Breaking Waves: Ocean News

12/19/2024 - 00:00
npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 19 December 2024; doi:10.1038/s44183-024-00100-7 COVID-19 highlights the need to improve resilience and equity in managing small-scale fisheries
12/19/2024 - 00:00
npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 19 December 2024; doi:10.1038/s44183-024-00091-5 Drifting fish aggregating devices in the Indian ocean impacts, management, and policy implications
12/19/2024 - 00:00
npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 19 December 2024; doi:10.1038/s44183-024-00099-x Shellfish reef ecosystems in Australia have been greatly depleted. Building on earlier trials, a continent-scale restoration initiative was underway by 2019 to restore 30% of their former distribution. Integral elements of building and progressing this ecoscape-scale restoration program are outlined and challenges discussed. Documenting pathways and challenges to large-scale restoration informs global commitments to see 30% of degraded ecosystems under effective restoration by 2030.
12/18/2024 - 15:18
Court rules in favor of 16 young people who said their health and prospects were being imperiled by climate crisis Montana’s top court on Wednesday held that the state’s constitution guaranteed a right to a stable climate system and invalidated a law barring regulators from considering the effects of greenhouse gas emissions when permitting new fossil fuel projects. The Montana supreme court upheld a landmark trial court decision last August in favor of 16 young people who said their health and futures were being jeopardized by climate change, which the state aggravates through its permitting of energy projects. Continue reading...
12/18/2024 - 13:46
Exclusive: Long-awaited decision by water regulator Ofwat falls short of utility’s requested 59% rise Troubled Thames Water will be allowed to increase customer bills by just over a third by 2030 after a decision by the industry regulator, the Guardian has learned. Ofwat is poised to announce on Thursday that the heavily indebted company, which serves 16 million consumers in London and the Thames Valley area, will be permitted to raise bills by just over half the level the company had demanded. Continue reading...
12/18/2024 - 11:43
Powerful storm in drought-hit region confirmed to have killed 45 people in Mozambique and 13 in Malawi Mayotte before and after: satellite images show damage The death toll from Cyclone Chido has continued to rise, with authorities confirming that 45 people were killed in Mozambique and 13 in Malawi. French officials said the number of deaths on the Mayotte archipelago remained unclear, having previously expressed fears that hundreds, possibly thousands, of people were killed in slums flattened by the storm. So far, 22 deaths and 1,500 injuries, 200 of them critical, have been confirmed. Continue reading...
12/18/2024 - 10:42
EPA agreed to grant the state’s requests and permit similar proposals from other states, a step Trump has vowed to undo The Biden administration granted two requests from California to enforce strict standards for vehicle emissions, including a rule aimed at banning sales of new gas-powered cars by 2035 in a move that Donald Trump is expected to roll back immediately. The Environmental Protection Agency said it would grant California’s request for the waivers to allow the state to enforce the proposed rules, the agency announced on Wednesday. Continue reading...
12/18/2024 - 10:00
In 2019, scientists published a climate-friendly food plan. I’ve long wondered: could it work for most Americans? People in the US: how do you eat climate friendly on a budget? As a fossil fuels and climate reporter, most of my journalism focuses on the need to radically overhaul the energy system. But the food sector also needs a makeover, as it creates between a quarter and a third of all greenhouse gas emissions. When scientists came up with a new climate-friendly food plan in 2019 and published their findings in the medical journal the Lancet, I read with interest. The guidelines called for more vegetables, legumes and whole grains, which seemed doable to me. The authors even allowed for meat and dairy consumption, albeit in small quantities. Both are major drivers of the climate crisis: the United Nations estimates that meat and dairy produce more than 11% of all global greenhouse gas emissions, and some experts put the figure at up to 19.6%. Continue reading...
12/18/2024 - 10:00
We want to hear how you manage to eat a planet-friendly diet despite soaring food prices and lack of access Can everyone eat for the planet? I shopped at Dollar Store for a week to find out Tackling the climate crisis will require us to think more carefully about what we eat, since our food system accounts for up to one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions. The best option, according to scientists who developed a climate-friendly food plan several years ago, is to eat more vegetables, legumes and whole grains, and cut back on meat and dairy. Despite the planetary – and health – benefits of this diet, it’s not always easy to eat this way, especially given soaring food prices and lack of accessibility in many parts of the US. Continue reading...
12/18/2024 - 08:54
Gone are the pleasures of licking the foil cover on yoghurts and soft cheese. Plus no one consulted me about this dismal change to my home routines All I want for Christmas is the return of yoghurt pot lids. And not just for me, for everyone. In this season of goodwill, I want everyone to get a share of the joy. The lids disappeared very suddenly, without so much as a goodbye. It didn’t seem right. And it wasn’t just yoghurt pots, either. Creams, buttermilk, cottage cheese, you name it, were suddenly minus their lids, hatless, naked. For me, this was a blow. I’ve always taken my plastic pot management very seriously. I have strict rules. Not for me pulling back the foil cover, leaving it attached to the tub, and then replacing the lid on top of it. No, not neat. The foil would be removed completely, possibly licked, and discarded. 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...