Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Exploring the aberration, absurdity, madness and ingenuity of skiing, an activity that raises both questions and concerns despite its global success. It continues to fascinate and intrigue in the face of social and environmental upheavals. There are more than 2,000 resorts scattered across the world, attracting hundreds of millions of skiers, but there are also profound questions about its future amid climate challenges and societal changes Continue reading...

Watch Duty – which began in California and has expanded across 14 states – alerted the public to more than 9,000 wildfires in 2024 Cristy Thomas began to panic as she called 911 for the second time on a warm October day but couldn’t get through. She anxiously watched the plume of black smoke pouring over her rural community in central California get larger. Then she heard a familiar ping. Continue reading...

Hot and humid conditions increase difficulty of finding Hadi Nazari, 23, after he failed to show up at campsite Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast More specialist rescue crews have joined the search for a bushwalker missing in dense and challenging terrain for 11 days. As many as 50 specialist search operators from across New South Wales have been deployed to help find Hadi Nazari, 23, who was last seen on Boxing Day. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

While the EU and US hesitate, the UK can become world leader in this burgeoning – and cruelty-free – innovation If the pet food industry were a country, it would rank as the world’s 60th biggest emitter of carbon dioxide. In countries such as the US, researchers estimate that pet food accounts for about a quarter of total meat consumption. And as the number of pets grows, the environmental impact looks set to increase. But the British government may have unlocked a solution. This year, the UK became the only country in Europe to approve the use of lab-grown meat in pet food. Lab-grown meat may sound futuristic, but the process is actually straightforward. It starts with the harvesting of a small number of animal cells, then the cells are fed essential nutrients to help them replicate and grow, similar to a yeast culture on a petri dish. But unlike a whole living animal, there are fewer limitations on size, there are no welfare concerns, and the setup does not require such vast land, water and energy resources. Lucy McCormick is an analytics manager at the Guardian and a writer on economics, politics and current affairs Continue reading...