Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Argentina approves Milei’s glacier mining bill amid environmental protests

admin — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 11:55:33 +0000

Legislative change backed by libertarian president makes it easier to extract metals in frozen parts of the Andes

Argentina’s congress has approved a bill promoted by the libertarian president, Javier Milei, that authorises mining in ecologically sensitive areas of glaciers and permafrost, outraging environmentalists.

The amendment to the “glacier law”, which was already approved by the senate in February, would make it easier to mine for metals such as copper, lithium and silver in frozen parts of the Andes mountains.

‘A dream come true’: Brazil’s blue-and-yellow macaws return to Rio after 200 years

admin — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 11:00:48 +0000

An ambitious ‘refaunation’ project is bringing the much-loved birds and other lost species back to the city’s national park

Images of the iconic blue-and-yellow macaw can be spotted all over Rio de Janeiro. Yet the real thing has been seen so rarely in the Brazilian city that some wondered if it ever really existed there at all.

Doug Allan, cameraman on David Attenborough’s Planet series, dies trekking in Nepal

admin — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 10:27:20 +0000

Wildlife film pioneer has died aged 74 ‘immersed in nature and surrounded by friends’, his representatives said

An award-winning wildlife cameraman renowned for his work with David Attenborough has died aged 74 while trekking in Nepal.

Doug Allan, described as a “true pioneer” of wildlife film-making, won several Bafta and Emmy awards and was principal camera operator on a number of BBC series including Planet Earth, Frozen Planet and The Blue Planet.

Bitten by snakes 200 times – on purpose: US man’s quest to help deliver new antivenom

admin — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 10:00:46 +0000

Tim Friede put his ‘ass on the line’ to help stop snakebite deaths – whose numbers appear to be rising amid the climate crisis

As we overheat and degrade our planet, more people are set to come into contact, sometimes fatally, with venomous snakes. One man hopes to provide an unusual solution to this, after subjecting himself to 200 intentional snakebites to his body.

For nearly 20 years, Tim Friede, 58, allowed some of the most lethal snakes in the world to bite him so he could build up an immunity that could one day be developed into a universal antivenom.

Mass drowning of chicks puts emperor penguins at risk of extinction

admin — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 09:00:28 +0000

Record low levels of Antarctic sea ice is having grim consequences for penguins yet to grow waterproof feathers

The mass drowning of emperor penguin chicks as sea ice is melted by the climate crisis has led the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to declare the species officially in danger of extinction.

Campaigners demand action to break UK’s ‘addiction’ to controversial herbicide

admin — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 08:00:27 +0000

Use of glyphosate has risen 10-fold in 30 years, raising fears for public health

It was Scottish farmers in the 1980s who pioneered the practice of spraying glyphosate on their wheat just before harvest. Struggling in the damp glens to get their crop to dry evenly, they came up with the idea of accelerating the process by killing it a week or two before harvesting.

Glyphosate, then a revolutionary herbicide that killed everything plant-based but spared animal life, seemed perfect for the job. Soon the practice spread to wetter, colder agricultural regions around the world.

Ed Miliband hold firm! North sea oil and gas drilling won’t help anyone other than Nigel Farage | Zoe Williams

admin — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 07:00:26 +0000

It’s worrying to watch Labour entertain Reform’s fantasies about fossil fuels. Only renewables will bring lower bills and higher energy security

Ed Miliband is facing a dilemma, apparently. Reform UK is suggesting new oil and gas licences in the North Sea as a way to cut fuel bills and they’re steadily gaining cheerleaders – not just in the media, but also in some trade unions.

Abandoned Battle of Britain control tower to become a home for holidaymakers … and six species of bat

admin — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 05:00:23 +0000

Council backs £700,000 plan to save historic landmark at former RAF base in the New Forest

A unique RAF watch office that has been crumbling for decades is to be turned into a smart hideaway home to be shared by holidaymakers – and the bats that already use it.

The Landmark Trust, which rescues at-risk buildings, has been given permission to convert the ruined property in Hampshire into a holiday retreat with four bedrooms and a roof terrace.

Consumers urged to ‘completely avoid’ UK-caught cod as population plunges

admin — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 04:00:23 +0000

Marine Conservation Society warns that fish numbers have reached dangerous point of decline

Consumers should “completely avoid” buying UK-caught cod, the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) has said, as it warned that populations have reached a dangerous point of decline despite zero-catch recommendations.

The MCS, an environmental charity, publishes a Good Fish Guide to help consumers and businesses make sustainable seafood choices.

Britain breaks solar energy record twice as UK’s biggest solar farm gets approval

admin — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 17:35:59 +0000

Record high set on Monday and raised on Tuesday, with 14.4GW of electricity generated in sunny spring weather

Britain’s sunny spring weather powered the grid to new solar energy records on two consecutive days this week.

Solar farms in England, Wales and Scotland generated 14.1GW of low-carbon electricity at lunchtime on Monday, surpassing the previous high of 14GW in July last year.