Breaking Waves: Ocean News

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...

Overuse and pollution must end urgently as no one knows when whole system might collapse, says expert The world has entered an era of “global water bankruptcy” that is harming billions of people, a UN report has declared. The overuse and pollution of water must be tackled urgently, the report’s lead author said, because no one knew when the whole system could collapse, with implications for peace and social cohesion. Continue reading...

The Andaman coast was one of very few places in the world with a viable population but then dead dugongs began washing up. Now half have gone A solitary figure stands on the shore of Thailand’s Tang Khen Bay. The tide is slowly rising over the expanse of sandy beach, but the man does not seem to notice. His eyes are not fixed on the sea, but on the small screen clutched between his hands. About 600 metres offshore, past the shadowy fringe of coral reef, his drone hovers over the murky sea, focused on a whirling grey shape: Miracle, the local dugong, is back. Continue reading...

Amateur conservationist and social media influencer Theerasak 'Pop' Saksritawee has a rare bond with Thailand’s critically endangered dugongs. With dugong fatalities increasing, Pop works alongside scientists at Phuket Marine Biological Centre to track the mammals with his drone and restore their disappearing seagrass habitat. Translating complex science for thousands online, Pop raises an urgent alarm about climate change, pollution and habitat loss — before Thailand’s dugongs vanish forever Continue reading...