Breaking Waves: Ocean News

04/09/2025 - 09:05
Scale of environmental damage attributed to huge number of dogs globally as well as ‘lax or uninformed behaviour of dog owners’ Dogs have “extensive and multifarious” environmental impacts, disturbing wildlife, polluting waterways and contributing to carbon emissions, new research has found. An Australian review of existing studies has argued that “the environmental impact of owned dogs is far greater, more insidious, and more concerning than is generally recognised”. Continue reading...
04/09/2025 - 08:00
Metuktire, in the Indigenous Capoto-Jarina territory in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, is a pocket of resistance against mining, which has devastated the landscape in nearby areas. The AFP photographer Pablo Porciúncula travelled deep into Mato Grosso state to see how it has staved off deforestation and continued to honour its traditional ways of life – while also facing the threats of miners and the climate crisis Continue reading...
04/09/2025 - 06:30
Amazon, Google and Microsoft are building datacentres in water-scarce parts of five continents Amazon, Microsoft and Google are operating datacentres that use vast amounts of water in some of the world’s driest areas and are building many more, an investigation by SourceMaterial and the Guardian has found. With Donald Trump pledging to support them, the three technology giants are planning hundreds of datacentres in the US and across the globe, with a potentially huge impact on populations already living with water scarcity. Continue reading...
04/09/2025 - 04:06
Victorian Energy Policy Centre director says constraining exports would be ‘seismic policy shift’ Election 2025 live updates: Australia federal election campaign Polls tracker; election guide; full federal election coverage Anywhere but Canberra; interactive electorates guide Listen to the first episode of our new narrative podcast series: Gina Get our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcast A leading energy expert has warned the Coalition’s plan to charge gas exporters a levy to force them to sell more to the domestic market could backfire and force local prices up instead of down. The Coalition on Tuesday night revealed a report from Frontier Economics that outlines its policy plan, claiming it would reduce household gas bills by 7% and see electricity prices drop by 3%. Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter Continue reading...
04/09/2025 - 01:00
Heads of 32 charities warn proposals could push species towards extinction and lead to irreversible habitat loss The heads of 32 UK nature organisations have written to the government warning that the planning bill “throws environmental protection to the wind”. The planning and infrastructure bill, which is at committee stage in parliament, aims to streamline regulations for developers so they can speed up their projects. Continue reading...
04/08/2025 - 23:00
North-east Atlantic mackerel in decline and Good Fish Guide says shoppers should look for other options Mackerel stocks are nearing a “breaking point”, experts have said as the fish is downgraded as a sustainable option. People should be eating herring instead, the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) said, because mackerel continues to be overfished by countries including Norway and the UK. Continue reading...
04/08/2025 - 18:36
Surangel Whipps Jr also strongly backs Australia’s bid to host a UN climate conference Election 2025 live updates: Australia federal election campaign Get our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcast The president of Palau has delivered a pointed barb at Peter Dutton while strongly backing an Australian bid to host a UN climate conference on behalf of the Pacific, arguing that it would boost regional solidarity and he would be “deeply disappointed” if the attempt was abandoned under the Coalition. Speaking at a renewable energy conference in Sydney on Wednesday, Surangel Whipps Jr described seeing two-thirds of an island in his archipelago country disappear under water in his lifetime. “For those of us in the Pacific who have lived through storm surges, rising ocean levels and increasingly high tides, the phrase ‘water lapping at our door’ is not a metaphor or a punchline. It’s our fear and reality,” he said. Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter Continue reading...
04/08/2025 - 18:01
Tests ahead of Sunday’s race revealed E coli levels three times above the threshold for poor bathing water Water quality along the stretch of the River Thames which will host the iconic Oxford v Cambridge Boat Race has been classified as poor by clean water campaigners, as a result of E coli from sewage pollution. Testing carried out along the four-mile route, which the university rowing teams will tackle on Sunday, has revealed E coli levels which are three times above the threshold for poor bathing water status. Continue reading...
04/08/2025 - 16:53
Outcry as CNN reports president to stop funds for program that would have created jobs in Middletown, Ohio Despite promises to bolster the US manufacturing industry, the Trump administration is reportedly planning to cut a key program that invests in some of the biggest manufacturing industries in the US, including in JD Vance’s home town of Middletown, Ohio. Donald Trump is looking to slash a $500m grant from the Biden administration that was slated for Cleveland-Cliffs, a steel manufacturing giant in America’s rust belt, according to reporting from CNN. The grant was intended to help the company upgrade its ageing blast furnaces, so they would be powered by hydrogen, natural gas and electricity instead of coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel. Continue reading...
04/08/2025 - 11:19
Ecologists are investigating the decline of insect populations in the world's tropical forests. Insects, the most abundant and diverse group of animals on Earth, are experiencing alarming declines, prompting this research effort.