Breaking Waves: Ocean News https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-waves en Inside RFK Jr’s conflicted attempt to rid America of junk food https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/inside-rfk-jr-s-conflicted-attempt-rid-america-junk-food <p>‘Maha’ promised to tackle ultra-processed foods – but is it hijacking the food movement instead?</p> <p>Over the space of the last year, Robert F Kennedy Jr. has made the term “ultra-processed foods” something of a household phrase.</p> <p>Once a term only used by nutritionists and food policy researchers to describe the most processed foods in the supply chain (think: chips and sodas, packaged bread, microwave dinners and even some yogurts), ultra-processing has become a calling card of the “Make America Healthy Again” (“Maha”) movement.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/inside-rfk-jr-s-conflicted-attempt-rid-america-junk-food" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Tue, 08 Jul 2025 10:00:40 +0000 admin 100549 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Did National Weather Service cuts lead to the Texas flood disaster? We don’t know | Rebecca Solnit https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/did-national-weather-service-cuts-lead-texas-flood-disaster-we-don-t-know-rebecca-soln <p>We all need to be careful about how we get information and reach conclusions – especially now</p> <p>Why exactly so many people drowned in the terrible Independence Day floods that swept through Texas’s Hill Country will probably have multiple explanations that take a while to obtain. But it’s 2025, and people want answers immediately, and lots of people seized on stories blaming the National Weather Service (NWS).</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/did-national-weather-service-cuts-lead-texas-flood-disaster-we-don-t-know-rebecca-soln" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Tue, 08 Jul 2025 10:00:38 +0000 admin 100550 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org ‘Could become a death spiral’: scientists discover what’s driving record die-offs of US honeybees https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/could-become-death-spiral-scientists-discover-what-s-driving-record-die-offs-us-honeyb <p>Experts scrambling to understand losses in hives across the country are finally identifying the culprits. And the damage to farmed bees is a sign of trouble for wild bees too</p> <p>Bret Adee is one of the largest beekeepers in the US, with 2 billion bees across 55,000 hives. The business has been in his family since the 1930s, and sends truckloads of bees across the country from South Dakota, pollinating crops such as almonds, onions, watermelons and cucumbers.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/could-become-death-spiral-scientists-discover-what-s-driving-record-die-offs-us-honeyb" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Tue, 08 Jul 2025 10:00:37 +0000 admin 100551 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Deadly floods could be new normal as Trump guts federal agencies, experts warn https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/deadly-floods-could-be-new-normal-trump-guts-federal-agencies-experts-warn <p>Cuts and chaos instigated by Trump come as threat from extreme weather grows due to human-caused climate crisis</p> <p>The deadly Texas floods could signal a new norm in the US, as Donald Trump and his allies dismantle crucial federal agencies that help states prepare and respond to extreme weather and other hazards, experts warn.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/deadly-floods-could-be-new-normal-trump-guts-federal-agencies-experts-warn" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Tue, 08 Jul 2025 09:00:32 +0000 admin 100548 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Yorkshire Water announces hosepipe ban after driest spring in 132 years https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/yorkshire-water-announces-hosepipe-ban-after-driest-spring-132-years <p>Restrictions to be brought in from Friday after region receives just 15cm of rainfall between February and June</p> <ul> <li> <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2025/jul/08/stock-markets-trump-tariff-letters-august-deadline-obr-uk-public-finances-marks-spencer-cyber-hack-business-live-news-updates">Business live – latest updates</a></p> </li> </ul> <p>Yorkshire Water has introduced hosepipe restrictions after the region recorded its driest spring in 132 years.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/yorkshire-water-announces-hosepipe-ban-after-driest-spring-132-years" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Tue, 08 Jul 2025 07:11:08 +0000 admin 100547 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Melting glaciers and ice caps could unleash wave of volcanic eruptions, study says https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/melting-glaciers-and-ice-caps-could-unleash-wave-volcanic-eruptions-study-says <p>Research in Chile suggests climate crisis makes eruptions more likely and explosive, and warns of Antarctica risk</p> <p>The melting of glaciers and ice caps by the climate crisis could unleash a barrage of explosive volcanic eruptions, a study suggests.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/melting-glaciers-and-ice-caps-could-unleash-wave-volcanic-eruptions-study-says" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 07 Jul 2025 23:01:20 +0000 admin 100546 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Dozens missing after flash floods and landslides in Himachal Pradesh https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/dozens-missing-after-flash-floods-and-landslides-himachal-pradesh <p>Hundreds of homes, bridges and roads washed away in north Indian state after unusually heavy rainfall</p> <p>India’s mountainous state of Himachal Pradesh has been left reeling after it was hit by rainstorms, flash floods and landslides, with dozens of people reported missing.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/dozens-missing-after-flash-floods-and-landslides-himachal-pradesh" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 07 Jul 2025 16:55:01 +0000 admin 100545 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org A ‘floating university’ and a pink mosque: Dhaka builds for a wetter future – in pictures https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/floating-university-and-pink-mosque-dhaka-builds-wetter-future-pictures <p>Across the Bangladeshi megacity, designers are adapting to the climate crisis</p> <p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2025/jul/07/dhaka-builds-for-a-wetter-future-in-pictures">Continue reading...</a></p> Mon, 07 Jul 2025 14:00:11 +0000 admin 100544 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Millions of tonnes of toxic sewage sludge spread on UK farmland every year https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/millions-tonnes-toxic-sewage-sludge-spread-uk-farmland-every-year <p>Exclusive: Experts call for stricter regulation as current rules set in 1989 require testing for only a few heavy metals</p> <p>Millions of tonnes of treated sewage sludge is spread on farmland across the UK every year despite containing forever chemicals, microplastics and toxic waste, and experts say the outdated current regulations are not fit for purpose.</p> <p>An investigation by the Guardian and Watershed has identified England’s sludge-spreading hotspots and shown where the practice could be damaging rivers.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/millions-tonnes-toxic-sewage-sludge-spread-uk-farmland-every-year" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 07 Jul 2025 13:00:08 +0000 admin 100543 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Brics summit in Brazil tries to reinvent collective approach to world’s problems | Jonathan Watts https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/brics-summit-brazil-tries-reinvent-collective-approach-world-s-problems-jonathan-watts <p>President Lula rebukes wealthy countries for retreating on climate and trade but bloc is divided and unbalanced</p> <p>As the US retreats from the international stage, the most powerful political alliance in the global south has come together in Brazil this week to try to revive and reinvent a collective approach to the world’s problems.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/brics-summit-brazil-tries-reinvent-collective-approach-world-s-problems-jonathan-watts" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 07 Jul 2025 12:23:24 +0000 admin 100541 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org