Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Chinese tourism is booming in Laos and the illegal wildlife trade is booming with it. Pangolin scales, rhino horn and elephant ivory are all being sold at secret shops and restaurants as a new high-speed rail line brings millions of visitors to the country. Working with Chinese activists, the Guardian goes undercover to investigate the criminal networks profiting from this trade and to reveal how wildlife trafficking is pushing the critically endangered pangolin ever closer to extinction Continue reading...

As the rights of nature are increasingly being recognised, the Scottish Association for Marine Science is the latest organisation to make the ocean a trustee In a boardroom in an office building in Oban, a picturesque town on the west coast of Scotland, trustees attending meetings have long been able to see the breaking waves of the Atlantic through the windows. But since last month, the ocean has also been present in the room, with an unusual new initiative ensuring that it now has a say on decisions shaping the future of the 140-year-old Scottish Association for Marine Science (Sams). Sams was set up during the Scottish Enlightenment, a time of growing interest in oceanography when nature was seen as something to be dominated and exploited. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Analysis of nearly 2,500 articles finds almost three-quarters made no reference to global heating Most of the UK media stories about the record-breaking heatwave that struck in June failed to mention the climate crisis, analysis has found. Nearly 2,500 articles about the extreme heat – when temperatures topped 37C, a record for the time of year – appeared in the UK’s nine main national daily media publications. But nearly three-quarters of them – about 72% – left out any mention of global heating or the climate, according to the analysis by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU). Continue reading...

More than 90 residents have expressed interest in contamination claim against AGC Chemicals Europe A Pfas factory in Lancashire has announced plans to close down, just days after the Guardian revealed that more than 90 residents had signed up to be involved in a potential legal claim over contamination of the local area. AGC Chemicals Europe is consulting with employees and their union representatives about plans to cease operations at its manufacturing plant in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire. The consultation is expected to last for at least 45 days. Continue reading...