Fears of fire and environmental disaster as company repeatedly misses UK deadlines to decommission sites
The North Sea’s biggest oil and gas infrastructure company is risking fires and environmental disasters, experts have warned, as documents reveal it is failing to plug its ageing oil wells in time and is missing decommissioning deadlines by up to a decade.
Last year, the fossil fuel firm Perenco faced controversy after an oil spill from its Poole Harbour operations polluted the Dorset site, which is internationally recognised for its ecological importance. The RSPB reported oiled birds in the water at the largest natural harbour in Europe, which is one of the most heavily protected areas in the UK. Perenco promised it would never happen again and committed to pay for the damage caused.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
06/28/2024 - 04:00
06/28/2024 - 02:00
The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world
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06/28/2024 - 01:00
The 10,000 miles of coastline host a stunning variety of creatures, so put on a diving mask or just a pair of wellies and go on the hunt
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If you go down to the sea today, there’s a good chance you will find something you’ve never seen before. With more than 10,000 miles of coastline and a rich mix of habitats, the Great British seaside is the perfect place for wildlife encounters. Whether you fancy a spot of beachcombing, rock pooling, bird watching or fish following, there’s plenty to keep you busy. With a few simple pointers on where and how to look, there are hundreds of coastal species to find. Grab a pair of wellies or a wetsuit and dive mask and the British coast is all yours to explore.
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06/27/2024 - 23:00
More than 21,000 old sites may be releasing ‘forever chemicals’ into land often left as open space
‘It’s a poison and it’s killing us’: the hidden dangers of old UK landfills
Thousands of polluted landfills across England could be leaking toxic chemicals into the environment and harming people who live nearby, experts have warned.
A few decades ago, the method for getting rid of industrial and domestic waste was to stick it in a hole in the ground, cover it up and hope for the best. It was known as “dilute and disperse” and it assumed toxic substances would seep into the surrounding soils, air and water and become harmless.
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06/27/2024 - 18:01
Water quality testing by campaigners shows levels up to 27 times acceptable limit for bathing as rowers told to take precautions
Harmful E coli bacteria have been found at very high levels at Henley, days before elite rowers compete in the international regatta there.
Water quality testing in the Henley Mile, part of the regatta course outside the Oxfordshire town, has revealed mean levels of 1,213 E coli colony forming units (CFU) per 100ml of water, across 27 tests. Where E coli levels are above 900 CFU/100ml, the water quality is deemed poor, according to bathing water designations, and is a threat to public health.
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06/27/2024 - 16:00
Paulana Lamonier started Black People Will Swim in 2019 and has since provided free and low-cost lessons to over 2,500 Black and brown people
Valerie Spears hadn’t planned on taking swim lessons when she RSVP’d to her high school reunion in New York City.
But when Spears, a 72-year-old retiree who lives in Akron, Ohio, learned about a free class in Queens, she decided to pack her bathing suit.
Top: Young swimmers and an instructor at the swimming lesson organized by BPWS on Thursday, 20 June 2024.
Above: Donna Hall, 58, and her son, Samuel De La Cruz, 11, share a tender moment. They have been taking lessons with BPWS for two years.
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06/27/2024 - 12:05
No one was present when sinkhole, 100ft wide and 30ft deep, suddenly collapsed field in Alton, north of St Louis
A vast sinkhole has dramatically appeared in middle of an Illinois soccer pitch that was laid above a limestone mine, just days after amateur teams stopped using the grounds for practice.
The collapse happened at Gordon Moore Park in Alton, Illinois, about 18 miles (30km) north of St Louis, Missouri, on Wednesday. The sinkhole appeared to be 100ft (30m) wide and 30ft (9m) deep. No injuries have been reported but all sports have been cancelled.
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06/27/2024 - 10:00
Analysis from Bloomberg New Energy Finance says even if nuclear is successfully implemented it would be ‘at least four times’ more expensive than average cost of renewables
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A nuclear-powered Australian economy would result in higher-cost electricity and would “sound the death knell” for decarbonisation efforts if it distracts from renewables investment, a report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) argues.
The report comes as ANZ forecast September quarter power prices will dive as much as 30% once government rebates kick in. A separate review by the market watchdog has found household energy bills were 14% lower because of last year’s rebates.
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06/27/2024 - 10:00
Exclusive: Invasive Species Council demands audit of all defence sites after red imported fire ants detected at Swartz Barracks outside Queensland containment zone
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Defence bases pose a “huge risk” when it comes to stopping the spread of invasive fire ants in Australia, with experts suggesting there has been “a massive surveillance failure” on the commonwealth-owned properties.
Fire ants have been detected at eight defence sites in Queensland. Seven are within the state’s 700,000-hectare fire ants containment zone, which stretches from the Gold Coast to Caboolture.
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06/27/2024 - 09:36
Microsoft co-founder says efficiencies for technology and electricity grids will outweigh energy use by datacentres
Bill Gates has claimed that artificial intelligence will be more of a help than a hindrance in achieving climate goals, despite growing concern that an increase in new datacentres could drain green energy supplies.
The philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder told journalists that AI would enable countries to use less energy, even as they require more datacentres, by making technology and electricity grids more efficient.
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