Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Hunter Valley community group wins landmark high court climate change case

admin — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 00:20:29 +0000

Ruling on Mount Pleasant coalmine shows ‘we cannot continue to dig up coal … and pretend the consequences have nothing to do with us’, group says

A Hunter Valley community group has won Australia’s first high court case to consider climate change, in a ruling advocates say sets a binding national precedent for fossil fuel projects in New South Wales.

In a landmark judgment, the nation’s highest court upheld an unanimous ruling by the NSW court of appeal that overturned MACH Energy’s proposed expansion of its Mount Pleasant coalmine in Muswellbrook.

New Zealand greenhouse gas levels hit record highs threatening catastrophic glacier melts

admin — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 23:11:27 +0000

Government report finds the country could be hit with more frequent and intense heatwaves, as well as damaging storms and cyclones

New Zealand could be hit with more frequent and intense heatwaves and catastrophic glacier melts in the near future, as greenhouse gas levels hit record highs, a new report about the nation’s climate has revealed.

Released on Wednesday, the Our Atmosphere and Climate 2026 report shows New Zealand is experiencing mounting climate pressures, which will have wide-reaching implications for the environment, native species and communities.

Ikea to pilot online buyback service for secondhand furniture

admin — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 23:01:26 +0000

Service to be tested in Spain and Portugal this year, with a UK rollout if successful, as pre-loved markets boom

Ikea is to test an online version of its buy-back service where the retailer offers vouchers for unwanted secondhand furniture.

Veteran conservative lawyer quits Trump’s interior department and warns of ‘assault on the rule of law’

admin — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 13:00:15 +0000

John Murdock had been working for the agency for 18 years and his resignation comes during an exodus of longtime federal workers and scientists

An 18-year veteran of the US Department of the Interior has resigned in protest from the sprawling federal agency, denouncing “a deeply troubling assault on the rule of the law” that took place at the department under Donald Trump.

Drax datacentre could create nearly twice the yearly emissions of all Gatwick flights

admin — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 10:27:03 +0000

Exclusive: Campaign group’s analysis of North Yorkshire plans finds datacentre would have to burn 4.9m tonnes of wood a year

Drax’s planned datacentre could produce nearly double the emissions of all flights out of Gatwick airport each year by burning 4.9m tonnes of wood annually, an analysis has shown.

Campaigners say this would make it “one of the dirtiest datacentres out there”.

US households pay 62% more for water than they did a decade ago, study finds

admin — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 09:00:09 +0000

For-profit water corporations, federal cuts and climate crisis are ‘supercharging water rate hikes’, study co-author says

US households are paying 62% more for drinking water than they did a decade ago – outpacing inflation, grocery prices and household incomes, according to a new study.

Australia faces summer of extreme weather, Anthony Albanese warns at pre-Cop

admin — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 05:01:23 +0000

Prime minister tells delegates in Tuvalu and Fiji that ‘super El Niño’ brewing in the Pacific shows climate change is ‘here right now’

Anthony Albanese has warned Australia faces a hazardous summer, likely including floods, cyclones and extreme heat, due to the immediate threat of climate breakdown and a rising “super El Niño”.

Environmental preferences and jurisdictional distribution of juvenile loggerheads in the eastern North Pacific

admin — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 04:00:00 +0000

npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 06 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s44183-026-00250-w

Environmental preferences and jurisdictional distribution of juvenile loggerheads in the eastern North Pacific

Green party drops longstanding opposition to nuclear power

admin — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 15:53:49 +0000

Party in England and Wales ditches commitment to phase out nuclear in major shift in its energy policy

Green party members have voted to end the party’s opposition to nuclear power, dropping a commitment to phase out the technology in a major shift in its energy policy.

Snakes, bobcats, mountain lions: the secret animal world beneath the Hollywood sign

admin — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 14:00:27 +0000

An international symbol for the city, the sign is also hallmark of the region’s environmental richness

Atop Mount Lee, in the heart of Los Angeles, the wind is quiet. Two red-tailed hawks sail above, barely flapping as they coast the thermal air like surfers on a wave. Standing beside the giant letters of the Hollywood sign, the city seems peaceful. On a clear day, blocks and blocks of homes unfold beneath and the skies reveal sights all the way to Catalina Island – nearly 50 miles out, across the Pacific.

That’s the beauty seen from the Hollywood sign.