Breaking Waves: Ocean News

‘Poorly thought through’: UK food firms say packaging tax is pushing up prices

admin — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 09:08:24 +0000

Green groups defend ‘essential’ levy, but Heck sausages and Gü desserts among those who say shoppers will pick up tab

A packaging tax designed to end our throwaway society is under fire for inadvertently adding to food price inflation as it pushes up the cost of everything from sausages to soft drinks.

Inside the illegal eel trade: is there a way to stop Europe’s biggest wildlife crime before it’s too late?

admin — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 09:00:21 +0000

Interviews with experts and key players across four countries reveal why efforts to stop the multibillion-euro trafficking industry have failed – and how to save the endangered fish

By 10am on the midsummer Day of the Ox, the city of Narita smells of charcoal and sugar. The cobbled road is thronged with visitors lining up to buy grilled eel, a traditional delicacy believed to cool the body and keep spirits up in the humid weather.

Coogee beach among Sydney swimming spots ranked most polluted with faecal matter

admin — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 05:52:34 +0000

Annual survey finds about 21% of 249 swimming sites across NSW received ratings of ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ for water quality

Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

Coogee beach and Shelly beach in Manly have ranked among the Sydney swimming sites most polluted with faecal matter in the city, a government report has found.

Atlantic dolphins are dying much younger. Scientists sound the alarm

admin — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 05:46:39 +0000

Common dolphins in the North Atlantic are living significantly shorter lives, with female longevity dropping seven years since the 1990s. Researchers found this decline by analyzing stranded dolphins, revealing a 2.4% drop in population growth linked to bycatch deaths and environmental pressures. The findings expose flaws in traditional counting methods and call for adaptive conservation measures, such as smarter fishing restrictions.

ARE YOUR PETS OK?! How to keep them safe from climate-induced record-breaking everything everywhere | First Dog on the Moon

admin — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 05:37:08 +0000

Get out of the Honda Gwyneth!

Get all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and prints

No prosecutions made after 15,195 wood-burning complaints in a year in England

admin — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 05:00:56 +0000

Campaigners say figures reveal a lack of enforcement with just 24 fines issued by councils for rule violations

Not one prosecution for illegal wood burning has been made in the past year, despite 15,195 complaints across England, data shows.

Additionally, just 24 fines were issued by local authorities between September 2024 and August 2025, responses to freedom of information requests by the campaign group Mums for Lungs revealed.

Global use of coal hit record high in 2024

admin — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 04:01:54 +0000

Bleak report finds greenhouse gas emissions are still rising despite ‘exponential’ growth of renewables

Coal use hit a record high around the world last year despite efforts to switch to clean energy, imperilling the world’s attempts to rein in global heating.

The share of coal in electricity generation dropped as renewable energy surged ahead. But the general increase in power demand meant that more coal was used overall, according to the annual State of Climate Action report, published on Wednesday.

Ancient elephant migration routes are being blocked off – can anything stop the rising death toll?

admin — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 04:00:55 +0000

Human-wildlife conflict has now overtaken poaching as a cause of fatalities – and is deadly for people too. Some villages are finding new ways to live alongside them

Photographs by Edwin Ndeke

Two dead at Melbourne beach as wild wind batters state, while parts of Sydney hit by record-breaking heat

admin — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 01:26:43 +0000

Sydney’s Observatory Hill peaks at 37C on Wednesday – below the 39C forecast – as the mercury in other parts of the city neared 40C

Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates

Photographer captures timelapse of 'red lightning' in New Zealand – video

admin — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 01:00:35 +0000

Dan Zafra captured a timelapse of something he could only dream of - red sprites, also known as red lightning, flashing above the Milky Way - while photographing from the Clay Cliffs in New Zealand's South Island on 11 October. Red sprites are brief, large-scale electrical discharges that occur high above thunderstorms, reaching altitudes of up to 90km. They are almost impossible to see with the naked eye and last just a few milliseconds