Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Taking action against species extinction can be risky but it’s better than surrender Explore the series – Last chance: the extinction crisis being ignored this election Get Guardian Australia environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as an email Extinction. In 1844 Ketill Ketilsson won the race to grab the last pair of great auks. They were nesting on Iceland’s Eldey Island. Millions of these penguin-like birds had been slaughtered for feather-stuffed quilts to keep Europe’s burgeoning human population warm. Ketilsson strangled the two but tripped over and broke their egg. Never mind, he won the reward being offered by museums in Copenhagen for the final specimens. A perverse market rule on species had been established: the rarer a species gets, the more valuable it becomes. It came too late for those who killed the last dodo, moa or Steller’s sea cow – but look at the money now going into resurrecting mammoths and thylacines. Get Guardian Australia environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as an email Continue reading...

Nathaniel Smith, previously a NSW state MP, is a member of the party’s religious conservative faction 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 The new Liberal candidate for the seat of Whitlam once claimed school students were being “brainwashed” by Marxist and woke ideologies. Nathaniel Smith, a former MP for the NSW seat of Wollondilly, replaces another candidate dumped by the party for his controversial views. Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter Continue reading...

Conservation groups condemn the move along with the government’s decision to extend the life of coal power stations Get our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcast Queensland’s target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2035 could face the scrap heap, with the state energy minister ordering a review of the ambitious legislation. The Clean Economy Jobs Bill was passed into law last year, with the backing of both Labor and the Liberal National party. Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter Continue reading...

Harsh weather is normal in Mongolia but the climate crisis has made conditions even more extreme. As millions of animals die and age-old traditions become harder to maintain, nomadic herders are forced into towns, where coal-fired heating has led to a health crisis ‘Everyone is breathing this’: how just trying to stay warm is killing thousands a year in the world’s coldest capital Continue reading...