Breaking Waves: Ocean News

05/20/2026 - 10:00
Global study finds wrappers, bottles and lids on shorelines of 93% of countries analysed as UN talks to tackle issue stall Plastic food wrappers, bottles, lids and caps are by far the most common items of litter found on the world’s shorelines, a study has found. Researchers looked at data from more than 5,300 surveys of coastal litter to produce the first global analysis of its kind. They found the data in 355 existing studies on the subject. Continue reading...
05/20/2026 - 08:00
Young Americans are suing the president for violating rights with executive orders that fuel the climate crisis Eva Lighthiser was at a dorm party on her Colorado college campus last month when she had to call it an early night. “I said, ‘Hey, I’ve got to go to bed, I’m flying out to Portland tomorrow,’ and then of course follow-up questions get raised,” she said. “I’m like, ‘Well, it’s a lot to explain.’” Continue reading...
05/20/2026 - 05:49
Ukrainians lament appalling toll of fighting on their country’s bird population Russia sent kamikaze drones to attack the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia in February. They hit buildings and killed several people. One unreported victim of the bombardment was a male long-eared owl, blinded in one eye and found with a badly broken wing. A passerby scooped up the stunned bird, put him in a box and took him to the city of Dnipro. The owl – nicknamed Sunny – is now recovering in a cosy room belonging to Veronica Konkova. No longer able to fly or hunt, Sunny instead hops around. Continue reading...
05/20/2026 - 03:52
Sustainability promised to change the industry. With Shein reportedly acquiring Everlane, and Allbirds pivotting from eco sneakers to AI, it seems that promise was mostly marketing It was always about the money, wasn’t it? For a while there, it seemed like the execs opining sustainability is not a trend, it’s the future actually meant it. But when yet another global brand drops its net zero goals or stops talking about DEI, you do wonder. Recent headlines include Stella McCartney adulterating her eco gloss with a sustainable capsule collection for H&M – don’t worry, she’s just “infiltrating from within” – and Lululemon being investigated for Pfas. The letdowns keep coming. Now the internet is reeling from a report that Shein plans to acquire Everlane, the San Francisco-based sustainable basics brand built on “radical transparency”. Shein is the Chinese ultra-fast fashion giant epitomising murky supply chains and crazy-cheap landfill fashion. They release up to 10,000 styles a day, and have been making headlines of their own over secrecy and alleged links to forced Uyghur labour. Continue reading...
05/20/2026 - 03:50
Chancellor’s planning shake-up would ‘reduce exposure from judicial review on all but human rights grounds’ Rachel Reeves is ​preparing to announce a planning shake-up ‌that would fast-track clean energy ​and infrastructure projects by curbing judicial reviews, the ​Treasury has said. The chancellor will propose that parliament should be able to designate and approve the most important clean energy projects as of “critical national importance”, as part of a wider package seeking to soften the economic blow from the Iran crisis. Continue reading...
05/20/2026 - 03:41
‘Floral buzzing’, the vibrations bees use to shake pollen loose from flowers, takes more energy than previously thought Bees use as much energy collecting pollen through “floral buzzing” as they do taking off in flight, a study shows. Scientists have found the vibrations bumblebees use to shake pollen loose from flowers are among the most exhausting behaviours they perform, forcing bees to “carefully choose” which flowers are worth visiting. Continue reading...
05/20/2026 - 02:00
Need for minerals, biofuels and pulp adding to pressures from ranching, monocrops, oil and logging, analysis finds The growing extraction of rainforest resources is pushing the Amazon and similar biomes towards breaking point, a report has shown. Fresh demands for critical minerals, biofuels and pulp – used in fast fashion, processed food and packaging – are compounding existing pressures from cattle ranching, monocrops, oil and logging, the analysis finds. Continue reading...
05/20/2026 - 01:22
For decades, scientists believed ancient humans avoided dense rainforests, treating them as nearly impossible environments for early survival. But a groundbreaking discovery in West Africa is rewriting that story. Researchers uncovered evidence that humans were living deep within rainforest environments in present-day Côte d'Ivoire around 150,000 years ago — far earlier than anyone thought possible.
05/20/2026 - 00:50
The 18-year-old high school student reached the top of the world’s tallest mountain on her second attempt An 18-year-old high school student from Melbourne became the youngest Australian to climb to the top of Mount Everest on Wednesday. According to her Garmin data and a post on Instagram, Bianca Adler reached the 8,849 metre summit at nearly 6.30am Melbourne time, and nearly 2.30am Nepal time, with her guides, Pemba and Ngdu. Continue reading...
05/19/2026 - 23:45
Scientists in Australia are using cutting-edge DNA techniques to help save one of the world’s rarest marsupials — the critically endangered Gilbert’s potoroo, with fewer than 150 left in the wild. By analyzing tiny traces of DNA in the animals’ scat, researchers uncovered clues about the elusive fungi the potoroos depend on for survival. The findings could help conservationists identify safer new habitats and establish backup populations before disasters like bushfires wipe them out.