Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Trump taps climate skeptic to run US government’s flagship climate report

admin — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 21:01:00 +0000

Matthew Wielicki frequently criticizes established climate science online, including in videos from rightwing PragerU

The Trump administration has tapped a former geochemist who has railed against “climate alarmism” and calls himself an “Earth science professor-in-exile” to oversee the federal government’s flagship report about climate impacts on the US.

‘Death sentence’: Trump’s EPA to open habitats of endangered species to logging and mining

admin — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 20:37:45 +0000

Habitat destruction strongest driver of species loss, with legislation keeping 99% of listed species from going extinct

The Trump administration repealed a crucial part of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on Friday, finalizing a new rule that will open habitats of imperiled wildlife to development, logging, mining and other uses.

High court rejects most of ‘dieselgate’ claims brought by 1.6m UK car owners

admin — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 16:54:57 +0000

Carmakers welcome ruling against suit claiming manufacturers including Nissan, Ford and Peugeot fitted devices to defeat emission tests

Car manufacturers have welcomed a high court verdict that rejected most of the allegations in a “dieselgate” claim brought on behalf of 1.6 million UK owners of polluting cars.

In her judgment, Lady Justice Cockerill said that “in the majority of instances, the court found that the relevant strategy did not constitute a prohibited defeat device” – software that enables the engine to behave differently in tests.

Fast-spreading wildfire kills at least 12 in southern Spain

admin — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 13:06:30 +0000

Twenty-three people missing and four Britons thought to be among those who died trying to flee Almería blaze

‘I had an incredible escape’: British woman tells of close encounter with wildfire

At least 12 people have been killed and 23 are unaccounted for after one of Spain’s deadliest wildfires broke out in the south-eastern province of Almería as the country endures its second heatwave of the summer.

Pacific gray whales facing ‘catastrophic’ die-off as climate crisis hits food supply

admin — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 13:00:20 +0000

Trump administration urged to relist a species in ‘very, very serious trouble’ under Endangered Species Act

Climate change is driving a gray whale “catastrophic mortality event” in the Pacific Ocean as melting sea ice depletes food sources and the animals starve, environmental groups warn.

MPs call on UK government to host televised emergency briefing on climate crisis

admin — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 12:00:20 +0000

As UK swelters in another heatwave, 50-minute Chris Packham film outlines threats to security, economy and health

MPs are calling on the UK government to host a televised national climate emergency briefing in response to what has been described as the most “insidious threat to our society”.

‘He’s forcing higher bills’: Trump spends billions to kill clean energy and keep coal alive

admin — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 11:30:19 +0000

Critics accuse president of ‘fattening the wallets of his cronies’ as working Americans face higher energy rates

The Trump administration has directly spent $2.7bn of taxpayer money on its crusade against wind power while pouring $1.125bn into boosting coal, which critics say is pushing up Americans’ bills.

Shovels for feet and blotting paper skin: the ‘little fat froggy’ facing a fight for survival

admin — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 09:00:16 +0000

The desert rain frog, native to a narrow coastal strip of south-west Africa, has been classified as vulnerable on the IUCN red list, as its habitat is threatened by mining

The desert rain frog is one of the most unusual amphibians on the planet. With a rotund body and stumpy legs that dig rather than jump, it has evolved to survive not in wetlands or rainforests, but in the unforgiving dunes of the southern African desert.

Swift nest reportedly thrown in skip during house renovations in South Tyneside

admin — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:00:15 +0000

Conservationists fear more nests may have been destroyed during work on Jarrow houses by council-appointed contractor

Swift chicks are feared to have been thrown into a skip during house renovations in South Tyneside, despite rules that should stop the destruction of nests.

The Northern Swifts Group (NSG) was alerted to the destruction of at least one nest on Tuesday, in a street in Jarrow where houses were being renovated by South Tyneside council.

Week in wildlife: a froggy lunch, a surf-loving penguin and an ambitious treehopper

admin — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 07:00:14 +0000

This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world