Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Land use plan for England to map best areas for farming and nature

admin — Fri, 31 Jan 2025 06:00:48 +0000

Minister to announce consultation that will exclude certain areas from housing, solar panels and onshore wind

Valuable farmland will be protected from housing, solar panels and onshore wind under a new land use framework, the government has announced.

The environment secretary, Steve Reed, will announce a consultation into how the limited land in England should be used and where is best to farm, restore nature or build infrastructure.

Microplastics in placentas linked to premature births, study suggests

admin — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 22:30:37 +0000

Tiny plastic pollution more than 50% higher in placentas from preterm births than in those from full-term births

A study has found microplastic and nanoplastic pollution to be significantly higher in placentas from premature births than in those from full-term births.

The levels were much higher than previously detected in blood, suggesting the tiny plastic particles were accumulating in the placenta. But the higher average levels found in the shorter pregnancies were a “big surprise” for the researchers, as longer terms could be expected to lead to more accumulation.

Sharks and rays benefit from global warming, but not from CO2 in the Oceans

admin — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 19:05:01 +0000

Sharks and rays have populated the world's oceans for around 450 million years, but more than a third of the species living today are severely threatened by overfishing and the loss of their habitat. Palaeobiologists have now investigated whether and how global warming influences the diversity of sharks based on climate fluctuations between 200 and 66 million years ago. According to the study, higher temperatures and more shallow water areas have a positive effect, while higher CO2 levels have a clearly negative effect.

Promoting cacao production without sacrificing biodiversity

admin — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 18:53:00 +0000

The productivity of cacao trees decreases with time, forcing farmers to renew their plantations by either cutting down the old trees or establishing a new crop elsewhere. Frequently, new plantations are established in areas of the forest that are thinned out to accommodate new, young cacao trees. However, this comes with high economic and ecological costs. An alternative approach is to graft highly productive and native cultivars onto the existing older cacao trees.

Ben Jennings on Labour’s climate climbdown – cartoon

admin — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 18:24:17 +0000

How US states are leading the climate fight – despite Trump’s rollbacks

admin — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 15:30:21 +0000

Officials are making clean-energy moves in California, New York and beyond, and Republican states will be integral too

As the Trump administration rolls back decades-old environmental protections and pulls Biden-era incentives for renewable energy, state-level advocates and officials are preparing to fill the void in climate action.

Hundreds protest in London as jailed climate activists’ appeals are heard

admin — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 15:10:19 +0000

Road outside high court blocked in protest at ‘draconian’ sentences given to 16 Just Stop Oil ‘political prisoners’

Hundreds of protesters have blocked the road outside the high court in London, where the appeals of 16 jailed climate activists are being heard, in condemnation of “the corruption of democracy and the rule of law”.

‘The world order could start to evolve from the Arctic’: Trump, thin ice and the fight for Greenland’s Northwest Passage

admin — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 11:00:33 +0000

While the US president seems hellbent on securing Greenland, local experts advise that achieving control of its potentially lucrative shipping route will be no mean feat

If shipping boss Niels Clemensen were to offer any advice to Donald Trump or anyone else trying to get a foothold in Greenland, it would be this: “Come up here and see what you are actually dealing with.”

Rosebank oilfield go-ahead decision ruled unlawful by Edinburgh court

admin — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 10:00:34 +0000

Court says UK government green light for Rosebank and Jackdaw permits does not take into account CO2 emissions

The decision to greenlight a giant new oilfield off Shetland has been ruled unlawful by the courts, in a major win for climate action that scientists say is urgently needed.

The proposed Rosebank development – the UK’s biggest untapped oilfield – had been given the go-ahead in 2023 under the previous government.

Labour warned tough laws against people smugglers in new bill could penalise asylum seekers – UK politics live

admin — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 08:24:54 +0000

Refugee Council says ‘many refugees themselves could also be prosecuted’ under proposals

Richard Madeley goes next.

Q: The Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary says you are wrong, and the third runway won’t be built until you are 70. You are 45 now. Why is he wrong?