Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Australia’s next government may be Great Barrier Reef’s last chance after sixth mass bleaching, conservationist says

admin — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 07:58:01 +0000

Consecutive and severe bleaching is ‘fundamentally changing’ nature of reef, the International Coral Reef Society says

‘Let Rome burn’: Coalition MP says allowing blackouts the only way to turn voters off renewable energy

admin — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 06:08:42 +0000

Exclusive: Power outages in major cities would help build opposition to climate policies, Colin Boyce tells podcast

Underwater Argonauts! The deep-sea scientists logging Med pollution – in pictures

admin — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 06:01:03 +0000

Juliette Pavy’s photographs of eco expeditions bring an element of lyrical storytelling to the global impact of invisible pollutants, from the Mediterranean to the Arctic

Sauntering on streets and grazing on lawns: what happens when rhinos move into town?

admin — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 06:00:04 +0000

In one Nepali village, the resident rhinos are a conservation success story and attract thousands of visitors, but attacks on humans are on the rise

China to snub UK energy summit amid row over infrastructure projects

admin — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 06:00:03 +0000

Exclusive: Absence of world’s biggest clean energy producer will be welcomed by US pushing oil and gas exports

China is to snub a major UK summit on energy security next week, the Guardian has learned, amid a growing row over the country’s involvement in UK infrastructure projects.

Resurrected pools, remnants of last ice age, attract wildlife in Norfolk

admin — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 05:00:03 +0000

Seeds can germinate having been buried in sediments of ‘ghost ponds’ for thousands of years

Ghosts of the ice age are being resurrected in Norfolk. When the ice sheets retreated at the end of the last ice age, mounds of ice called pingos remained underground until they thawed and the soil slumped, leaving behind shallow hollows that filled with water.

These turned into swampy wetland habitats rich in plants and wildlife and Breckland, in Norfolk, became pocked with hundreds of these pingo pools, although many of them were later filled in for farmland and became lost.

Wildflowers could be absorbing toxic metals that pass on to bees, study finds

admin — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 05:00:02 +0000

Scientists call for urban areas to be tested for contaminants and potentially cleaned before wildflowers are planted

Wildflowers could be absorbing toxic metals from soil in urban areas and passing toxins on to pollinators, a study has found.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge found that common plants including white clover and bindweed, which are vital forage for pollinators in cities, can accumulate arsenic, cadmium, chromium and lead from contaminated soils.

Water companies’ pollution incidents in England increased by 30% in 2024

admin — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 04:00:02 +0000

The sector, which had been set a target to reduce spillages by 40%, needs ‘radical reform’, campaigners say

Water companies have missed their targets to reduce pollution with 2,487 incidents recorded in 2024 – twice the limit set by the Environment Agency.

Data revealed under freedom of information law shows the companies were collectively set an Environment Agency target of a 40% reduction in pollution incidents, but instead recorded a 30% increase.

Weedkiller maker moves to settle suit over Parkinson’s disease claims

admin — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 17:47:11 +0000

Syngenta has been besieged by lawsuits from people claiming its product caused the neurological condition

Besieged by thousands of lawsuits alleging that its paraquat weedkiller causes Parkinson’s disease, its manufacturer, Syngenta, has entered into an agreement aimed at settling large swaths of those claims.

Felling of ancient London oak tree by Toby Carvery owner reported to police

admin — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 16:19:49 +0000

Whitewebbs Park oak cut down by contractors working for firm that runs nearby restaurant

The sudden felling of one of the oldest and largest oak trees in London has been carried out by the company that owns a nearby Toby Carvery, as campaigners renewed calls for better protection for such nationally significant trees.

The oak in Whitewebbs Park, Enfield, was up to 500 years old, with a trunk that was more than six metres in circumference. It was listed on the Woodland Trust inventory of ancient trees, but was not the subject of a tree preservation order.