Breaking Waves: Ocean News

UK steel industry calls for government to buy British in offshore wind push

admin — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 06:00:01 +0000

Only 2% of steel used in British offshore wind projects in past five years was UK-made, study finds

The UK steel industry has called for the government to promise to buy British as it prepares for a major expansion of offshore wind generation.

Climate crisis exposed people to extra six weeks of dangerous heat in 2024

admin — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:00:02 +0000

Analysis shows fossil fuels are supercharging heatwaves, leaving millions prone to deadly temperatures

The climate crisis caused an additional six weeks of dangerously hot days in 2024 for the average person, supercharging the fatal impact of heatwaves around the world.

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.

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.

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.