Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Offshore windfarm zone off Illawarra coast given green light in bid to ‘power Australia’s clean energy future’

admin — Sat, 15 Jun 2024 01:31:38 +0000

Zone will be 20km off the coast and exclude areas significant for little penguin and for southern right whale migration

The federal government has given the green light to an offshore windfarm zone south of Sydney, making it Australia’s fourth such zone to be declared.

Announcing the project in the Illawarra on Saturday, the climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, said the move would bring thousands of new jobs and help “power Australia’s clean energy future”.

Heatwave expected to spread to 250m Americans in midwest and north-east

admin — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 17:11:57 +0000

Scorching temperatures have already swept south-east where Florida is now grappling with severe flooding

The scorching heatwave that has swept the US south-east in recent weeks will soon spread to the country’s midwest and north-east regions, affecting nearly 250 million Americans.

Temperatures are stuck at 90F (32C) or above for at least the next week in much of the US, the National Weather Service (NWS) predicted. The NWS defines a heatwave as a period of temperatures exceeding 90F for two or more days, and this one could last until 26 June.

Germany’s top climate envoy says ‘this is the critical decade’ after Dutton ditches 2030 target

admin — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 15:00:55 +0000

Representative from Europe’s biggest economy and key player in global climate talks says deep emissions cuts by 2030 ‘essential’ to limit climate heating to 1.5C

Wildlife experts urge action on pesticides as UK insect populations plummet

admin — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 11:00:52 +0000

Campaigners say next government must reduce use and toxicity of pesticides before it is too late

The UK’s insect populations are declining at alarming rates and the next government must put in place plans to monitor and reduce the use and toxicity of pesticides before it is too late, wildlife experts say.

How do you put pigeons on the pill? Scientists test contraceptives to curb pest numbers

admin — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 09:00:46 +0000

Birth control is being trialled as a humane way to limit growing numbers of grey squirrels, pigeons and wild boar

The invention of the contraceptive pill heralded the sexual revolution of the 1960s, and now scientists are looking to revolutionise wildlife control by getting animals in on the action. Trials are under way in the UK and elsewhere in Europe of how to get contraceptives into pigeons, wild boar and grey squirrels, with scientists also proposingother rodents, invasive parakeets and deer as other target species.

Week in wildlife – in pictures: a comedy seal, a cricket-loving owl and hairy pigs on Exmoor

admin — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 07:00:48 +0000

The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world

Children near Amsterdam airport use inhalers more, study finds

admin — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 05:00:42 +0000

Results show increase in symptoms such as wheeziness in presence of high aviation-related ultrafine particles

As the public hearings for London Gatwick airport’s northern runway resume, researchers from the Netherlands have found greater inhaler use in children living near Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.

Up to 80% of threatened and commercial species across European marine protected areas face novel climates under high emission scenario

admin — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 04:00:00 +0000

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

A conservation market could incentivize global ocean protection

admin — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 20:12:01 +0000

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.

Marine heatwaves devastate red gorgonians in the Medes Islands

admin — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 18:08:18 +0000

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.