Iida Turpeinen’s novel has been a sensation in her native Finland. On the eve of its UK publication, she talks about her compulsion to tell of the sociable giant’s plight
Iida Turpeinen is the author of Beasts of the Sea, a Finnish novel tracing the fate of a now-extinct species: the sea cow. Similar to dugongs and manatees, the sea cow was only discovered in 1741 by the shipwrecked German-born naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller but by 1768 it had already become the first marine species to be eradicated by humans.
Translated into 28 languages and shortlisted for the country’s most prestigious literary award, the Finlandia Prize, Beasts of the Sea was described by the Helsinki Literacy Agency as the most internationally successful Finnish debut novel ever. Turpeinen, 38, a PhD student of comparative literature, is now a resident novelist at Finland’s Natural History Museum. Her book will be published in the UK on 23 October.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
10/21/2025 - 00:00
10/20/2025 - 18:01
Homeowners urged to use more robust planting and permeable materials to help mitigate flood risk
Nearly half of the UK’s garden space is paved over, a new study has found.
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has conducted the largest ever audit of the UK’s gardens, and found that they are an untapped – and until now, mostly unmeasured – potential resource for nature.
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10/20/2025 - 12:36
Conservationists argue president’s oil expansion plans clash with his image as a global leader on climate change
Brazil’s Petrobras has been given permission to drill for oil near the mouth of the Amazon River, casting a shadow over the country’s green ambitions as it prepares to host UN climate talks.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the president, has come under fire from conservationists who argue his oil expansion plans clash with his image as a global leader on climate change.
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10/20/2025 - 10:47
After speculation and conflicting pressures, prime minister will attend climate summit next month
Keir Starmer will travel to the Amazon rainforest for the UN climate summit next month, Downing Street has confirmed, after weeks of speculation that he would not.
No 10 said on Monday the prime minister would fly to Belém, in Brazil, for what experts say will be the most significant Cop meeting since Paris in 2015.
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10/20/2025 - 07:00
A legal saga stemming from a water quality project saw Tom Van Lent briefly jailed in a case brought by allies of DeSantis
An environmental scientist briefly jailed in what he called a “political prosecution” brought by allies of Florida’s rightwing Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, now alleges new evidence shows his jail sentence stemmed from fraudulent allegations.
Tom Van Lent’s claim represents the latest twist in a three-year legal saga ignited by a disagreement over a proposed restoration project that aimed to address Florida’s recurrent red tides and toxic algal blooms by helping restore the environment of the vast Everglades wetlands.
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10/20/2025 - 06:30
A burst of recent climate-themed cultural output suggests views of the topic as too depressing or dull may be changing
Despite (or perhaps because of) its overwhelming awfulness, the climate crisis has been oddly underrepresented on stage and screen. Humanity’s greatest challenge has often been deemed too much of a downer, too complex or too dull a topic to spawn shows and movies.
A burst of recent climate-themed cultural output, however, suggests this may be changing. Weather Girl, a one-woman play about the unraveling of a TV meteorologist who can no longer bear to gloss over climate breakdown in California, has just closed in New York City to upbeat reviews.
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10/20/2025 - 06:20
Set up by three ‘eco-anxious’ farmers, WildEast has created UK-wide version of pledge to encourage people to restore nature
A grassroots movement to wild a fifth of East Anglia is going national with the launch of Wild Kingdom’s “map of dreams” to collect pledges and connect communities, businesses and ordinary people seeking to revive nature.
WildEast was formed five years ago when three “eco-anxious” farmers decided to commit at least a fifth of their land to nature. Since then, thousands of people have pledged to rewild gardens, school grounds, communities and businesses.
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10/20/2025 - 02:14
Meeting called for end of sitting week inviting backbench MPs to argue for or against dumping the policy after Barnaby Joyce announced resignation
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Coalition backbenchers are preparing for a showdown on net zero as pressure mounts on Sussan Ley’s opposition to resolve its position, with speculation more MPs could join Barnaby Joyce in quitting if the policy isn’t dumped.
Liberal and Nationals MPs have been invited to remain in Canberra after the upcoming sitting week for a three-hour, closed-door debate on energy policy, including net zero by 2050.
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10/19/2025 - 14:17
Environment Agency says pollutant in Norfolk river is ‘an unknown substance’ and is investigating
Dead fish have been found on a river in Norfolk where a large stretch of white foam appeared, the Environment Agency has confirmed.
Images shared by the agency on Saturday showed the foam covering an area of the River Thet.
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10/19/2025 - 09:00
Exclusive: Documents reveal state environment department had ‘reckless indifference’ to fate of individual koalas, Greens spokesperson Sue Higginson says
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The New South Wales government rejected advice from an expert scientific panel before it attempted a failed reintroduction of koalas to a forest in the state’s south that resulted in the death of more than half the animals.
Internal documents show most members of a panel advising the state environment department on plans to relocate endangered koalas as part of a conservation strategy recommended against moving marsupials from forest near Wollongong to the South East Forest national park near Bega, a five-hour drive away.
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