Study suggests role of male parents may be under-appreciated in some primate species
If male baboons were subject to the same kind of cultural commentary as humans, the phrase “deadbeat dads” might be called for, such is the primate’s relatively limited involvement in raising their young.
But a study suggests that even their little effort might go a long way, with female baboons who experience a stronger relationship with their fathers when young tending to live longer as adults.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
06/17/2025 - 18:01
06/17/2025 - 18:00
Solar panels on defunct surface mines could put land to productive use for renewable generation, report says
Turning recently closed coalmines into solar energy plants could add almost 300GW of renewable energy by 2030, converting derelict wastelands to productive use, according to a new report.
In a first of its kind analysis, researchers from Global Energy Monitor (GEM) identified 312 surface coalmines closed since 2020 around the world, and 134 likely to close by the end of the decade, together covering 5,820 sq km (2,250 sq miles) – a land area nearly the size of Palestine.
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06/17/2025 - 12:44
Half of foreign-born workers in green jobs would not have been allowed in under new rules, thinktank says
Tough rules announced in the government’s immigration white paper could jeopardise the UK’s net zero mission by causing labour shortages, a report has warned.
Labour’s white paper released last month included plans to raise the minimum qualification for skilled worker visas from A-level equivalent to degree and to maintain the higher salary threshold of £38,700 introduced by the outgoing Conservative government last year.
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06/17/2025 - 10:50
The energy secretary was speaking at the launch of a £1bn investment scheme to bolster jobs in offshore wind
Ed Miliband has said the government will “win this fight” against critics of Britain’s net zero plan, in part by creating more offshore wind jobs in the country’s former industrial heartlands.
The energy secretary appeared to take aim at his political opponents in the Conservative and Reform UK parties as he launched a £1bn investment scheme to bolster job opportunities in the offshore wind supply chain.
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06/17/2025 - 10:06
Planning permission quashed by high court after officials failed to consider impact of spreading manure on land
Planning permission for a poultry megafarm in Shropshire has been overturned in a ruling that campaigners have welcomed as a win for cleaner rivers.
The judgment on Tuesday upheld a judicial review by Dr Alison Caffyn, who argued that Shropshire council had failed to take into account all the environmental impacts of an industrial chicken unit containing 230,000 birds at any one time when it granted planning permission.
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06/17/2025 - 08:02
The popularity of ‘healing’ through psychedelics is fueling exploitation of Indigenous peoples and threatening biodiversity in Ecuador
In the world of the Ecuadorian Amazon, humans, plants and animals are relatives, and ancient stories reflect real ecological relationships and Indigenous knowledge rooted in profound connections to the land. But one of those connections – ceremonial medicine known as hayakwaska – is now marketed as a mystical shortcut to healing and enlightenment. Behind the scenes of these “healing retreats” lies a deeper story of cultural erasure, linguistic distortion and ongoing colonisation masked as wellness.
The global popularity of “ayahuasca” has given rise to a new form of spiritual tourism that romanticises and distorts Indigenous cultures. This growing industry fuels the exoticisation of Indigenous peoples, turning our languages, practices and identities into consumable fantasies for outsiders. Sacred rituals are stripped of context, spiritual roles are commercialised, and even the names of the plants are misused, reducing complex cultural systems into simplified, marketable experiences.
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06/17/2025 - 07:51
The plant medicine hayakwaska (ayahuasca), marketed as a mystical shortcut to healing and enlightenment, is an example of what the Indigenous storyteller Nina Gualinga, sees as commodification and extractivism in the Amazon. Nina is from the Kichwa people of Sarayaku, Ecuador, and she speaks with the memory of her shaman grandfather about the ongoing cultural appropriation, environmental destruction and marginalisation of her people, questioning our very relationship to the Earth and the quest for healing
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06/17/2025 - 07:48
Fariba Vancor, former boss of Think Pink waste management company, convicted of 19 serious environmental crimes
A Swedish entrepreneur who once called herself the “queen of trash” has been sentenced to six years in prison for illegally dumping hundreds of thousands of tonnes of toxic waste in the country’s biggest environmental crime case.
Fariba Vancor, previously known as Bella Nilsson and the former chief executive of waste management company Think Pink, was convicted on Tuesday of 19 counts of serious environmental crimes. Her ex-husband Thomas Nilsson was found guilty of 12 counts of serious environmental crimes and sentences to three years and six months in prison.
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06/17/2025 - 02:00
From turning out the lights to letting leaves rot, these small steps can create big changes at home or in the wild
‘Half the tree of life’: ecologists’ horror as nature reserves are emptied of insects
Insects are in trouble. Around the world, scientists are reporting catastrophic declines in their numbers, even in nature reserves that are largely protected from human touch. We are also beginning to see huge drops in the populations of other animals – such as birds – that depend on insects as food.
Many of the drivers of those declines are structural, and require strong action by governments to turn around. But there are clear, easy steps that anyone can take to support the insect world. For species under such pressure, any respite is important, and we can create refuges for insects in a world increasingly hostile to their survival. In creating better habitats for insects, you can also reap the benefits: thriving gardens, more songbirds, and a healthier web of life.
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06/17/2025 - 01:00
Datacentres, which do not have to report amount of water used to cool servers, leave Environment Agency with no idea of shortfalls
The artificial intelligence boom means the Environment Agency has no idea how much water England will be short of in future decades, as datacentres do not have to report how much they are using to cool their servers.
England’s public water supply could be short by 5bn litres a day by 2055 without urgent action to future-proof resources, the government environment regulator has warned, with a shortfall of a further 1bn litres a day for farming, energy generation and powering emerging technologies.
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