Breaking Waves: Ocean News

UK looks to relax planning rules for factory farms after industry lobbying

admin — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 07:00:20 +0000

Exclusive: documents chronicle years-long campaign to make it easier to build intensive livestock units

Ministers are rewriting planning rules to make it easier to build intensive livestock farms despite concerns about water pollution, air quality and local opposition.

World’s oldest tortoise caught in viral crypto death scam

admin — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 06:38:14 +0000

Fake X account posing as his vet sparked global false reports of Jonathan’s death while soliciting crypto donations

At 194 years old, Jonathan, the giant tortoise, was a youngster when Queen Victoria ascended to the throne – and has now lived long enough to fall victim to a crypto scam.

News outlets including the BBC, Daily Mail and USA Today falsely reported his death after an X account posing as Jonathan’s vet broke the news.

Not if, but when: how Spain’s coastal towns are preparing for tsunamis

admin — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 04:00:16 +0000

In the holiday hotspots of the Costa del Sol, the risks are rarely mentioned. But in neighbouring Cádiz, the country’s first tsunami-ready town is leading by example

Even on a wet, wintry day in Málaga, the Mediterranean looks benign. But only 25 miles (40km) south-west of its port, where half a million tourists disembark from cruise ships into the Costa del Sol each year, lies a system of tectonic plates and faults that fracture the seabed between Spain and north Africa.

‘Fossil-fuel imperialism’: Trump’s hankering for Iranian oil runs deep

admin — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 14:00:02 +0000

Experts say the US believes it is entitled to resources it desires – a perspective president has supported for decades

Donald Trump said this past weekend he wants to “take the oil in Iran” by seizing control of a key export hub, echoing a refrain he has returned to for over a decade.

It’s a sign of his disregard for international law and belief in “fossil-fuel imperialism”, experts say.

‘On a whole other level’: rapid snow melt-off in American west stuns scientists

admin — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 13:00:01 +0000

Experts say brutal March heat has left critical snowpack at record-low levels – and key basins in uncharted territory

Snow surveys taking place across the American west this week are offering a grim prognosis, after a historically warm winter and searing March temperatures left the critical snowpack at record-low levels across the region.

‘Guano is far more than just droppings’: scientists uncover the secrets of bat poo in Gorongosa park

admin — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 12:00:55 +0000

The more than 100 bat species living in the Mozambican reserve’s labyrinth of caves play a key role in maintaining a fragile ecosysytem that benefits wildlife and people

• Words and photographs by Kang-Chun Cheng

After wriggling gingerly into a damp, cool cave, Raúl da Silva Armando Chomela waits for his eyes to adjust. Donning latex gloves, a helmet fitted with a headlamp, and a mask to protect his lungs from fine particles and bacteria, the molecular biologist from the Mozambican port city of Beira gazes into the shadowy recesses for signs of bats.

This is what a fossil-fuel shock looks like. The UK must adapt its energy system – and quickly | Chaitanya Kumar

admin — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 11:07:20 +0000

The Iran war will hit food prices, fuel costs and interest rates. But with a few smart moves, we could could turn this crisis to our advantage

Nature boys and girls – here’s your chance to get published in the Guardian

admin — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 09:48:54 +0000

Our wildlife series Young Country Diary is looking for articles written by children, about their spring encounters with nature

Once again, the Young Country Diary series is open for submissions! Every three months we ask you to send us an article written by a child aged 8-14.

The article needs to be about a recent encounter they’ve had with nature – whether it’s a marauding toad, a fascinating flower or a garden bird.

Energy crisis: why ‘keep calm but cut down’ may be a better message for Labour

admin — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 06:00:41 +0000

Government keen to avoid panic as oil price surges, but perhaps households need advice on reducing consumption

Labour ministers asked in recent days about the looming energy crisis sparked by the Iran war, including Keir Starmer himself, have essentially stuck to that reassuring wartime slogan: keep calm and carry on.

“I think people should go about their lives as normal, knowing that the government is taking action to bring energy bills down,” James Murray, the chief secretary to the Treasury, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Tuesday.

Asia ramps up use of dirty fuels to cover energy shortfall triggered by Iran war

admin — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 05:05:00 +0000

South Korea will delay the shutdown of coal-fired plants, while the Philippines also plans to boost the output of its coal-burning plants

Governments across Asia are ramping up their use of coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, as they try to cover huge energy shortfalls triggered by the US-Israel war on Iran.

The move has triggered warnings from climate experts who point to coal’s devastating environmental impact, and say the energy crisis should be a wake up call for governments to invest in renewables, which can offer a more stable supply that is not exposed to price shocks.