Breaking Waves: Ocean News

11/14/2024 - 02:00
Oscar winners Mark Rylance and Olivia Colman among those writing to Rachel Reeves about excluding fossil fuels Leading British actors including Mark Rylance, Olivia Colman, and Benedict Cumberbatch have called on the chancellor to increase investment in clean energy by reforming pensions. Members of the performing arts union Equity have written an open letter to Rachel Reeves before her Mansion House speech on Thursday asking her to make “smart, strategic reforms” that could unlock £1.2tn from the pensions sector for growing clean energy and infrastructure in the UK. Continue reading...
11/14/2024 - 01:01
Join us for all the latest developments from day 4 of the climate summit in Azerbaijan My colleague Jonathan Watts has written a piece today looking at the likely impact of Donald Trump’s victory in the US on the climate crisis. He warns that the ecological crisis created the setting for Trump’s economy-first, doomsday bunker win – and it’s the global south that will suffer most Continue reading...
11/14/2024 - 01:00
Bedfordshire farm was saved through public donations after a successful £1.5m crowdfunding campaign A unique farm that was “accidentally” rewilded 35 years ago and is now a haven for endangered nightingales and other rare wildlife has been saved, thanks in part to the generosity of Guardian readers. Strawberry Hill in Bedfordshire has been successfully bought by the Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs and Northants (BCN) after a crowdfunding appeal raised £1.5m. Continue reading...
11/14/2024 - 01:00
Dutch appeal court ruled in favour of oil and gas company over judgment telling it to limit emissions A court ruling in favour of Shell does not spell the end of climate litigation against companies, legal experts have said. The oil and gas company celebrated on Tuesday when it won an appeal against a landmark climate judgment by a Dutch court. Continue reading...
11/14/2024 - 00:00
The climate crisis created the setting for Trump’s economy-first win and it’s the global south that will suffer most Donald Trump’s election is a triumph for the politics of the doomsday bunker, which is bad news for the world’s environment. This is the idea that in an age of climate disruption, nature extinction and ever wider social inequality, the best chance of survival for those who can afford it is to construct a personal shelter, where they can keep the desperate masses at bay. It is survival of the richest. Continue reading...
11/13/2024 - 23:08
Zinc and polyurethane product could stop dangerous blockages in concrete wastewater pipes – but is a few years off commercial use Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast 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. Continue reading...
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. Continue reading...
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 Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast 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. Continue reading...
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”. Continue reading...
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.” Continue reading...