Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Push to reopen old mines in NSW in global race for critical minerals

admin — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 15:00:45 +0000

The Dorrigo Plateau was used for antimony mining until prices collapsed in the 1970s. Now exploration has begun again – but locals are concerned the heavy metal may impact the water supply

‘Putting profit over people’: big gas is waging war on a California clean air rule

admin — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 13:00:44 +0000

Coalition that includes SoCalGas, country’s largest gas utility, has launched fierce campaign against transition away from gas-fired appliances

This story is co-published with Floodlight.

Labour MPs poised to rebel over planning bill amid concerns for nature

admin — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 13:00:43 +0000

Ministers understood to be drawing up amendments to bill to try to head off threatened rebellion by two dozen MPs

Labour MPs are planning to rebel over the planning and infrastructure bill after constituents raised concern that it threatens protected habitats and wildlife.

The Guardian understands that about two dozen Labour MPs are calling for ministers to force developers to build more than a million homes for which they already have planning permission before pushing through legislation that rolls back environmental protections for the most protected habitats in England.

England’s planning bill has many naysayers. I'm not one of them | Nick WIlliams

admin — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 12:33:30 +0000

The legislation is a product of joined-up environmental thinking – aiming to create housing while preventing nature loss

Nick Williams was an economic policy adviser to Keir Starmer between 2023 and 2025, having previously worked in HM Treasury

James Cleverly takes on Kemi Badenoch over decision to ditch net zero targets

admin — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 08:22:15 +0000

Senior Tory to give speech in which he will criticise ‘neo-luddites’ on right for failing to embrace green technology

UK politics live – latest updates

James Cleverly has taken direct aim at Kemi Badenoch’s decision to ditch net zero targets by criticising what he called “neo-luddites” on the right who seem scared of using green technologies to protect the environment.

Fire stations in England ‘falling apart’ amid £1bn funding cut, chiefs say

admin — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 05:00:57 +0000

Exclusive: National Fire Chiefs Council warns of pressures, with callouts up 20% in a decade as firefighter numbers fall

Fire stations in England are “falling apart”, fire chiefs have warned, with funding plummeting by an estimated £1bn in the last decade as callouts have increased by a fifth.

Fire and rescue must not become the “forgotten emergency service”, the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) urged, warning of mounting pressures that “risk undermining public and firefighter safety”, as it responds to more 999 calls with fewer firefighters.

Cockatoos start sipping from Sydney’s drinking fountains after mastering series of complex moves

admin — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 04:55:36 +0000

Experts think the clever birds learned the technique by watching people and then trying it themselves

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Sulphur-crested cockatoos in Sydney have worked out how to operate drinking fountains, with footage showing the white birds gripping and turning the handle before leaning in for a sip.

A blueprint for national assessments of the blue carbon capacity of kelp forests applied to Canada’s coastline

admin — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 04:00:00 +0000

npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 04 June 2025; doi:10.1038/s44183-025-00125-6

A blueprint for national assessments of the blue carbon capacity of kelp forests applied to Canada’s coastline

Sellafield nuclear clean-up too slow and too costly, say MPs

admin — Tue, 03 Jun 2025 23:01:50 +0000

Parliamentary committee raises concerns over ‘suboptimal’ workplace culture at ageing waste dump

MPs have warned about the speed and cost of cleaning up the Sellafield nuclear waste dump and raised concerns over a “suboptimal” workplace culture at the site.

Members of parliament’s public accounts committee (PAC) urged the government and bosses at the sprawling collection of crumbling buildings in Cumbria to get a grasp on the “intolerable risks” presented by its ageing infrastructure.

Collaboration can unlock Australia's energy transition without sacrificing natural capital

admin — Tue, 03 Jun 2025 21:29:08 +0000

New research demonstrates that with collaboration between stakeholders, Australia can fully decarbonize its domestic and energy export economies by 2060 -- a feat requiring $6.2 trillion USD and around 110,000 square kilomters of land -- while avoiding harm to important areas for biodiversity outcomes, safeguarding agricultural activities, and respecting Indigenous land rights.