Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Senators accuse JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon of backtracking on climate commitments

admin — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 15:45:20 +0000

Exclusive: Letter from senators, led by Elizabeth Warren, says JPMorgan may have misled investors and public

JPMorgan Chase, the world’s biggest investor in fossil fuels, may have misled investors and the public by backtracking on its already weak climate and environmental commitments, six US senators have warned in a letter to the CEO Jamie Dimon.

Las Vegas sets record for number of days over 115F amid its ‘most extreme heatwave in history’

admin — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 15:33:03 +0000

City hits all-time high of 120F as officials set up emergency cooling centers at community centers across south Nevada

Las Vegas set a new record on Wednesday as it marked a fifth consecutive day over 115F (46C), amid a lingering hot spell that will continue scorching much of the US into the weekend.

The blazing hot temperatures climbed to 115F shortly after 1pm at Harry Reid international airport, breaking the old mark of four consecutive days above 115F set in July 2005.

‘We are going to be left with nothing’: Indigenous communities battle deforestation in Honduras

admin — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 15:15:48 +0000

Miskito and other groups face a dire challenge as illegal deforestation threatens their ancestral lands and culture

Avilés Morphy pulled out his mobile phone and swiped through the photos until he reached a shot showing fallen trees in what looked like the aftermath of a hurricane. “That was a big forest and look how it is now: everything’s been destroyed,” he says. “And these are the coordinates.”

Then he played a video. The camera focused on a startled man wearing a red track-and-field shirt, resting his back against a post as he responded to questioning.

Trash talk: New York City has finally discovered the wheelie bin – and it only cost $1.6m | Arwa Mahdawi

admin — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 13:00:03 +0000

After decades of bags lining the streets, the mayor has proudly wheeled out a McKinsey-approved trash can

The revolution will not be televised. Unless it’s Mayor Eric Adams’s Trash Revolution, of course. In which case a press conference will be held, music blasted, and every camera crew in the five boroughs invited.

Thames Water fails to complete 108 upgrades to ageing sewage works

admin — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 12:06:48 +0000

Exclusive: Fears customers will end up paying twice for work needed in order to comply with legal pollution limits

Thames Water has failed to complete more than 100 upgrades to ageing sewage treatment works to meet legal pollution limits, the Guardian can reveal.

Urban heat island effect making temperatures 8F hotter in 65 US cities – study

admin — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 10:00:55 +0000

Nearly 34 million people in those cities, or 15% of the US population, experiencing temperatures higher than in surrounding areas

Almost 34 million people in 65 major US cities, or 15% of the country’s population, are experiencing temperatures that are 8F higher than their surrounding areas, according to a new analysis from Climate Central, a non-profit research group.

That is largely due to built environments like parking lots and asphalt sidewalks, and a lack of trees, that contribute to what’s known as the urban heat island effect.

‘All threats to the sea come from humans’: how lawyers are gearing up to fight for the oceans

admin — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 06:00:49 +0000

A rising number of lawsuits in courts around the world are holding governments and corporations to account for their treatment of the seas and those who rely on them

A few years ago, Anna von Rebay gave up her lucrative job in a corporate law firm specialising in art law to concentrate on her passion for the ocean. “All threats to the sea come from humans, who behave as though nature is nothing more than a resource,” says Von Rebay, who works in Germany and Indonesia. “But the ocean can’t stand up for itself.”

Wessex Water’s TV ad banned for omitting sewage record

admin — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 23:01:40 +0000

Advert trumpeting storm overflow plans should have disclosed past environmental harms, says ASA

A Wessex Water TV advert about its plans to tackle storm overflows has been banned as misleading because it omitted key information about its record on sewage pollution.

The Advertising Standards Authority investigated after receiving a complaint about the ad for the supplier, which provides water to 1.4 million customers and sewerage services to 2.9 million people in the south-west of England.

UK tech startup raises £5m to prevent dangerous mould in social housing

admin — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 23:01:40 +0000

Switchee aims to protect health and cut bills by installing its technology in 1m homes

A British startup which uses technology to prevent renters from living in cold, damp homes has raised fresh funds to expand as landlords belatedly try to tackle outbreaks of mould in crumbling social housing.

Switchee has secured £5m, split equally between an existing investor, Axa IM Alts, and Octopus Ventures, part of the group which includes household gas and electricity supplier Octopus Energy.

Climate expert Chris Stark appointed to lead UK clean energy taskforce

admin — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 18:11:40 +0000

‘Mission control centre’ to work with energy companies and regulators towards goal of clean and cheaper power by 2030

Labour has appointed one of the country’s foremost climate experts to lead a “mission control centre” on clean energy.

Chris Stark, the former head of the UK’s climate watchdog, will head a Covid vaccine-style taskforce aimed at delivering clean and cheaper power by 2030.