Breaking Waves: Ocean News

More than 120 years after billions of the trees were wiped out, blight-proof seeds are being planted It was in New York City that a mysterious fungus was first spotted on an American chestnut, a blight that was to rapidly sweep across the eastern US, wiping out billions of the cherished trees. Now, 120 years later, there is fresh hope of a comeback for chestnuts, spurred not only by scientists but also eager New Yorkers planting blight-proof seeds in their back yards and local parks. The American chestnut was once found in vast numbers from Maine to Mississippi and known as the redwood of the east due to its prodigious size. But 4bn trees were killed off in the first half of last century by a blight introduced from Asia to which it had little defense, spread by spores carried by the wind, rain and animals. Continue reading...

Environment minister Murray Watt says the government’s thumping federal election win created a ‘very clear mandate’ to establish the EPA 2.0 and fix the nature laws Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter here The latest attempt to rewrite federal environmental protection laws won’t be “credible” unless it forces decision-makers to consider climate change when assessing projects, advocates have warned, as consultation on the changes begins. Select environment groups, miners, business and farming chiefs joined the new environment minister, Murray Watt, for a roundtable in Canberra on Thursday. Sign up to get climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as a free newsletter Continue reading...

Michael Shanks says guidance brings ‘clarity’ to approval process as analysis finds UK will be almost fully dependent on foreign gas by 2050 even if sites get green light Ministers have opened the door to approving drilling at two controversial North Sea oilfields, as new guidance on how energy firms should account for future emissions was released. Michael Shanks, the energy security minister, said on Thursday the guidance would “offer clarity on the way forward for the North Sea oil and gas industry”, after a supreme court ruling in 2024 that blocked drilling. Continue reading...

Many in Kassel have embraced the animal but the EU classes it as an invasive species and ecologists are divided about what to do next In Kassel, everyone has a story about raccoons. Some struggle with a family of them that moved into their roof and simply will not leave. Others recount how a picnic in the park turned into an ambush as gangs of the black and white animals, known in Germany as Waschbären, raided the food. Almost everyone seems to have a neighbour who feeds them, to the annoyance of the entire street. “We are the raccoon city. They are everywhere,” says Lars, a Kassel resident, as he tends his allotment by Karlsaue park in the fading light. Continue reading...