Breaking Waves: Ocean News https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-waves/index.php en Suburb-wide electrification trials to be rolled out across Australia in bid to fuel transition away from gas https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/suburb-wide-electrification-trials-be-rolled-out-across-australia-bid-fuel-transition- <p>Project providing subsidies to install solar batteries and electric appliances part of Labor deal with crossbenchers </p> <p>Suburb-wide electrification trials are set to be rolled out across the country under an intervention designed to help spark the household transition from gas.</p> <p>The climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, has formally directed the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena) to consider funding more pilots like Electrify 2515, a community-led initiative to electrify 500 homes in one postcode in Wollongong, NSW.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/suburb-wide-electrification-trials-be-rolled-out-across-australia-bid-fuel-transition-" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 27 Jan 2025 14:00:55 +0000 admin 98720 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Notorious US chemical plant polluting water with toxic PFAS, lawsuit claims https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/notorious-us-chemical-plant-polluting-water-toxic-pfas-lawsuit-claims <p>Complaint says Chemours factory dramatized in Hollywood movie Dark Waters continues to pollute West Virginia river </p> <p>The chemical giant Chemours’s notorious West Virginia <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/pfas">PFAS</a> plant is regularly polluting nearby water with high levels of toxic “forever chemicals”, a <a href="https://wvrivers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ECF-No.-1-Rivers-v.-Chemours-Complaint.pdf">new lawsuit alleges</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/notorious-us-chemical-plant-polluting-water-toxic-pfas-lawsuit-claims" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 27 Jan 2025 12:00:44 +0000 admin 98718 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Sandeels vs the EU: how the puffin’s favourite food sparked first post-Brexit courtroom trade battle https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/sandeels-vs-eu-how-puffin-s-favourite-food-sparked-first-post-brexit-courtroom-trade-b <p>This week the EU will argue the UK’s ban on catching the tiny fish, celebrated by conservationists, amounts to discrimination against Danish fishers</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/sandeels-vs-eu-how-puffin-s-favourite-food-sparked-first-post-brexit-courtroom-trade-b" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 27 Jan 2025 12:00:43 +0000 admin 98719 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org ‘Very rare’ sighting of juvenile Antarctic minke whale off Sydney coast https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/very-rare-sighting-juvenile-antarctic-minke-whale-sydney-coast <p>Scientists unsure what prompted juvenile whale to leave icy southern waters for warmer shallows, but ‘it may be a case of mis-navigation’</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/very-rare-sighting-juvenile-antarctic-minke-whale-sydney-coast" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 27 Jan 2025 09:27:06 +0000 admin 98717 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Monday briefing: What if the climate crisis makes disaster insurance unaffordable? https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/monday-briefing-what-if-climate-crisis-makes-disaster-insurance-unaffordable <p>In today’s newsletter: The Los Angeles wildfires highlighted the immense challenges faced by the insurance industry amid the escalating risks of the climate crisis. Are there any potential solutions for homeowners?</p> <p>Good morning. If the Los Angeles wildfires are bracing evidence of the general threat posed by the climate crisis, they have also brought home a specific problem: how can you make the insurance system work when the risks are so high?</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/monday-briefing-what-if-climate-crisis-makes-disaster-insurance-unaffordable" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 27 Jan 2025 06:51:09 +0000 admin 98715 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Songbirds being killed by pesticides found in pet fur flea treatments https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/songbirds-being-killed-pesticides-found-pet-fur-flea-treatments <p>Exclusive: Chemical in treatment for pet fleas and ticks is found in nests of blue and great tits, killing chicks</p> <p>Songbird chicks are being killed by high levels of pesticides in the pet fur used by their parents to line their nests, a study has found.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/songbirds-being-killed-pesticides-found-pet-fur-flea-treatments" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 27 Jan 2025 06:00:10 +0000 admin 98716 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Author Correction: The struggle at the International Seabed Authority over deep sea mineral resources https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/author-correction-struggle-international-seabed-authority-over-deep-sea-mineral-resour <p>npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 27 January 2025; <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s44183-025-00102-z">doi:10.1038/s44183-025-00102-z</a></p> <p>Author Correction: The struggle at the International Seabed Authority over deep sea mineral resources</p> Mon, 27 Jan 2025 05:00:00 +0000 admin 98714 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Reeves: third Heathrow runway would be hard decision but good for growth https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/reeves-third-heathrow-runway-would-be-hard-decision-good-growth <p>Chancellor expected to unveil new building projects and revise planning rules to stimulate UK economy</p> <p>Rachel Reeves has given her strongest hint yet that she will back a third runway at Heathrow airport, arguing that she is willing to make difficult decisions while pursuing economic growth.</p> <p>The chancellor is poised to make a significant speech this week where she will outline her plans to boost the British economy by radically altering planning rules and accelerating building projects.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/reeves-third-heathrow-runway-would-be-hard-decision-good-growth" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Sun, 26 Jan 2025 19:40:23 +0000 admin 98713 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org From showers to tiny fish to windmills, Trump’s climate policies are driven by fixations https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/showers-tiny-fish-windmills-trump-s-climate-policies-are-driven-fixations <p>‘It was striking that the White House memo included toilets and shower heads as a presidential priority,’ said one expert</p> <p>From crusading against showers he feels don’t sufficiently wash his hair to reversing protections for a small fish he calls “worthless”, Donald Trump’s personal fixations have helped shape his first environmental priorities as US president.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/showers-tiny-fish-windmills-trump-s-climate-policies-are-driven-fixations" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Sun, 26 Jan 2025 13:30:50 +0000 admin 98712 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Home truths: the only thing Labour is building is a bigger, more dysfunctional housing market | George Monbiot https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/home-truths-only-thing-labour-building-bigger-more-dysfunctional-housing-market-george <p>Private developers offer politicians a simple solution for bulldozing through this crisis – build more. But it won’t work</p> <p>Build baby, build. That’s about the intellectual limit of the government’s housing strategy. Millions are under-housed, so <a href="https://labour.org.uk/updates/press-releases/keir-starmers-speech-at-labour-conference/">let’s “bulldoze”</a> the planning system and build more homes. But it’s not nearly so simple.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/home-truths-only-thing-labour-building-bigger-more-dysfunctional-housing-market-george" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Sun, 26 Jan 2025 13:03:57 +0000 admin 98711 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org