Breaking Waves: Ocean News https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-waves/index.php en Switching 50km/h speed limits to 30km/h would protect cyclists while barely affecting commutes, research finds https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/switching-50kmh-speed-limits-30kmh-would-protect-cyclists-while-barely-affecting-commu <p>One expert says a cyclist hit by a car travelling 50km/h has about a one-in-ten chance of surviving, while at 30km/h it was a nine-in-ten chance</p> <ul> <li> <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2025/oct/14/australia-news-live-jim-chalmers-superannuation-concession-tax-cybercrime-anthony-albanese-sussan-ley-coalition-penny-wong-israel-gaza-ntwnfb">Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates</a></p> </li></ul><p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/switching-50kmh-speed-limits-30kmh-would-protect-cyclists-while-barely-affecting-commu" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Tue, 14 Oct 2025 13:01:41 +0000 admin 101524 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Pentagon retreats from climate fight even as heat and storms slam US troops https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/pentagon-retreats-climate-fight-even-heat-and-storms-slam-us-troops <p>For decades, the military treated climate crisis as a threat. Now it’s backing away from plans to protect people and bases from extreme weather</p> <p><em>This story is from <a href="https://floodlightnews.org/">Floodlight</a>, a non-profit newsroom that investigates the powers stalling climate action.</em></p> <p>Retired Marine Corps gunnery sergeant Vida Rivera knows heat can be as dangerous as any enemy.</p> <p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/14/pentagon-military-climate-crisis-trump">Continue reading...</a></p> Tue, 14 Oct 2025 12:00:40 +0000 admin 101523 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Rachel Reeves to confirm changes to ‘outdated’ planning system https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/rachel-reeves-confirm-changes-outdated-planning-system <p>Changes intended to reduce ‘burdensome bureaucracy’ and make it easier to build windfarms, reservoirs and housing</p> <p>Ministers are making it easier to build windfarms, reservoirs and large housing developments as part of a series of changes to the government’s planning and infrastructure bill designed to bolster the confidence of developers.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/rachel-reeves-confirm-changes-outdated-planning-system" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Tue, 14 Oct 2025 06:42:17 +0000 admin 101522 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org NSW minister urges people to 'vote early and vote often' in 2025 bird of the year – video https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/nsw-minister-urges-people-vote-early-and-vote-often-2025-bird-year-video <p>As the final hours of Guardian Australia's 2025 bird of the year draw near, Penny Sharpe, the New South Wales environment minister, makes a last-minute appeal for votes for the endangered bush stone-curlew. In a boisterous session of state parliament, Sharpe encourages people to 'vote early and vote often' in what she calls 'the only ballot that counts this year'. A colleague can be heard yelling their support for the powerful owl, but Sharpe points out 'the powerful owl is out.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/nsw-minister-urges-people-vote-early-and-vote-often-2025-bird-year-video" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Tue, 14 Oct 2025 06:18:40 +0000 admin 101521 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Almost all external insulation fitted under Tory scheme needs repair or replacing, report finds https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/almost-all-external-insulation-fitted-under-tory-scheme-needs-repair-or-replacing-repo <p>Homeowners who took advantage of government programmes left with cladding likely to cause damp</p> <p>Almost all the external insulation fitted under the previous government’s energy efficiency scheme was installed so poorly it will have to be repaired or replaced, an investigation has found.</p> <p>Thousands of homeowners who took advantage of the home insulation schemes have been left with incompetently fitted cladding that in some cases is likely to cause damp and mould.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/almost-all-external-insulation-fitted-under-tory-scheme-needs-repair-or-replacing-repo" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Tue, 14 Oct 2025 04:00:11 +0000 admin 101519 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Towns may have to be abandoned due to floods with millions more homes in Great Britain at risk https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/towns-may-have-be-abandoned-due-floods-millions-more-homes-great-britain-risk <p>Every constituency projected to be at greater risk, with many areas likely to be uninsurable, Guardian investigation finds</p> <ul> <li> <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/14/tenbury-wells-flood-prone-worcestershire-town-abandoned-by-insurers">The flood-prone Worcestershire town being abandoned by insurers</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/14/protecting-home-flood-defence-doors-drains-paving">Doors, drains and paving perils: protecting your home from flooding</a></p> </li></ul><p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/towns-may-have-be-abandoned-due-floods-millions-more-homes-great-britain-risk" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Tue, 14 Oct 2025 04:00:10 +0000 admin 101520 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Matilda Boseley sports homemade pelican outfit to talk bird of the year on ABC – video https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/matilda-boseley-sports-homemade-pelican-outfit-talk-bird-year-abc-video <p>Guardian Australia's Matilda Boseley, dressed as an Australian pelican, joins ABC News Breakfast to talk bird of the year with Nate Byrne. Boseley highlights the importance of the poll in promoting conservation. 'The point is to appreciate Australian native wildlife,' she says. 'It's fun, it's silly, we're all dressing up, but ultimately it's for a good cause'</p> <ul> <li> <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2025/oct/06/australian-bird-of-the-year-2025-vote-now">Australian bird of the year poll: last day to vote for your favourite</a></p> </li></ul><p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/matilda-boseley-sports-homemade-pelican-outfit-talk-bird-year-abc-video" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 13 Oct 2025 23:35:55 +0000 admin 101518 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org It took just 60 years for the red fox, one of Australia’s most devastating predators, to colonise the continent | Sean Tomlinson and Damien Fordham for the Conversation https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/it-took-just-60-years-red-fox-one-australia-s-most-devastating-predators-colonise-cont <p>The rapid spread of the invasive species offers clues to how we might prevent future extinctions of native animals</p> <p>To a newly arrived red fox, the abundant rolling grasslands and swamps of Wadawurrung Country, around what is now called Port Phillip Bay in Victoria, must have seemed like a predator’s paradise.</p> <p>This landscape was filled with small native marsupials and birds, and free of European wolves or bears that usually kept fox numbers in check.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/it-took-just-60-years-red-fox-one-australia-s-most-devastating-predators-colonise-cont" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 13 Oct 2025 23:01:28 +0000 admin 101517 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org ‘Dismal’ health of world’s forests is threat to humanity, report warns https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/dismal-health-world-s-forests-threat-humanity-report-warns <p>Financial institutions pouring money into land clearance and undermining efforts to stop destruction, says Climate Focus</p> <p>Global forest health has plunged to “dismal” levels and threatens the wellbeing of humanity, warns <a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/resources/forest-declaration-assessment-2025">a damning report</a> that highlights how financial systems are pouring money into land clearance and undermining efforts to reduce destruction.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/dismal-health-world-s-forests-threat-humanity-report-warns" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 13 Oct 2025 23:01:03 +0000 admin 101516 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Carmakers chose to cheat to sell cars rather than comply with emissions law, ‘dieselgate’ trial told https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/carmakers-chose-cheat-sell-cars-rather-comply-emissions-law-dieselgate-trial-told <p>Mercedes, Ford, Renault, Nissan and Peugeot/Citroën face group action in which damages could exceed £6bn</p> <p>Car manufacturers decided they would rather cheat to prioritise “customer convenience” and sell cars than comply with the law on deadly pollutants, the first day of the largest group action trial in English legal history has been told.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/carmakers-chose-cheat-sell-cars-rather-comply-emissions-law-dieselgate-trial-told" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 13 Oct 2025 14:48:51 +0000 admin 101515 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org