Breaking Waves: Ocean News

06/13/2024 - 23:00
npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 14 June 2024; doi:10.1038/s44183-024-00068-4 Up to 80% of threatened and commercial species across European marine protected areas face novel climates under high emission scenario
06/13/2024 - 15:12
Thirty-by-thirty: protect 30% of the planet by 2030. While conservation is popular in principle, the costs of actually enacting it often stall even the most earnest efforts. Researchers have now proposed a market-based approach to achieving the 30x30 targets in the ocean.
06/13/2024 - 13:08
The increase in the frequency and intensity of marine heatwaves in recent decades is one of the effects of global climate change. A study shows that the extreme heatwave of 2022 caused an 'unprecedented' increase in mortality of the red gorgonian Paramuricea clavata, affecting 70% of the colonies located in the Montgr Natural Park, the Medes Islands and the Baix Ter. According to the researchers, these results are 'alarming and threaten the viability' of this species of great value for the biodiversity of benthic ecosystems, since it is considered to be an inhabitant-forming species.
06/13/2024 - 13:00
Fear of being seen as unclean drives overwashing of clothes at expense of environment, Swedish scientists say How often should you wash your clothes? Doctors don’t really know, but the decision is more cultural than medical, anyway. Worried about leaving the house in sweaty shirts or stained shorts, people often chuck clean clothes in the laundry basket after wearing them just once. But the urge to avoid whiffy garments carries a climate cost that has largely been ignored. New research shows that feelings of disgust and shame encourage excessive clothes washing even among those who care about their carbon footprint. Continue reading...
06/13/2024 - 12:13
Researchers made 161 sightings of whales – some of them endangered – south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket An unexpected number of whales is visiting the waters off New England, including an unusually high number of an endangered species, said scientists who study the animals. A research flight made 161 sightings of seven different species of whale on 25 May south of Martha’s Vineyard and south-east of Nantucket, officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) said on Thursday. The sightings included 93 of sei whales, one of the highest concentrations of the rare whale during a single flight, the agency said. Continue reading...
06/13/2024 - 12:01
Makah people, whose right to hunt whales is noted in treaty, granted waiver by US government to kill two or three a year After facing decades of legal and bureaucratic hurdles, the Makah Tribe in Washington has won approval from the US to resume whale hunting for the first time in 25 years. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) Fisheries announced on Wednesday that it would grant the tribe a waiver, allowing the Makah “a limited subsistence and ceremonial hunt” under an 1855 treaty. The Makah will be permitted to hunt up to 25 eastern North Pacific gray whales over 10 years. Continue reading...
06/13/2024 - 10:00
Minister should have assessed climate damage that would be caused by two large developments, advocates say Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast Conservationists will ask the high court to examine whether the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, should have assessed the climate damage that would be caused by two large coalmine developments. The Environment Council of Central Queensland has sought special leave in Australia’s highest court to appeal against the federal court’s dismissal of what is known as the Living Wonders case. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...
06/13/2024 - 10:00
Conservationists urge Tanya Plibersek to call in Daly River pastoral clearing application for assessment under commonwealth nature laws Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast A farming operation in the Northern Territory has proposed clearing almost 6,000 hectares (14,800 acres) of woodlands in a stronghold for the threatened ghost bat, Australia’s largest predatory bat. The territory’s peak conservation organisation, the Environment Centre NT, and a scientific expert on the species have called on the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, to use her powers to call in the project in the Daly River region for assessment under commonwealth nature laws. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...
06/13/2024 - 07:00
Farmed kelp could produce plastic substitutes, beauty products and food supplements. Just steer clear of seaweed chocolate Photographs by Christian Sinibaldi, words by Joanna Moorhead Think sun, sea, Skye – and seaweed. It’s early summer off the west coast of Scotland, and Alex Glasgow is landing a long string of orangey-black seaweed on to the barge of his water farm. It emerges on what looks like a washing line heavy with dirty rags, hoicked up from the depths. And yet, this slippery, shiny, salty substance might, just might, be going to save the planet. When it comes to sustainability, seaweed is about as shipshape as it gets. Minimal damage to the environment, check. No use of pesticides, check. Diversifies ocean life, check. Uses no land, check. And, in the case of Skye’s seaweed farm, spoils no one’s view, check. Kyla Orr and Martin Welch of KelpCrofters check the crop from their boat Continue reading...
06/13/2024 - 05:00
Pennsylvania families worry about rising cases of rare cancer with well pads near homes and stalled House bills One evening in 2019, Janice Blanock was scrolling through Facebook when she heard a stranger mention her son in a video on her feed. Luke, an outgoing high school athlete, had died three years earlier at age 19 from Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare bone cancer. Blanock had come across a live stream of a community meeting to discuss rare cancers that were occurring with alarming frequency in south-western Pennsylvania, where she lives. Continue reading...