Breaking Waves: Ocean News

How Democrats used the midterms to turn affordability concerns into ‘green populism’

admin — Thu, 05 Nov 2026 17:00:28 +0000

From energy prices to datacenters, climate became a cost-of-living issue – and a winning one

Climate-forward Democrats swept into power on Tuesday night as a blue tsunami flipped the Senate, House and several governor’s races. Voters were laser-focused on affordability, and experts said Democrats succeeded in linking cost-of-living concerns with rising energy prices, datacenters and, to some extent, the climate crisis. They may have even created a path for a “new climate politics”.

‘It’s kind of a melting pot’: how one US city transformed a highway into a leafy oasis

admin — Thu, 05 Nov 2026 14:07:12 +0000

The BLVD is home to 250 enterprises, from banks, tattoo shops and restaurants to museums and a performing arts centre

Trump takes 500 actions to weaken cancer protections, new report says

admin — Thu, 05 Nov 2026 12:00:23 +0000

Natural Resources Defense Council shows how federal rules changes will spike up public’s exposure to carcinogens

Amid a surge in early onset cancer, the Trump administration has taken more than 500 actions to systematically dismantle protections against carcinogens once in place across the federal government, an October report alleges.

South West Water’s failure to fix leaks ‘putting customer supplies at risk’

admin — Thu, 05 Nov 2026 10:00:02 +0000

With parts of region served by company in severe drought still, regulators give it six weeks to come up with action plan

Repeated failures by South West Water to tackle leaks are putting customers at higher risks of losing water supplies as parts of the region remain in severe drought, regulators have said.

In a warning to the privatised company that serves 1.8 million people across the south-west of England, the regulators said it had been failing to meet targets to reduce leaks and repair burst pipes for seven years.

‘No one cares about the little guy’: Sri Lanka’s fishers still reeling from 2021 toxic plastic spill

admin — Thu, 05 Nov 2026 10:00:00 +0000

A stricken container ship shed tonnes of tiny pellets called nurdles on the west coast. Five years on, locals are counting the cost to marine life and livelihoods

On the beach in Pamunugama, on Sri Lanka’s west coast, women in uniform work under the scorching sun. They sift through rubbish washed ashore, searching among the usual litter for something much smaller: tiny plastic pellets.

Five years ago, in May 2021, this same beach was swamped with pellets as smoke rose over the Indian Ocean.

Warming UK seas could ‘fundamentally reshape marine ecosystems’ – report

admin — Thu, 05 Nov 2026 07:00:56 +0000

Four-year study warns destabilised marine food webs could jeopardise food security by 2050

Warming seas around the UK and the wider north-east Atlantic could destabilise marine food webs, weaken ocean health and jeopardise food security by 2050, according to a four-year study.

Scientists who projected the impact of climate breakdown on four key groups of marine life crucial to maintaining ocean ecosystems in the region said their results challenged assumptions that in middle latitudes, such as the UK, marine biodiversity was likely to increase across the board.

World’s wettest rainstorms are getting wetter, affecting flood and drought risk

admin — Thu, 05 Nov 2026 06:00:54 +0000

Events that deliver about half of global rainfall are getting shorter but more intense, with wide-ranging implications

The world’s wettest rainstorms produce about half of the global annual rainfall. Now a study shows that these intense downpours have become shorter in duration and fewer in number, compressing the same amount of rain into quicker and more extreme events, with implications for flood and drought risk.

Endangered giant burrowing frog returns to wild after tadpoles rescued from ashes of black summer fires

admin — Wed, 04 Nov 2026 14:01:35 +0000

Tadpoles collected from puddles in East Gippsland were transported to Melbourne zoo, where they were raised to metamorphosis and successfully bred in captivity for the first time

After the 2019-20 black summer bushfires, scientists in eastern Victoria stumbled across something they had been after for years: puddles of tadpoles from the southern giant burrowing frog, one of the state’s most cryptic amphibians.

Firework noise limit should be drastically cut to protect wild animals, UK government told

admin — Wed, 04 Nov 2026 11:47:33 +0000

Ministers urged to go further than proposed cut to 110 decibels to ease acute stress on birds and other animals

Campaigners are calling on the UK government to protect the welfare of wild animals by cutting the maximum noise level of fireworks sold to the public from 120 to 90 decibels.

The Center for Wild Animal Welfare (CWAW) has said lowering the limit to 90dB – which is about one-eighth of the loudness of 120dB – would help to protect millions of wild animals from acute stress by reducing the area over which a firework disturbs surrounding wildlife.

Funding to help poorer countries cope with climate crisis has stalled, says UN

admin — Wed, 04 Nov 2026 11:00:09 +0000

Report reveals financial support promised by rich nations for adaptation measures is well behind the pace that is needed

Flows of money to help poor countries cope with the climate crisis have been flat or falling since 2022, despite growing impacts from extreme weather and warnings from scientists that global heating may be accelerating.