Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Violence, death and stolen land: people need to know the true cost of an avocado | Claudia Ignacio Álvarez

admin — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 07:00:30 +0000

Behind the west’s huge appetite for the fruit lies the dark reality of environmental destruction and Indigenous exploitation in Mexico

I grew up in San Andrés Tziróndaro, a Purépecha community on the shores of Lake Pátzcuaro in the Mexican state of Michoacán. My childhood was shaped by water, forests and music. The lake fed us. The forest protected us. In the afternoons, people gathered in the local square while bands passed through playing pirekua, our traditional music.

That way of life is now under threat as our land is extracted for profit.

‘Mad fishing’: the super-size fleet of squid catchers plundering the high seas

admin — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 05:00:29 +0000

Every year a Chinese-dominated flotilla big enough to be seen from space pillages the rich marine life on Mile 201, a largely ungoverned part of the South Atlantic off Argentina

Marine protected areas as living labs? Lessons learned & future perspectives

admin — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 05:00:00 +0000

npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 06 January 2026; doi:10.1038/s44183-025-00175-w

Trump officials sue California cities over laws to restrict fossil fuels

admin — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 02:35:07 +0000

Suit against San Francisco-area cities Petaluma and Morgan Hill latest attack on policies that seek to rein in oil and gas

The Trump administration sued two California cities on Monday, seeking to block local laws that restrict natural gas infrastructure and appliances in new construction.

The lawsuit is the administration’s latest attack on energy policies that seek to rein in the use of fossil fuels to combat climate change. California, a Democratic stronghold, has among the most aggressive climate change policies in the world.

UK car sales top 2m in 2025 as Chinese brands boom

admin — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 00:01:22 +0000

Electric car sales rose by nearly a quarter to a record 473,000, or 23.4% of the overall market, says SMMT

A rise in the popularity of Chinese brands pushed total car sales in the UK above the 2m mark last year for the first time since 2019, figures reveal.

Chinese companies accounted for 9.7% of the 2m new car registrations in the UK in 2025, or 196,000 vehicles, according to preliminary figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), a lobby group. That was nearly double the 4.9% market share achieved by the country’s carmakers in 2024.

Nine scientific breakthroughs I’d like to see in 2026 – from earworms to procrastination | Emma Beddington

admin — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 13:43:16 +0000

There’s nothing more uplifting than hearing about a world-shaking, life-enhancing new development. But science shouldn’t overlook the small stuff, or stop looking for new species of cute, fluffy mammals …

Monarch butterflies could disappear. Butterfly Town USA is scrambling to save them

admin — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 13:00:08 +0000

Pacific Grove is known as ‘Butterfly Town USA’ for its role as an overwintering spot. As the insect’s population plummets, residents are coming to its rescue

In the tiny seaside village of Pacific Grove, California, there’s no escaping the monarch butterfly.

How demand for elite falcons in the Middle East is driving illegal trade of British birds

admin — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 08:51:55 +0000

Exclusive: data reveals hundreds of UK nests have been raided in the past decade amid growing appetite to own prized birds for racing and breeding

In the echoing exhibition halls of Abu Dhabi’s International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition, hundreds of falcons sit on perches under bright lights. Decorated hoods fit snugly over their heads, blocking their vision to keep them calm.

‘The perfect storm’: Trump has left the US less prepared for natural disasters, experts say

admin — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 17:00:11 +0000

Emergency managers say the US president has presided over a dangerous erosion in US capacity to prepare for and respond to natural disasters

Donald Trump has presided over a dangerous erosion in US capacity to prepare for and respond to natural disasters, according to emergency management experts.

The electric vehicle revolution is still on course – don’t let your loathing of Elon Musk stop you joining up | Zoe Williams

admin — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 10:00:04 +0000

Other firms are taking advantage of Tesla’s sales slump, while technological advances mean that glitches are being left in the rear-view mirror