Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Experts say the report being used to justify the mass rollback of climate regulations has many claims based on long-debunked research A new Trump administration report which attempts to justify a mass rollback of environmental regulations is chock-full of climate misinformation, experts say. On Tuesday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposal to undo the 2009 “endangerment finding”, which allows the agency to limit planet-heating pollution from cars and trucks, power plants and other industrial sources. Hours later, the Department of Energy (DOE) published a 150-page report defending the proposal, claiming scientific concern about the climate crisis is overblown. Continue reading...

Coalition opponents of net zero spruik coal, nuclear and gas as emissions policy divides opposition Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Barnaby Joyce and other leading opponents of net zero by 2050 want Australia to build new coal-fired power plants, focus on gas and nuclear energy and abandon all efforts to cut carbon emissions. As the former Nationals leader pushes a private member’s bill to block net zero – sparking new divisions within the Liberals and Nationals this week – he said any long-term emissions reduction from renewables would not make a meaningful difference to the climate and would cost households too much. Continue reading...

The US president promotes classical architecture and loathes ‘ugly’ wind turbines. Keir Starmer would dismiss him as a nimby, but on this Trump has a point Trigger warning. Some readers may find this disturbing. Not everything Donald Trump says is mad and a lie. Not all of it is about money. Some of it is even worth saying. When he came to office, one of Trump’s first actions was extraordinary. He directed his fire at what he saw as the ugliness of American architecture. He demanded that at least federal buildings should be “visually identifiable as civic buildings, and respect regional, traditional, and classical architectural heritage in order to uplift and beautify public spaces and ennoble the United States”. All plans had to be submitted to Washington for his approval. There was more than an element of psychological obsession in such bureaucracy. American classicism – born of an admiration for France’s republicans – was a cult throughout the 19th century. The White House was based on a Dublin mansion. This week it was announced that it is to get what it has always lacked, a sumptuous new ballroom in which to receive and entertain foreign dignitaries. It is to be classical, with no nonsense about trying to make it look modern. That a president should seek to revive both regional and European style in the face of America’s relentless modernism is a breath of fresh air. Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Thistle-shaped Depastrum cyathiforme was last seen in France in 1976, but has now been found on South Uist For nearly 50 years, there has been no trace of Depastrum cyathiforme, a stalked jellyfish that resembles a thistle flower. The distinctive jellyfish was feared globally extinct after being last spotted in Roscoff, northern France, in 1976. Continue reading...