Breaking Waves: Ocean News

As the Trump administration derides climate policy as a ‘scam’, emissions-cutting measures are gaining popularity A group of progressive politicians and advocates are reframing emissions-cutting measures as a form of economic populism as the Trump administration derides climate policy as a “scam” and fails to deliver on promises to tame energy costs and inflation. Climate politics were once cast as a test of moral resolve, calling on Americans to accept higher costs to avert environmental catastrophe, but that ignores how rising temperatures themselves drive up costs for working people, said Stevie O’Hanlon, co-founder of the youth-led Sunrise Movement. Continue reading...

Tim Smit also says extreme political views will fade when people realise good things around the corner Sir Tim Smit says the world is in a better place than it was when he co-founded the Eden Project 25 years ago and he believes people are more attuned to the natural world. Speaking as the project in Cornwall reaches its 25th anniversary, Smit describedextreme political views as the “roar” of people fearful that they cannot control the future but he said they would fade when people realised that good things were around the corner. Continue reading...

Microplastics in rivers, lakes, and oceans aren’t just drifting debris—they’re constantly leaking invisible clouds of chemicals into the water. New research shows that sunlight drives this process, causing different plastics to release distinct and evolving mixtures of dissolved organic compounds as they weather. These chemical plumes are surprisingly complex, often richer and more biologically active than natural organic matter, and include additives, broken polymer fragments, and oxidized molecules.

I’ve spent six years writing about environmental justice. The uncomfortable truth is that we’re not all in it together – but people power is reshaping the fight It’s been another year of climate chaos and inadequate political action. And it’s hard not to feel despondent and powerless. I joined the Guardian full time in 2019, as the paper’s first environmental justice correspondent, and have reported from across the US and the region over the past six years. It’s been painful to see so many families – and entire communities – devastated by fires, floods, extreme heat, sea level rise and food shortages. But what’s given me hope during these six years of reporting as both an environmental and climate justice reporter are the people fighting to save our planet from catastrophe – in their communities, on the streets and in courtrooms across the world. Continue reading...