Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Week in wildlife: elephants on parade, a rescued serval and wandering bears

admin — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 09:21:39 +0000

The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world

Climate change is not just a problem of physics but a crisis of justice

admin — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 09:00:06 +0000

In an exclusive extract from Friederike Otto’s new book, she says climate disasters result from inequality as well as fossil fuel

My research as a climate scientist is in attribution science. Together with my team, I analyse extreme weather events and answer the questions of whether, and to what extent, human-induced climate change has altered their frequency, intensity and duration.

Weather tracker: sandstorm turns Iraqi skies orange and empties the streets

admin — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 08:57:28 +0000

Thousands go to hospital with respiratory problems after massive dust cloud blows in from Saudi Arabia

Iraq was hit by its most severe sandstorm of 2025 this week, turning skies from blue to an orange haze. Visibility dropped to less than half a mile, causing travel disruptions, with two major airports halting flights, and streets in Basra, the largest city in southern Iraq, deserted. Respiratory problems sent thousands to hospital. The storm also affected Kuwait, where wind gusts exceeded 50mph, and visibility in some areas was diminished to zero.

From butterflies to wind turbines, project preserves world’s sonic heritage

admin — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 05:00:00 +0000

Online exhibition collects soundscapes from nature reserves and sites such as Machu Picchu and Taj Mahal

The sounds of wind turbines, rare whales and the Amazonian dawn chorus are among the noises being preserved as part of an exhibition of soundscapes found in world heritage sites.

The Sonic Heritage project is a collection of 270 sounds from 68 countries, including from famous Unesco-designated sites such as Machu Picchu and the Taj Mahal, as well as natural landscapes such as the monarch butterfly sanctuary in El Rosario, Mexico and the Colombian Amazon.

Trump administration moves to narrow protections for endangered species

admin — Thu, 17 Apr 2025 20:56:21 +0000

Environmentalists warn new proposal from US wildlife agencies could lead to habitat destruction and extinction

The Trump administration is planning to narrow protections for endangered species, in a move that environmentalists say would accelerate extinction by opening up critical habitats for development, logging, mining and other uses.

About 15% of world’s cropland polluted with toxic metals, say researchers

admin — Thu, 17 Apr 2025 18:00:46 +0000

Scientists sound the alarm over substances such as arsenic and lead contaminating soils and entering food systems

About one sixth of global cropland is contaminated by toxic heavy metals, researchers have estimated, with as many as 1.4 billion people living in high-risk areas worldwide.

Spurs contractors judged felled Enfield oak to be ‘fine specimen’

admin — Thu, 17 Apr 2025 17:46:12 +0000

Toby Carvery owner apologises over tree’s felling as football club faces questions about whether it knew of decision

An ancient London oak controversially felled earlier this month was assessed to be a “fine specimen” last year by tree experts working for Tottenham Hotspur as part of the football club’s plans to redevelop parkland next to the site.

Mitchells & Butlers Retail (MBR), which owns the Toby Carvery in Whitewebbs Park, Enfield, apologised on Thursday for the “upset” caused by the felling of the tree.

Rural communities could be destroyed if UK signs US trade deal, says former food tsar

admin — Thu, 17 Apr 2025 17:38:37 +0000

Exclusive: Henry Dimbleby joins farmers in voicing fears of lower standards and a poor deal for British food producers

Britain’s rural communities could be “destroyed”, the former government food tsar has said, if ministers sign a US trade deal that undercuts British farming standards.

British rebellion against Roman legions caused by drought, research finds

admin — Thu, 17 Apr 2025 16:28:05 +0000

The pivotal ‘barbarian conspiracy’ of AD367 saw Picts, Scotti and Saxons inflicting crushing blows on Roman defences

A series of exceptionally dry summers that caused famine and social breakdown were behind one of the most severe threats to Roman rule of Britain, according to new academic research.

The rebellion, known as the “barbarian conspiracy”, was a pivotal moment in Roman Britain. Picts, Scotti and Saxons took advantage of Britain’s descent into anarchy to inflict crushing blows on weakened Roman defences in the spring and summer of AD367.

‘All of his guns will do nothing for him’: lefty preppers are taking a different approach to doomsday

admin — Thu, 17 Apr 2025 14:00:41 +0000

Liberals in the US make up about 15% of the prepping scene and their numbers are growing. Their fears differ from their better-known rightwing counterparts – as do their methods

One afternoon in February, hoping to survive the apocalypse or at least avoid finding myself among its earliest victims, I logged on to an online course entitled Ruggedize Your Life: The Basics.