Breaking Waves: Ocean News

06/12/2024 - 12:08
As the temperatures keep rising, how would the environment be affected by a second term under Biden or Trump? Plus: sharks, primaries and Jesus Sign up for our free US election newsletter Hello! More than a dozen Donald Trump supporters collapsed at his rallies amid record high temperatures in the south-west in recent days – presumably missing Trump’s promise at the gatherings to gut Biden’s environmental policies and “drill, baby, drill”. So what would a Trump administration mean for those who hope the world can limit global heating and the climate crisis? We’ll take a look after the headlines. Continue reading...
06/12/2024 - 12:03
Co-president of the KlimaSeniorinnen says declaration is betrayal of older women Swiss politicians have rejected a landmark climate ruling from the European court of human rights, raising fears that other polluting countries may follow suit. A panel of Strasbourg judges ruled in April that Switzerland had violated the human rights of older women through weak climate policies that leave them more vulnerable to heatwaves. Activists hailed the judgment as a breakthrough because it leaves all members of the Council of Europe exposed to legal challenges for sluggish efforts to clean up carbon-intensive economies. Continue reading...
06/12/2024 - 10:56
California Forever hopes to build sustainable city in Solano county but company’s tactics have been controversial Voters in northern California will get to weigh in on whether a contentious plan backed by Silicon Valley billionaires to build a new city north of San Francisco can go ahead. California Forever, the company behind the initiative to build a green city for up to 400,000 people in California farmland, submitted well over the 13,000 valid signatures required to put it on the 5 November ballot, elections officials said on Tuesday. Continue reading...
06/12/2024 - 10:33
In addition to its human consequences, cocaine trafficking harms the environment and threatens habitats important to dozens of species of migratory birds, according to a new study.
06/12/2024 - 10:00
PM says opposition leader’s refusal to name a short-term emissions reduction target in line with Paris agreement is calculated to reignite climate wars Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast Anthony Albanese says Peter Dutton has forfeited his claim to the prime ministership because refusing to name a short-term emissions reduction target shows he is not serious about addressing climate change. Some Liberal MPs were taken by surprise when Dutton confirmed the opposition would not name a 2030 climate target until after the next election. Moderate Liberals have sought to downplay the significance of the announcement, stressing the party remains committed to net zero by 2050 amid concerns it may hurt the Coalition in seats held by, or under threat from, climate-focused “teal” independents. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...
06/12/2024 - 08:02
Stephen Kwikiriza is one of 11 campaigners against EACOP targeted by authorities in past two weeks, rights group says A man campaigning against the controversial $5bn (£4bn) east African crude oil pipeline (EACOP) is recovering in hospital after an alleged beating by the Ugandan armed forces in the latest incident in what has been called an “alarming crackdown” on the country’s environmentalists. Stephen Kwikiriza, who works for Uganda’s Environment Governance Institute (EGI), a non-profit organisation, was abducted in Kampala on 4 June, according to his employer. He was beaten, questioned and then abandoned hundreds of miles from the capital on Sunday evening. Continue reading...
06/12/2024 - 08:00
Some studies link the popular soda sweetener to higher cancer risk, but the links are weak and questions remain On 29 June 2023, the soda industry was bracing for a fresh wave of controversy. A media leak had suggested that a research arm of the World Health Organization (WHO), which had been reviewing the artificial sweetener aspartame, was planning to classify the additive as possibly cancer-causing. The sweetener – included in candy, soft drinks such as Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi, and common items such as toothpaste – has long been dogged by questions about potential health risks. And such a determination could disrupt consumers’ spending and billions in annual sales. Continue reading...
06/12/2024 - 07:44
The vessel, which sank off the coast of Canada in 1962, was used by the explorer on his final voyage to the continent The wreck of the ship on which renowned Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton died has been found off the coast of Labrador, Canada, searchers have announced. Locating the Quest – a schooner-rigged steamship which sank on a 1962 seal hunting voyage – represents a last link to the “heroic age of Antarctic exploration”, said search leader John Geiger. Continue reading...
06/12/2024 - 04:00
Cocaine traffickers have put two-thirds of Central America’s key habitats for threatened birds under threat, study finds Cocaine consumption is threatening rare tropical birds as narco-traffickers move into some of the planet’s most remote forests to evade drug crackdowns, a study has warned. Two-thirds of key forest habitats for birds in Central America are at risk of being destroyed by “narco-driven” deforestation, according to the paper, published on Wednesday in the journal Nature Sustainability. Continue reading...
06/12/2024 - 00:00
Pennon Group annual report lists dangers to water quality posed by higher temperatures The owner of South West Water has warned that global heating will increase the risk of outbreaks of the parasite that caused diarrhoea and vomiting in south Devon. Pennon Group said that “gradual and significant increasing average and high temperatures” could pose “risks to water quality and water treatment” – including the cryptosporidium parasite – in its annual report, published this week. Continue reading...