Breaking Waves: Ocean News https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-waves/index.php en Researchers find 180,000 giant tortoises living on island in Seychelles https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/researchers-find-180000-giant-tortoises-living-island-seychelles <p>Figure is highest ever recorded for species and confirms one of Indian Ocean’s greatest conservation success stories</p> <p>A survey of the world’s largest free-roaming giant tortoise population has revealed that the once endangered species is thriving.</p> <p>A population of Aldabra giant tortoises lives on an island in Seychelles called Aldabra Atoll.</p> <p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/oct/08/researchers-find-180000-giant-tortoises-living-on-island-in-seychelles">Continue reading...</a></p> Thu, 08 Oct 2026 16:11:53 +0000 admin 104787 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Can hope save the planet? An endangered parrot that is beating the odds can help us find out | Helen Pilcher https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/can-hope-save-planet-endangered-parrot-beating-odds-can-help-us-find-out-helen-pilcher <p>A new global biodiversity report strikes an encouraging note. But we cannot rest on our laurels – and resilience is key</p> <p><a href="https://livingplanet.panda.org/en-GB/?utm_source=web&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=lpr&amp;utm_content=uk-core-site-press-release&amp;pc=PA-0000575002">The new Living Planet Report is out</a>. Published every two years, it assesses the health of the natural world and, historically, it’s made for gloomy reading.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/can-hope-save-planet-endangered-parrot-beating-odds-can-help-us-find-out-helen-pilcher" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 08 Oct 2026 15:05:53 +0000 admin 104786 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org As monarch butterflies migrate for the fall, meet the Chicago woman trying to protect them https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/monarch-butterflies-migrate-fall-meet-chicago-woman-trying-protect-them <p>Claudia Galeno-Sánchez has turned her home into a sanctuary for the insects by planting native milkweed and wildflowers – and sharing her experience</p> <p>Along the concrete streets of Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, a vividly colored home stands out among the rest.</p> <p>Over the past few years, Claudia Galeno-Sánchez has transformed her modest family home, which she shares with her husband and two children, into a sanctuary and educational space dedicated to the monarch butterfly.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/monarch-butterflies-migrate-fall-meet-chicago-woman-trying-protect-them" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 08 Oct 2026 11:00:18 +0000 admin 104784 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org July 2026 was worst on record for wildfires in England, data shows https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/july-2026-was-worst-record-wildfires-england-data-shows <p>Devastating blaze near Sizewell B nuclear power station in Suffolk among a record 624 wildfires in July this year</p> <p>This July was the worst on record for wildfires in England, provisional data shows, with England experiencing a clear upward trend in the total number of wildfires recorded.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/july-2026-was-worst-record-wildfires-england-data-shows" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 08 Oct 2026 10:34:34 +0000 admin 104785 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Britons kept in dark about scale of climate crisis, say viewers of ‘first-of-its-kind’ emergency briefing https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/britons-kept-dark-about-scale-climate-crisis-say-viewers-first-its-kind-emergency-brie <p>Nine out of 10 people felt motivated to act after watching film outlining threats to food security, economy and public health</p> <p>The British government must be honest about the scale of the threat posed by climate and nature breakdown, researchers have said, after nine out of 10 people surveyed after watching a briefing on the issue felt more motivated to act.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/britons-kept-dark-about-scale-climate-crisis-say-viewers-first-its-kind-emergency-brie" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 08 Oct 2026 08:00:13 +0000 admin 104783 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Stockpile food – and wash your hands: is that really how to prepare for environmental catastrophe? | George Monbiot https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/stockpile-food-and-wash-your-hands-really-how-prepare-environmental-catastrophe-george <p>The UK state is dumping its responsibilities on our doorsteps, while green-lighting policies that lead us closer to crisis</p> <p>Would you mind fixing the NHS? And while you’re at it, could you please build an anti-missile system in your garden? Then regulate the banks, replace the water mains, tax the very rich and use the proceeds to rebuild our schools. Well, come on people: what are you waiting for?</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/stockpile-food-and-wash-your-hands-really-how-prepare-environmental-catastrophe-george" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 08 Oct 2026 05:00:10 +0000 admin 104782 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Next UK banknotes to feature barn owls, bumblebees, puffins and hedgehogs https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/next-uk-banknotes-feature-barn-owls-bumblebees-puffins-and-hedgehogs <p>Four native species selected after consultation, but which one adorns which note is yet to be decided</p> <p>Bees, barn owls, puffins and hedgehogs have been picked to feature on the next generation of banknotes, the Bank of England has announced.</p> <p>The quartet of creatures were selected after a large-scale consultation settled on wild animals as the theme, with members of the public then asked to pick their favourites out of 18 options divided into three categories.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/next-uk-banknotes-feature-barn-owls-bumblebees-puffins-and-hedgehogs" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 08 Oct 2026 04:00:11 +0000 admin 104779 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org This is one of Norway’s most pristine fjords. So why is it being used as a dumping site for mine waste? https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/one-norway-s-most-pristine-fjords-so-why-it-being-used-dumping-site-mine-waste <p>The Norwegian government has given a permit to a mining company to release waste into Førde fjord despite a 17-year battle by campaigners and a supreme court ruling against it</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/one-norway-s-most-pristine-fjords-so-why-it-being-used-dumping-site-mine-waste" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 08 Oct 2026 04:00:09 +0000 admin 104781 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Indonesia accused of ‘gross negligence’ in wildfires lawsuit as haze tests region https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/indonesia-accused-gross-negligence-wildfires-lawsuit-haze-tests-region <p>NGOs in Indonesian Borneo file class action lawsuit calling for government to better manage annual fires and </p> <p>The Indonesian government has been accused of “gross negligence” in a class action lawsuit over its handling of wildfires that have cloaked large parts of South-east Asia in a toxic haze, shuttered schools and caused a spike in respiratory illnesses.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/indonesia-accused-gross-negligence-wildfires-lawsuit-haze-tests-region" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 08 Oct 2026 03:54:09 +0000 admin 104780 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Comebacks for wild tigers, tuna and sea turtles prove nature loss can be reversed, scientists say https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/comebacks-wild-tigers-tuna-and-sea-turtles-prove-nature-loss-can-be-reversed-scientist <p>A landmark report reveals that the world must change the way it produces food to avoid a biodiversity collapse</p> <p>Conservation comebacks for wild tigers, tuna and green​ sea turtles prove that global nature loss can be reversed, ​scientists have said. ​But a report warns food production must be the next ​“positive tipping point​” if the world is to avert biodiversity collapse.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/comebacks-wild-tigers-tuna-and-sea-turtles-prove-nature-loss-can-be-reversed-scientist" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Wed, 07 Oct 2026 23:01:03 +0000 admin 104778 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org