Zinc and polyurethane product could stop dangerous blockages in concrete wastewater pipes – but is a few years off commercial use
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Australian engineers have invented an anti-fatberg coating for sewer pipes that could prevent the congealed masses from blocking the wastewater system and leading to overflows and flooding.
Fatbergs – solidified masses of fat, oil and grease that accumulate in sewer pipes, collecting wet wipes and other material – are a major concern for wastewater authorities globally, responsible for 40% of blockages in Australia, and a likely source for the mysterious balls that recently washed up on Sydney beaches.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
11/13/2024 - 23:08
11/13/2024 - 20:36
Tiny isopod is dubbed Pentaceration forkandbrewer in push to engage community with climate-threatened life in local waters
New Zealand scientists have named a tiny snowflake-like crustacean after a Wellington brewery, in an attempt to boost the public’s interest in local marine life.
The roughly 1.5mm marine isopod was found in the silty depths off New Zealand’s southern east coast. It helps decompose organic material that drifts to the seabed.
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11/13/2024 - 18:30
One expert says climate targets can seem abstract but matter because they serve as an ‘investment signal’ to cashed up investors
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The UK’s announcement of an 81% emissions cut below 1990 levels by 2035 shows the Australian government should set an ambitious climate target that will quickly drive investment and create clean industries, experts say.
The UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, was praised by campaigners and experts after confirming the pledge at the Cop29 UN climate summit in Azerbaijan, though they said it would need to be backed by clear plans. The UK is one of the first larger countries to announce a 2035 target before a UN deadline next February.
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11/13/2024 - 16:10
Planktonic foraminifera are tiny marine organisms, which are essential to the ocean's carbon cycle. A recent study reveals that these populations are shrinking at an alarming rate due to ocean warming and acidification. Elevated CO2 levels and thus acidifying waters are making it harder for these single-cell organisms to form their shells, putting their survival at risk. Some foraminifera have begun migrating to cooler waters in an attempt to adapt, but environmental changes are occurring faster than they can keep up with.
11/13/2024 - 13:45
California researchers found ‘mystery mollusc’ in deep-sea midnight zone after initially observing it 20 years ago
Researchers in California have discovered a new species of sea slug off the Pacific coast in an area of deep sea known as the midnight zone.
A team with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute first came across the creature, which they dubbed the “mystery mollusc” in 2000 at 8,576ft (2,613 meters), and spent years documenting the sea slug in order to “prepare the most comprehensive description of a deep-sea animal ever made”.
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11/13/2024 - 13:00
Exclusive: Mia Mottley, who has championed climate action, says she would seek common ground with US president-elect
Mia Mottley, the climate-championing prime minister of Barbados, has invited Donald Trump to a face-to-face meeting where she would seek “common ground” and persuade him that climate action was in his own interests.
“Let us find a common purpose in saving the planet and saving livelihoods,” she told the Guardian at the UN’s Cop29 climate summit in Azerbaijan. “We are human beings and we have the capacity to meet face-to-face, in spite of our differences. We want humanity to survive. And the evidence [of the climate crisis] we are seeing almost weekly now.”
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11/13/2024 - 12:39
Sometimes plants are so similar to each other that the methods developed by 18th century scientist Carl Linnaeus for identifying species are not enough. Completely new species of daisies have been discovered when analyzed using modern DNA technology.
11/13/2024 - 12:04
Move adds to concerns about the stability of the Paris agreement after the election in the US of Donald Trump
Cop29 climate summit – live updates
Argentinian negotiators representing the government of the climate science denier Javier Milei have been ordered to withdraw from the Cop29 summit after only three days, adding to concerns about the stability of the Paris agreement.
More than 80 representatives from the South American country are in Baku, Azerbaijan, for two weeks of negotiations about climate finance for the energy transition. Argentina’s far-right leader has previously called the climate crisis a “socialist lie”, and threatened to withdraw from the Paris agreement during his election campaign last year, but has since backed down.
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11/13/2024 - 11:51
Royalties earned from The Golden Mole, published in the US this week as Vanishing Treasures, will be given towards counteracting ‘the election of a climate-change denier’
British author Katherine Rundell will give all the royalties from one of her books to climate charities in response to the re-election of Donald Trump.
The author of bestsellers for children and adults has said she will donate 100% of author royalties earned from sales of The Golden Mole, her 2022 book on endangered species, “in perpetuity”. The book was published in the US on Tuesday under the title Vanishing Treasures.
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11/13/2024 - 09:44
German energy firm shaves €3bn from spending plans for next financial year to €7bn
A German energy firm has said that Donald Trump’s election victory has increased the risks of investing in offshore wind projects – but his return to the White House could help bolster Britain’s renewables sector, according to UK developer SSE.
Germany’s RWE has cut its spending plans and warned that, as a result of the US election, “the risks for offshore wind projects have increased”.
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