back out of plans to develop the Cambo oilfield could sound the “death knell” for new large-scale North Sea projects, industry figures say, as the UK’s tougher climate agenda prompts oil companies to retreat from the ageing oil basin. Sources said Shell’s project partner, the private equity-backed Siccar Point, would struggle to find another partner to take on Shell’s 30% stake in the new oilfield, which has provoked outrage among green campaigners. Continue reading...
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Carbon-cutting app aims to help Londoners ease into net zero future
12/03/2021 - 08:33
Councils are planning to deploy version of Finnish online tool that helps people monitor carbon footprint For those who want to be part of a zero carbon future but find the prospect of giving up flying, ditching the car and turning vegan daunting, help may be at hand. A Finnish-made online tool that promises to give users the key to their own “sustainable good life” by taking control of their carbon footprint is set to be launched in the UK. London Councils, the body that represents all London boroughs, is looking at developing a version of the tool, which aims to be helpful rather than hectoring, letting people create their own tailor-made path to reducing their CO2 output rather than giving out blanket prescriptions such as stopping flying or eating meat. Continue reading...
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Energy companies accused of bid rigging and racketeering in US lawsuit
12/03/2021 - 08:19
Court complaint outlines scheme to generate millions in wasteful equipment expenditures in New York, Connecticut and Maine A cybersecurity company filed a $110m lawsuit in New York this week, accusing the Spanish global energy company Iberdrola and its US subsidiary Avangrid of bid rigging and racketeering. The 72-page federal court complaint outlines an elaborate scheme by Iberdrola executives to generate millions of dollars in wasteful equipment expenditures in order to turn a profit from its utility customers in New York, Connecticut and Maine. Continue reading...
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The week in wildlife – in pictures
12/03/2021 - 07:00
The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including sunbathing monkeys, a pygmy possum and a new home for white rhinos Continue reading...
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Fashion must stick to climate pledges to prevent waste crisis, says UK economist
12/03/2021 - 06:47
Dame Vivian Hunt warns of overproduction at summit attended by Tommy Hilfiger and Kris Jenner The fashion industry is facing a waste and overproduction crisis if it continues on its current trajectory, one of the UK’s leading economic experts has warned. Dame Vivian Hunt, a managing partner at the consulting firm McKinsey and Company, said “fashion has a long way to go to demonstrate its commitment to achieving net zero emissions”. Continue reading...
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Shell to go ahead with seismic tests in whale breeding grounds after court win
12/03/2021 - 05:45
Judgment rules company can blast sound waves in search for oil along South Africa’s eastern coastline Royal Dutch Shell will move ahead with seismic tests to explore for oil in vital whale breeding grounds along South Africa’s eastern coastline after a court dismissed an 11th-hour legal challenge by environmental groups. The judgment, by a South African high court, allows Shell to begin firing within days extremely loud sound waves through the relatively untouched marine environment of the Wild Coast, which is home to whales, dolphins and seals. Continue reading...
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US lags in electric vehicle sales despite Biden administration’s push
12/03/2021 - 05:00
Electric cars will make up just 4% of American sales in 2021, compared with 9% in China and 14% in Europe The Biden administration, in the midst of a major push to encourage the take-up of electric vehicles, has been provided a sobering reminder of how badly the US is lagging in the adoption of zero-emission cars. The White House has set a goal for electric vehicles to make up 50% of all new car sales by the end of this decade in order to slash planet-heating emissions and help avert disastrous climate change. Continue reading...
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