Breaking Waves: Ocean News

08/07/2024 - 03:17
The weather system has inundated parts of the country including Florida and Georgia, whipping up tornadoes and submerging streets in waist-high flood waters Continue reading...
08/07/2024 - 02:49
The development, planned to be offshore from Sydney to Newcastle, was vetoed by Scott Morrison when resources minister Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast The company behind the contentious Pep11 offshore New South Wales gas exploration project has lost patience with persistent delays from the federal and state governments and has asked the court to force them to make a decision. BPH Energy and Bounty Oil and Gas NL, the parent companies of Pep11 joint-venture operator Asset Energy, notified the Australian Stock Exchange on Tuesday that Asset Energy has begun proceedings in the federal court in Western Australia against the joint authority responsible for determining whether the proposed PEP11 project can proceed. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...
08/07/2024 - 00:00
Our former environment correspondent had solar panels installed in 2010 and later added a heat pump. He’s totted up the energy generated and cash saved over the years An abiding memory of a day in August 2010, the first time my solar panels were connected to the grid, was of the builders downing tools and watching the electricity meter whiz round backwards. It was a sunny day and they were supposed to be finishing the plastering and insulation, but the novel sight of the old-style electricity meter in reverse was too entertaining. Continue reading...
08/06/2024 - 23:15
Eight Australian sea lions were enlisted to map the ocean floor by sticking cameras with satellite tracking to their backs. Almost 90 hours of footage and 500km later, conservationists hope to have much clearer ideas on how to protect the sea lions.  “I can watch this stuff for hours,” says Prof Simon Goldsworthy. “It’s like the best slow TV ever. You just don’t know what you’re going to see next.” ‘Best slow TV ever’: scientists mount cameras on endangered sea lions to map Australia’s ocean floor Continue reading...
08/06/2024 - 23:14
Eight females from two seal colonies have filmed almost 90 hours across more than 500km, helping scientists map 5,000 sq km of habitat Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast The Australian sea lions glide and dart through underwater tunnels, over seagrass beds and rocky reefs, searching for a meal and dancing with dolphins around a giant bait ball of fish – all the action captured by a camera stuck on their back. “I can watch this stuff for hours,” says Prof Simon Goldsworthy. “It’s like the best slow TV ever. You just don’t know what you’re going to see next.” Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...
08/06/2024 - 23:00
Gardeners and pest controllers say wasps, important predators and pollinators, appear to be in sharp decline The UK is not doing enough to track wasp populations as numbers appear to plummet, a leading expert has warned. While there were national monitoring schemes for some invertebrates, including bees and butterflies, there was no such programme in place for wasps, said Dr Gavin Broad, principal curator of wasps at the Natural History Museum. Continue reading...
08/06/2024 - 23:00
npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 07 August 2024; doi:10.1038/s44183-024-00076-4 Buckley and Cooper’s1 estimates of surfing’s economic contributions via enhanced mental health were extrapolated from national park visitation. We extend their argument by distinguishing benefits from green and blue spaces, and the particularities of surfing, both as therapy and recreation. Personal Wellbeing Index scores reveal improved outcomes among Australian surfers, compared to the national population. These diverse well-being effects highlight the value of surfing as an ocean-based ecosystem service.
08/06/2024 - 15:37
Elephant conservation is a major priority in southern Africa, but habitat loss and urbanization mean the far-ranging pachyderms are increasingly restricted to protected areas like game reserves. The risk? Contained populations could become genetically isolated over time, making elephants more vulnerable to disease and environmental change.
08/06/2024 - 12:13
To protect the Amazon and support the wellbeing of its people, its economy needs to shift from environmentally harmful production to a model built around the diversity of indigenous and rural communities, and standing forests.
08/06/2024 - 10:00
Ageing correctional centers and the people within are threatened by floods, extreme heat, and building collapses due to snowfall and thawing permafrost Over millions of years, glaciers slid across what is now northern Juneau, forming the craggy valleys and alluvial plains of south-east Alaska. Then about 200 years ago, when these glaciers shrank amid rising global temperatures, meltwater flowed downstream, depositing loose, silty soil along bodies of water like Lemon Creek. In 1969, the state chose to build a prison on this flat land – despite an assessment that the glacial deposits would be “poor … material” for the building’s foundation. Continue reading...