Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Power to the people: how ‘balcony solar’ could help fight rising US utility costs

admin — Wed, 27 May 2026 11:30:17 +0000

More Americans are using small solar panels in their back yards or balconies as a clean way to cut their electric bills

If you feel like your electricity bill just keeps climbing, you aren’t imagining it. Since 2020, US residential energy prices have surged by about 30%, making power the largest household energy expense behind gasoline, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

Community shocked after Aboriginal rock shelter bulldozed for NSW power lines

admin — Wed, 27 May 2026 10:17:29 +0000

The heritage site was destroyed by contractors building transmission lines for the Central-West Orana renewable energy zone

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Lord Howe Island got rid of its rats and mice – now cockroaches and bugs are bouncing back

admin — Wed, 27 May 2026 09:35:17 +0000

Rodents arrived on the subtropical island more than a century ago, decimating its native flora and fauna – but its invertebrates are once again booming

In the summer months, Lord Howe Island’s unique stag beetle, with wing cases that appear forged from iridescent green metal, fly around the ancient tree tops looking for a mate.

“That’s really something wonderful,” said Ian Hutton, a naturalist and nature guide on the World Heritage-listed island.

Blossoming among spoil heaps: how 1,000 years of lead mining gave birth to banks of pansies and pennycress

admin — Wed, 27 May 2026 08:00:21 +0000

Calaminarian grassland is a rare habitat where plants thrive in soils contaminated by heavy metals. But should these toxic meadows be protected or allowed to fade away?

At first, the small purple flowers are hard to spot in the weak May sunshine. Slowly the drifts of delicate mountain pansies, along with the white rosettes of alpine pennycress, begin to jump out, scattered across an area little bigger than a football pitch, on the banks of the River Allen in Northumberland.

Australia needs a national animal. No, not the kangaroo... the dingo! | First Dog on the Moon

admin — Wed, 27 May 2026 06:08:18 +0000

Everyone loves dingoes and if they don’t they should

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Wednesday briefing: Can the UK adapt in time to a new normal of extreme heat?

admin — Wed, 27 May 2026 05:46:56 +0000

In today’s newsletter: As heatwaves intensify, Britain must confront the limits of a society built for cooler weather, forcing policymakers, communities and households to rethink how we live, work and stay cool

The UK swelters once again. On Tuesday, temperatures surged to 35C, condemning millions of people to another sticky night in homes ill-prepared for such warm conditions.

How the plastic bottle cap became a parable for the value of EU regulation | Alberto Alemanno

admin — Wed, 27 May 2026 04:00:18 +0000

Supporters of deregulation want Europe to be more like the US. But that would serve only American interests

Mapping the last glaciers in Oceania – in pictures

admin — Wed, 27 May 2026 03:00:15 +0000

Puncak Jaya in Indonesia is one of the last equatorial mountains with glaciers but the ice has retreated drastically because of the climate crisis. Project Pressure came to the mountain to create the first 3D model of the remaining ice before it disappears

‘Planetary destruction on fast-forward’: witnessing the disappearance of Indonesia’s eternity glaciers

Vermont becomes first US state to ban paraquat herbicide over Parkinson’s fears

admin — Tue, 26 May 2026 20:46:54 +0000

Lawmakers cite studies linking weedkiller to Parkinson’s as pressure mounts for a wider US ban

Vermont is the first US state to ban the weedkilling pesticide paraquat, backed by lawmakers who cited concerns about research showing the chemical substantially increases the risk of the incurable brain ailment known as Parkinson’s disease.

Ben Jennings on Britain’s heatwave – cartoon

admin — Tue, 26 May 2026 16:56:33 +0000