Breaking Waves: Ocean News

03/25/2024 - 08:00
Funding will go to recipients in more than 20 states in industrial sector, which is responsible for roughly 25% of US emissions The Biden administration announced a record $6bn in funding Monday to decarbonize US industry facilities including plants that make cement and concrete, iron and steel, and food production plants including ones which make mac and cheese, and ice cream. The industrial sector is responsible for roughly 25% of all the nation’s emissions, and has proven difficult to decarbonize due to its energy-intense, large-scale operations. Constellium in Ravenswood, West Virginia, is going to operate a first-of-its-kind zero-carbon aluminum casting plant and install low-emission furnaces that can use clean fuels such as hydrogen. The company produces aluminum for a range of products including cars and planes. Kraft Heinz will install heat pumps, electric heaters and electric boilers to decarbonize food production at 10 facilities, including in Holland, Michigan, where it makes mac and cheese. Cleveland-Cliffs Steel Corporation in Middletown, Ohio, will retire one blast furnace, install two electric furnaces, and use hydrogen-based ironmaking technology. The project aims to eliminate 1m tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year from the largest supplier of steel to the US automotive industry. Heidelberg Materials US Inc will build a system that captures and stores carbon underground at its plant in Mitchell, Indiana. The project aims to capture at least 95% of the carbon dioxide released by the cement plant, which will prevent 2m tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere each year. Associated Press contributed to this report Continue reading...
03/25/2024 - 07:19
Japanese carmaker aims to take on Chinese rivals, launching 16 EVs in the next three years Business live – latest updates Nissan is planning to cut the costs of manufacturing electric vehicles by nearly a third by 2030, as it seeks to compete with Chinese rivals. It comes as the Japanese company, which sold 3.4m cars globally last year, aims to increase sales by an extra 1m by 2026. Continue reading...
03/25/2024 - 02:00
Turkey’s eighth national Antarctic science expedition is seeking answers to questions about the future of the world with 22 different projects on the continent. Anadolu Agency’s photojournalist Sebnem Coskun is documenting the expedition’s scientific research, climate change impacts and life in the region to share the findings with the world.The expedition involves uncovering concealed data within the ice, gathered from years of research on crucial topics like sea ice and glacier dynamics. Continue reading...
03/25/2024 - 01:04
First Nations activists call legislation ‘a betrayal’ while Greens leader tells parliament Labor are ‘climate con artists’ Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast The Albanese government and the Coalition have voted to cut short debate on Labor’s offshore gas bill, which the crossbench and environment groups have labelled “window dressing” that fails to prevent new rules watering down First Nations consultation. Seeking to clear the decks before Easter, the government is expected to reveal tweaks to its proposed vehicle efficiency standards this week. And on Monday Labor introduced amendments to add safeguards to the offshore gas bill after widespread concerns, including from within it own ranks. Continue reading...
03/25/2024 - 01:00
National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme aims to understand why population has declined Artificial intelligence will be used for the first time to track hedgehog populations as part of a pioneering project aimed at understanding how many of them are left in the UK and why they have suffered a decline. Images of the prickly mammals snuffling around urban parks, private gardens, woodlands and farmland will be captured by cameras and filtered by AI trained to differentiate between wildlife and humans. Continue reading...
03/24/2024 - 20:34
The two-day 19km-long track is a tourism boost to the area, which was hit hard by bushfires and La Niña Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast A $10m walking track in the Blue Mountains has been opened by the New South Wales government in the hope of attracting more international visitors to a region still healing from years of flooding and bushfires. “The Grand Cliff Top Walk provides visitors with a new, adventurous opportunity to connect with nature while exploring this track through the Blue Mountains national park,” said the NSW environment minister, Penny Sharpe. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...
03/24/2024 - 19:01
Presenter, whose series Mammals airs on Sunday, says broadcaster has changed opinions on conservation the world over Sir David Attenborough has said the BBC’s natural history programmes have helped “world opinion change” about conservation, as his latest series, Mammals, highlights the damage “overcrowded” game reserve tourism has on cheetahs – which he says we are in danger of “loving to death”. In the same way Blue Planet II raised awareness of plastics, the six-part BBC One programme is likely to prompt questions about safari holidays through footage of large numbers of tourist-filled trucks chasing views of hunting cheetahs making a kill – which can often result in the animals leaving the meat and cubs dying. Continue reading...
03/24/2024 - 11:00
In late 2023, Peter Kaestner was about to log his 10,000th bird species seen in the wild. Then Jason Mann showed up In late 2023, 70-year-old birder Peter Kaestner was within striking distance of a goal that had never been accomplished: seeing more than 10,000 different species of birds in the wild. Such a record had previously been unthinkable, but with new technology facilitating rare bird sightings, improved DNA testing identifying a growing number of bird species, and public listing platforms making it easier to keep track of and share findings, more super-birders are inching towards the five digits. Continue reading...
03/24/2024 - 09:00
Fewer than one in 10 investors exploring new investments in the technology, with most preferring renewables Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast Nuclear energy ranks last on the list of climate technologies that big institutional investors want exposure to, according to a survey of climate conscious investors with $37tn under management. Fewer than one in 10 investors were exploring new investments in nuclear technology in the survey of the Investor Group on Climate Change, whose 100 members include super funds and asset managers looking after the funds of 15 million Australians. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...
03/24/2024 - 09:00
Tulare Lake was resurrected to more than 100,000 acres, bringing fear and wonder. I went to see it – and couldn’t find it ‘Stay out of the water’: what lurks below California’s zombie lake? For a time last year, it was difficult to drive through a large swath of central California without running into the new shoreline of a long dormant lake. Resurrected for the first time in decades by an epic deluge of winter rain and snow, by spring the lake covered more than 100,000 acres, stretching over cotton, tomato and pistachio fields and miles of roads. Continue reading...