Breaking Waves: Ocean News

National Trust records ‘alarming’ drop in insects and seabirds at its sites

admin — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 00:01:54 +0000

Charity says unstable weather patterns caused by the climate crisis had a ‘devastating impact’ in 2024

There have been alarming declines this year in some insect species including bees, butterflies, moths and wasps, while many seabirds have also been “hammered” by unstable weather patterns caused by the climate emergency, a conservation charity has said.

Labour backs plans for £15m fund to distribute surplus food from farms

admin — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 00:01:54 +0000

Grant will go towards repackaging food that would go to waste and delivering it to shelters, food banks and charities

Labour ministers have backed plans for a £15m fund to redistribute food from farms that otherwise go to waste, particularly around Christmas.

Grants starting from £20,000 will be handed to the not-for-profit food redistribution sector in England to repackage farm food and deliver it to homeless shelters, food banks and charities.

California residents urged to avoid ocean as high surf pounds coastline

admin — Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:10:38 +0000

At least one dead and three missing amid storm that has split wharf, wrecked boat and piled up debris

California residents are being warned to stay off wharves, piers and other waterside structures as 20-30ft waves are expected to batter the northern Pacific coast for the rest of the week.

UK public electric car chargers rose by a third in 2024 to more than 70,000

admin — Thu, 26 Dec 2024 15:05:02 +0000

Number hits record level but rate of growth slows as installers face delays to government funding

The UK installed a record number of public electric car chargers in 2024, although the rate of growth slowed as installers contended with delays to government funding.

Numbers rose by more than a third to reach 73,421 by 20 December, according to Zapmap, whose data the government uses. The increase of 19,600 was nearly equivalent to the total number of chargers at the end of 2020.

Chemtrail conspiracy theories: why RFK Jr is watching the skies

admin — Thu, 26 Dec 2024 15:00:42 +0000

Belief in a supposed US government plot linked to aircraft condensation trails has been boosted by confusion over proposals to geoengineer a response to the climate crisis

A conspiracy theory that airplanes are leaving nefarious “chemtrails” in their wake due to a sinister government plot has been given fresh impetus in the US amid a swirl of concerns and confusion about proposals to geoengineer a response to the climate crisis.

‘A place to heal’: Native tribes urge Biden to protect sacred lands before leaving White House

admin — Thu, 26 Dec 2024 14:00:43 +0000

Environmental groups are also petitioning Biden to protect Sáttítla, Kw’tsán and Chuckwalla in California

Hidden amid a vast expanse of snow-brushed pines in northern California is a rare, half-million-year-old volcano called Sáttítla. Thousands of years ago, its flows created crystalline mountains of obsidian and dim grey bands of pumice rock, which from a bird’s-eye view look like ripples of taffy.

‘Britain’s wildlife safari’: baby boom in Norfolk as seal colonies flourish

admin — Thu, 26 Dec 2024 12:00:39 +0000

Grey seals are growing in numbers on England’s east coast as a result of environmental safe havens and cleaner North Sea waters

It is a cold winter’s day to be lying on a beach, but the seal pup suckling from its mother doesn’t mind. A few metres away, a pregnant seal is burrowing into the sand, trying to get comfortable, while a third seal, which has just given birth, is touching noses with her newborn pup.

The shoreline – a mass of seals and their white pups – is one of Britain’s greatest wildlife success stories: a grey seal colony on the east Norfolk coast.

‘The dead zone is real’: why US farmers are embracing wildflowers

admin — Thu, 26 Dec 2024 12:00:39 +0000

Strips of native plants on as little as 10% of farmland can reduce soil erosion by up to 95%

Between two corn fields in central Iowa, Lee Tesdell walks through a corridor of native prairie grasses and wildflowers. Crickets trill as dickcissels, small brown birds with yellow chests, pop out of the dewy ground cover.

“There’s a lot of life out here, and it’s one of the reasons I like it, especially in these late summer days,” Tesdell said.

Campaigners call for right to roam on edges of private farmland in England

admin — Thu, 26 Dec 2024 09:31:58 +0000

Group says people in rural areas have to walk on roads without pavement, which can be very dangerous

Give people the right to walk around the edges of privately owned fields, say campaigners seeking to open up more paths in the countryside in England and Wales.

Slow Ways, a group advocating for more access to the countryside, said people in rural areas often have to walk on roads that do not have pavements, which can be extremely dangerous.

Birdsville notches up another temperature record as Australia faces more heat before New Year’s Eve

admin — Thu, 26 Dec 2024 08:04:33 +0000

The town hit 47.2C by mid afternoon, but locals are already well-versed in the art of staying cool