Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Our nation’s fascination with rubbish knows no bounds – as was proved by one recent online debate Even if you’ve never been anywhere near it, the Mumsnet message board is legendary. Since it launched in 2000, it has changed the vernacular – “am I being unreasonable?” is not just a question, it’s a shorthand for the type of person who asks it – and introduced us to the penis beaker (one maverick husband’s postcoital hygiene regime, made infamous). It’s a screenshot of society, a cultural thermometer; if it’s happening on Mumsnet, it’s big news. And one of the most popular recent threads is about bins. The post that kicked it off was written by a woman who lived opposite an empty house where tenants had moved out. The landlord popped round late at night to drag the bins out for collection, and the next morning, at 6.45am, she could hear the lorry approaching. The coast was clear, and she still had a backlog of rubbish from Christmas. Deciding it was a victimless crime, she slipped one of her bags in their bin, which easily had room. Enterprising? Without a doubt. Moral, though? Continue reading...

Critics accuse leading firms of sabotaging climate action but say data increasingly being used to hold them to account Just 32 fossil fuel companies were responsible for half the global carbon dioxide emissions driving the climate crisis in 2024, down from 36 a year earlier, a report has revealed. Saudi Aramco was the biggest state-controlled polluter and ExxonMobil was the largest investor-owned polluter. Critics accused the leading fossil fuel companies of “sabotaging climate action” and “being on the wrong side of history” but said the emissions data was increasingly being used to hold the companies accountable. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Sydney Water erects sign at Malabar beach near wastewater facility stating ‘do not touch any debris … we are cleaning the area’ Fatberg the size of four buses likely birthed poo balls that closed Sydney beaches Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Debris balls have washed up on Sydney’s beaches after a weekend of heavy rain, with the objects found on Malabar beach next to a sewage treatment works and also in Botany Bay. Sydney Water erected a sign at Malabar beach warning of the potential pollution. Continue reading...

Government opts against phasing out new boilers by 2035 in effort to cut energy bills by as much as £1,000 a year Analysis: Labour’s warm homes plan is all carrot and no stick for UK households There will be no phaseout date for gas boilers in the government’s warm homes plan despite its pledge to wean the UK off fossil fuels, but billions of pounds will go towards heat pumps and insulation upgrades. Labour’s principal attempt to solve the UK’s cost of living crisis, the £15bn warm homes plan, will overhaul 5m dwellings, aiming to cut energy bills by as much as £1,000 a year, in the biggest public investment yet made into home upgrades. £5bn for upgrades, including insulation, solar panels, batteries and heat pumps, for people on low incomes. £2bn towards low-cost loans for people who can afford them. £2.7bn for the boiler upgrade scheme, by which people can swap their existing gas boilers for £7,500 on a new heat pump. £1.1bn for heat networks, which distribute heat from a central source, which could be a large heat pump or geothermal or other low-carbon source. £2.7bn towards innovative finance through the warm homes fund, which could include schemes such as green mortgages offering a lower interest rate to homes that have been insulated and equipped with solar panels and heat pumps. Continue reading...