Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Researchers say environmental impact from Kakhovka dam explosion comparable to Chornobyl nuclear disaster The destruction of a large Ukrainian dam in 2023 triggered a “toxic timebomb” of environmental harm, a study has found. Lakebed sediments holding 83,000 tonnes of heavy metals were exposed when the Kakhovka dam was blown up one year into Russia’s invasion, researchers found. Continue reading...

Recovered grasslands need more than 75 years of continuous management to regain their biodiversity because specialized pollinators are slow to return. A new finding underscores the importance of preserving old grasslands as reservoirs of biodiversity, even if it is just as ski slopes.

Former hospitality workers reflect on how the pandemic spurred job pivots – and big life changes – five years later Five years ago on 16 March, the sound of my cellphone buzzing on the nightstand jolted me awake around 8am. Unless you’re a morning prep cook or a baker, restaurant workers aren’t typically early risers. Sleeping late isn’t a luxury when you work in restaurants; it’s a necessity – essential to managing the job’s rigorous mental and physical demands. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but we’re laying everyone off at the restaurant,” the gravelly voice on the other end said. “Someone from HR will be in touch with you shortly.” It was the general manager of the midtown Manhattan steakhouse where I had been waiting tables for over two years. Like most hard-nosed restaurant managers, he wasn’t known for being very sentimental. But that morning, he seemed genuinely remorseful. Continue reading...

Federal judge Tanya Chutkan issues restraining order pending new filings over billions in axed research grants A federal judge considering the Trump administration’s abrupt cancellation of climate research grants worth billions of dollars told government lawyers they had to produce “some kind of evidence” of wrongdoing to back up such drastic actions. Climate United, which coordinates investment in clean energy projects, sued to seek access to $7bn that was frozen before it was cancelled on Tuesday night by Lee Zeldin, the New York Republican congressman turned administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Continue reading...