Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Thames Water to pay £18m penalty after breaking dividend rules

admin — Thu, 19 Dec 2024 07:41:44 +0000

Regulator Ofwat penalises struggling utilities firm and announces bills can rise by more than third over five years

• Water bills for households in England and Wales to rise by £31 a year

Just four fines issued for wood-burning complaints in a year in England

admin — Thu, 19 Dec 2024 06:00:07 +0000

Law around illegal wood burning in smoke-control areas is not being enforced, campaigners say

Only four fines out of 5,600 complaints have been issued for illegal burning of wood in smoke-control areas from September 2023 to August 2024 in England, data has revealed.

The new data, from freedom of information requests submitted by the campaign group Mums for Lungs, shows that the law around illegal wood burning is not being enforced in England, campaigners said.

Toadstool with teeth and ghostly palm among plant and fungus finds of 2024

admin — Thu, 19 Dec 2024 05:00:06 +0000

Scientists race to discover new species before destruction of natural world drives them to extinction

From a toadstool with teeth to a vine smelling of marzipan and a flower that has cheated its way out of having to photosynthesise, a weird and wonderful host of new plant and fungus species have been discovered in 2024.

Time to be shellfish: why the UK should go back to feasting on oysters and mussels

admin — Thu, 19 Dec 2024 05:00:05 +0000

Popular in Victorian times, they are sustainable, a good source of protein and brilliant for biodiversity, say those championing the bivalves

A splash of white wine, a handful of basil leaves and a few minutes preparation are all it takes to transform mussels that 24 hours ago were filtering seawater off the south Devon coast, into a delicious starter.

Drifting fish aggregating devices in the Indian ocean impacts, management, and policy implications

admin — Thu, 19 Dec 2024 05:00:00 +0000

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

Montana supreme court upholds right to ‘stable climate system’ for youngsters

admin — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 20:18:37 +0000

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.

Thames Water to get green light to hike bills by more than a third by 2030

admin — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 18:46:21 +0000

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.

Cyclone Chido deaths rise in south-east Africa as Mayotte toll remains unclear

admin — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 16:43:29 +0000

Powerful storm in drought-hit region confirmed to have killed 45 people in Mozambique and 13 in Malawi

Biden administration allows California to ban new gas-powered car sales by 2035

admin — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 15:42:51 +0000

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.

Can everyone eat for the planet? I shopped at Dollar Store for a week to find out

admin — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 15:00:06 +0000

In 2019, scientists published a climate-friendly food plan. I’ve long wondered: could it work for most Americans?