Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Texas floods reveal limitations of disaster forecasting under climate crisis

admin — Sun, 06 Jul 2025 17:10:48 +0000

Texas’s ‘flash flood alley’ could bring even more floods in near future as Trump cuts compound with warming climate

The ongoing challenges of forecasting extreme weather during the era of the climate crisis have been brought to the fore again amid catastrophic flash flooding in the “hill country” region of Texas.

UK carmakers on track to meet EV sales target despite intense lobbying to lower quota

admin — Sun, 06 Jul 2025 15:54:00 +0000

Electric car sales made up 21.6% of sales in first half of 2025, only just below the effective 22% share needed to meet rules

Carmakers are on track to meet existing UK electric car sales targets despite having successfully lobbied the government to water them down.

Electric car sales made up 21.6% of sales in the first half of 2025, only marginally below the 22.06% share needed to meet existing rules once concessions are taken into account, according to an analysis by New AutoMotive, a thinktank.

Toxic algal bloom off South Australia coastline devastates marine life – video

admin — Sun, 06 Jul 2025 15:00:41 +0000

Footage shows the impact of an algal bloom unfolding along South Australia's coastline. The deadly bloom of Karenia mikimotoi algae has devastated marine life from the Fleurieu peninsula, to Kangaroo Island, to the Yorke peninsula and the Ramsar-listed Coorong.

Paris reopens River Seine to public swimming after century-long ban

admin — Sun, 06 Jul 2025 14:55:49 +0000

About 1,000 swimmers a day will be allowed to use three bathing sites after €1.4bn clean-up programme

Parisians and tourists flocked to take a dip in the Seine River this weekend after city authorities gave the green light for it to be used for public swimming for the first time in more than a century.

Businesses and charities call for UK to scrap VAT on refurbished electronics

admin — Sun, 06 Jul 2025 12:00:39 +0000

Exclusive: Letter to government says lower prices for repaired goods would cut waste, create jobs and help households save money

Ministers are facing fresh calls to scrap VAT on all repaired and refurbished electronics, with businesses, charities and community groups arguing the move would help households cut costs and stop electrical goods being binned prematurely.

Weedkiller ingredient widely used in US can damage organs and gut bacteria, research shows

admin — Sun, 06 Jul 2025 12:00:38 +0000

Diquat is banned in the UK, EU, China and other countries. The US has resisted calls to regulate it

The herbicide ingredient used to replace glyphosate in Roundup and other weedkiller products can kill gut bacteria and damage organs in multiple ways, new research shows.

Texas floods: at least 69 people dead, officials say, as Trump declares major disaster

admin — Sun, 06 Jul 2025 09:06:34 +0000

Hundreds of rescuers searching for those missing in devastating floods including girls from Camp Mystic, a Christian youth camp

Texas continues grim flood recovery

Officials have said waters in some parts of Texas are starting to recede to where they were before the storm.

‘We’ve made progress’: environment secretary is upbeat despite Labour’s struggles

admin — Sun, 06 Jul 2025 09:00:34 +0000

Steve Reed says changes to living standards are happening and will make a big difference to trust in government

It was probably easier for Steve Reed to feel more cheerful about Labour’s most torrid week in government while sitting on bales of hay in the blazing sunshine about 40 miles from Westminster.

Deadly heatwaves are the new reality – we need to transform the UK's cities and towns to survive them | Hannah Martin

admin — Sun, 06 Jul 2025 07:00:32 +0000

While we work towards net zero, we also need to adapt. And we can pay for cooling measures like splash pads and trees by taxing the worst polluters

As the world grows more unpredictable, Australia’s defence should be focused on people, not purchases | Julianne Schultz

admin — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 20:00:19 +0000

Activating real civic resilience could be a KPI for the prime minister’s progressive patriotism, rather than spending billions more on big, shiny machines

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