Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Wing and a prayer: how probiotics might save bat species from a killer fungus

admin — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 12:00:02 +0000

Bat experts were shocked at how fast white-nose syndrome had spread to Canada’s northernmost colonies from the US. Now, the race is on to find a cure before species disappear

Crawling through a narrow passage in a cave beneath a boreal forest near Fort Smith in Canada’s Northwest Territories in May, two biologists spotted a lifeless bat on a limestone ledge, its body covered in a spindly white fungus.

When they shone their headlamps to get a closer look, they saw another bat with the fungus on its forearms. “It hissed at us and crawled back into a crack,” Jesika Reimer says.

California bans paraquat, highly toxic herbicide outlawed in more than 70 countries

admin — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000

State is US’s largest user of pesticide that is virtually proven to cause Parkinson’s disease

California is banning paraquat, a highly toxic, controversial herbicide used across millions of acres of American cropland.

Severe storms cut power supply to 540,000 homes in US midwest

admin — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 11:49:29 +0000

Indiana faced most outages at 267,000, about 8% of its customers, with severe thunderstorms and wind ahead

Power supply was cut on Thursday ⁠to about 540,000 homes and businesses across the US midwest as severe storms battered the region, data ⁠from PowerOutage.us showed.

Lost jobs, inequality, rogue agents: why are we accepting oligarchs’ AI agenda? | Robert Reich

admin — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 10:00:56 +0000

The dangers of AI become clearer every day. Why are we still acting as if we have no choice about our future?

Rather than producing jobs, the US economy actually lost 23,000 jobs in July, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released on Friday. In addition, May and June’s job numbers were revised downward, showing a combined 103,000 fewer jobs than previously reported.

As if this weren’t bad enough, wage growth has also slowed. Average hourly earnings rose by just 0.1% from June.

How to keep babies and children safe in heatwaves

admin — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 08:13:10 +0000

Biological factors mean a child’s core temperature rises faster than an adult’s – and that can result in a medical emergency

Children and babies are more vulnerable in heatwaves than healthy adults. As temperatures rise again, how do we keep children safe?

Millions face higher water bills as suppliers allowed £3.4bn extra spending

admin — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 08:10:54 +0000

Firms in England and Wales seek to fund measures including supporting new homes and datacentres

Business live – latest updates

Millions of households in England and Wales face higher bills after water companies were given the green light to spend £3.4bn more than planned, including to support new homes and datacentres.

Europe heatwave live: Temperatures of 40C expected in Spain; rare warning for ‘extreme heat’ expanded across England

admin — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 07:58:26 +0000

A former UK government scientific adviser warned amid the ‘shattering’ heat that worse is still to come

Met Office has just offered an update on temperatures across the UK, with several stations already reporting temperatures above 30C – and it’s not even 11am.

It’s 30.4C in Wych Cross, 30.3C in Charlwood, 30.2C at Kenly Airfield.

Britain's scorched fields mean a food crisis – and the government is ignoring the one measure that would help | George Monbiot

admin — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 07:00:52 +0000

This summer’s extreme weather and wars in Iran and Ukraine have made our need for food stockpiles more pressing than ever

When a business makes long-term plans, they call it prudence. When a government makes long-term plans, they call it communism. Any sustained state intervention attracts the prefix “Soviet-style”, and triggers vicious attacks across the billionaire media. So governments have developed a bias against long-term thinking. This may explain why we no longer maintain strategic food reserves.

Manila river clogged with rubbish after Typhoon Dolphin floods – in pictures

admin — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 05:08:16 +0000

Days of rain has caused widespread flooding across the Philippines capital, Manila, and filled the city’s waterways with debris. A massive cleanup operation involving teams of workers and heavy machinery is under way

Australia’s largest aluminium smelter to run on renewables by 2033 after Rio Tinto strikes $2.5bn taxpayer bailout deal

admin — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 05:00:25 +0000

Rio Tinto makes power supply deal with federal and NSW government to cut emissions and decarbonise, preventing potential closure

Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates