Sam Shoemaker’s record-setting voyage shows the promise – and limits – of fungi as a plastic alternative
On a clear, still morning in early August, Sam Shoemaker launched his kayak into the waters off Catalina Island and began paddling. His goal: to traverse the open ocean to San Pedro, just south of Los Angeles, some 26.4 miles away.
But upon a closer look, Shoemaker’s kayak was no ordinary kayak. Brown-ish yellow and bumpy in texture, it had been made – or rather, grown – entirely from mushrooms. His journey, if successful, would mark the world’s longest open-water journey in a kayak built from this unique material.
Continue reading...
Breaking Waves: Ocean News
09/07/2025 - 09:00
09/07/2025 - 08:00
We’re beyond Mel Gibson’s Mad Max era. We no longer need oil to make it through the apocalypse
As I write these words, the No 1 trending story on the Guardian is titled: “The history and future of societal collapse”. It is an account of a study by a Cambridge expert who works at something ominously called the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk; he concludes that “we can’t put a date on Doomsday, but by looking at the 5,000 years of [civilisation], we can understand the trajectories we face today – and self-termination is most likely”.
I can’t claim to have done a study, though I have been at work on climate change for almost 40 years and I gotta say: seems about right. So it’s maybe not the worst moment for a bit of worry about how you would fare in the case of a temporary breakdown of our civilization. Perhaps you have noticed that extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and violent. Or you read the stories that Donald Trump was shutting down the Federal Emergency Management Agency and surmised you’ll have to take care of yourself going forward. Or hey, maybe you think a cabal of pedophiles might try and use black helicopters to herd you into a 15-minute city where a communist mayor will make you spend the rest of your life riding a scary subway.
Continue reading...
09/07/2025 - 06:00
Rise in cases south of the border prompts concern over US livestock as Trump budget cuts hit research and foreign aid
A patient in Maryland was diagnosed in August with New World screwworm, a parasitic fly, after traveling to El Salvador. Doctors and veterinarians say the case poses very low risks for human health in the US, but it comes after an increase of cases in South and Central America and the Caribbean in recent years. It also highlights the importance of international cooperation on research and prevention.
For decades, the fight against the screwworm was a success story of scientific innovation and collaboration with other countries. There were devastating outbreaks of the parasite in the US in the first half of the 20th century until an ambitious program pushed it south, all the way to Panama.
Continue reading...
09/06/2025 - 15:00
More habitat has been given up legally in 2025 so far than any other year since the animals were listed as threatened, analysis shows
NSW locks in great koala national park and brings in immediate ban on logging
Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
More clearing of koala habitat has been approved under Australia’s nature laws in 2025 so far than in any other year since the marsupial was listed as a threatened species, according to an analysis by the Australian Conservation Foundation.
The destruction of 3,958 ha of bush approved across eight projects, including a coalmine in Queensland, equates to about four Sydney airports’ worth of clearing.
Continue reading...
09/06/2025 - 15:00
Samuel McLennan has spent two years salvaging fish farm waste and other marine debris from Tasmanian shores for his oceangoing vessel. McLennan's boat, which he named Heart, has slowly made its way across the Bass Strait to Victoria. Otis Filley joined McLennan aboard for part of the journey
Continue reading...
09/06/2025 - 15:00
Minns government to create one of the largest national parks in the state as forest advocates welcome ‘historic’ victory
Loss of koala habitat shows ‘total failure’ of nature laws, conservationists say
Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
The Minns government has confirmed its long-awaited great koala national park, announcing it will add 176,000 hectares of forest to existing reserves in mid-north New South Wales to create one of the largest national parks in the state and protect more than 12,000 koalas.
The premier, Chris Minns, and environment minister, Penny Sharpe, said the government would put an immediate moratorium on logging within the park’s boundaries and roll out a jobkeeper style support package for workers at affected timber mills in the region.
Continue reading...
09/06/2025 - 10:00
After a years-long battle, organic dairy ranches are being expelled from Point Reyes national seashore to revitalize the ecosystem
Rodd Kelsey gazed out on the golden slopes of Point Reyes national seashore sweeping down to the rugged California coastline, pointing to the patches laden with invasive stalks of prickly thistle and browning sod. These are some of the hallmarks of the region’s recent history, he said – but they also showcase the opportunities for its future.
A new chapter is unfolding on the striking landscape located some 70 miles (113km) north of San Francisco. The unique patchwork of wild and pastoral ranges operated by the National Park Service (NPS) has spent decades mired in battles between local ranchers operating on the lands and environmentalists who see their presence as a blight.
Continue reading...
09/06/2025 - 08:00
Livestream of voyage to bottom of one of country’s deepest lakes draws thousands – but no sign of Tahoe Tessie yet
The cobalt waters of Lake Tahoe have long captivated the public, helping drive the area’s massive tourism industry and even attracting urban legends about what lies in the cold, shadowy depths.
Theories have ranged from an aquatic creature named Tessie to perfectly preserved bodies dumped by the mafia decades ago.
Continue reading...
09/06/2025 - 07:00
These wildfires tend to burn in more remote areas and grow larger faster, posing a higher risk to public safety and health
The climate crisis will continue making lightning-sparked wildfires more frequent for decades to come, which could produce cascading effects and worsen public safety and public health, experts and new research suggest.
Lightning-caused fires tend to burn in more remote areas and therefore usually grow into larger fires than human-caused fires. That means a trend toward more lightning-caused fires is also probably making wildfires more deadly by producing more wildfire smoke and helping to drive a surge in air quality issues from coast to coast, especially over the past several years.
Continue reading...
09/05/2025 - 23:00
Flooding in northern India and Pakistan has destroyed homes – and hundreds of thousands of acres of crops
For days, farmers in the Indian state of Punjab watched the pounding monsoon rains fall and the rivers rise with mounting apprehension. By Wednesday, many woke to find their fears realised as the worst floods in more than three decades ravaged their farms and decimated their livelihoods.
Hundreds of thousands of acres of bright green rice paddies – due to be harvested imminently – as well as crops of cotton and sugar cane were left destroyed as they became fully submerged in more than five feet of muddy brown flood waters. The bodies of drowned cattle littered the ground.
Continue reading...
