The number of species recognised as threatened with extinction rises by 13 and now stands at 2,224
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Another 13 animals and plants have been added to Australia’s list of threatened species, sparking renewed calls for the federal government to quickly overhaul the country’s nature laws.
The species newly listed as at risk include the pig-nosed turtle (listed as vulnerable), the Dalhousie catfish (critically endangered), Pugh’s sphagnum frog (endangered) and the Coffs Harbour Fontainea, a rainforest tree (critically endangered). Other species are freshwater fish, lizards, flowering shrubs, a daisy and an orchid species.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
08/06/2024 - 10:00
08/06/2024 - 09:00
More than half classed as very toxic, toxic or harmful to aquatic life, with 20 categorised as ‘substances of very high concern’
Almost 500 different chemicals, some of which are banned, have been found in various mixtures across all 171 river and groundwater catchments tested in England in 2024, according to data from the Environment Agency, analysed by the Guardian and Watershed Investigations.
More than half of them are classified as very toxic, toxic or harmful to aquatic life, according to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), and a banned, carcinogenic “forever chemical” was among 20 “substances of very high concern” found.
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08/06/2024 - 07:36
The penalties reflect the failings of the Environment Agency and Ofwat as much as the water companies
Behind the record fines announced by Ofwat for the routine dumping of sewage into rivers and seas by three water companies, there is a voiceless victim, one that does not sit in boardrooms, or get a chance to count dividends. It is our rivers and coastal waters, subjected to years of continuous pollution under the noses of the regulators, which are suffering.
In all likelihood the £168m penalties for the already struggling Thames Water, Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water will be followed by fines for the remaining eight water and sewerage companies, all of whom Ofwat is investigating over failure to treat sewage according to the law.
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08/06/2024 - 06:00
Firm moves ore through land without telling tribal leaders as mine resurfaces painful legacy of nuclear development
A coalition of hundreds of environmental activists, Navajo and Havasupai tribal members are protesting the transportation of uranium ore through the Navajo Nation, as a newly opened mine near the Grand Canyon resurfaces a painful legacy of nuclear development.
Located just seven miles south of the famous national park, the controversial Pinyon Plain mine is one of the first uranium mines to open in years as the United States works to boost its nuclear arsenal and energy supply.
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08/06/2024 - 01:47
Ofwat to penalise Thames, Northumbrian and Yorkshire for ‘catalogue of failure’ over illegal discharges
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Thames, Yorkshire and Northumbrian Water will be fined a record £168m between them for a “catalogue of failure” over illegal sewage discharges into rivers and the sea after the industry regulator’s biggest ever investigation.
The water regulator for England and Wales, Ofwat, has proposed penalties of £104m for Thames, £47m for Yorkshire and £17m for Northumbrian for failing to manage their wastewater treatment works and networks, including their operation of storm overflows. It said it was the first of more crackdowns to come.
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08/06/2024 - 01:42
The environmental regulator has a history of backing fossil fuels – that is why its preliminary view on Woodside’s Browse project is extraordinary
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The news that the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority is likely to recommend that a massive gas export development off the state’s north-west shouldn’t go ahead is remarkable, but shouldn’t be.
We don’t know much about what the EPA told Woodside Energy in February about its Browse project off the state’s Kimberley coast. All we have is a line that WAtoday extracted from the EPA – that it had formed a “preliminary view” that the proposal was “unacceptable”.
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08/06/2024 - 00:56
Newcastle doctor Dave Hogbin named as man killed by 4.9-metre crocodile near Cooktown
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The wife of a man who was killed by a 4.9-metre crocodile in far north Queensland has said his last act was to save her life and stop her from being pulled into the water too.
Human remains were located inside a crocodile at Cooktown in an extensive search for a man who went missing at the weekend. Queensland police said a formal identification process was under way and a report would be prepared for the coroner, but the remains were believed to be those of a missing 40-year-old New South Wales man.
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08/05/2024 - 23:01
Percentage of badgers with bTB fell to zero in Cornish study, raising hopes of end to cull of 210,000 badgers since 2013
A large-scale vaccination programme could help eradicate bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in badgers, according to a first-of-its-kind study with “really promising” results for cattle farmers, whose herds have been devastated by the disease.
Over four years, researchers vaccinated 265 badgers across 12 farms in Cornwall. They found the percentage of badgers testing positive for bTB fell from 16% to zero.
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08/05/2024 - 23:00
Married couple from Bristol attract awe and abuse on X with photos that show ‘staggering’ changes in the Alps
A tourist has posted “staggering” photos of himself and his wife at the same spot in the Swiss Alps almost exactly 15 years apart, in a pair of photos that highlight the speed with which global heating is melting glaciers.
Duncan Porter, a software developer from Bristol, posted photos that were taken in the same spot at the Rhône glacier in August 2009 and August 2024. The white ice that filled the background has shrunk to reveal grey rock. A once-small pool at the bottom, out of sight in the original, has turned into a vast green lake.
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08/05/2024 - 16:48
Ex-president, who previously denigrated electric vehicles, says they are suitable for a ‘small slice’ of the population
Donald Trump has for months denigrated electric vehicles, arguing their supporters should “rot in hell” and that assisting the nascent industry is “lunacy”. He now appears to have somewhat shifted his view thanks to the support of Elon Musk, the world’s richest person.
“I’m for electric cars, I have to be because Elon endorsed me very strongly,” Trump, the Republican nominee for US president, told supporters at a rally in Atlanta, Georgia, on Saturday.
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