Breaking Waves: Ocean News

‘What’s your favourite bird?’ is almost impossible to answer. I am always torn | Sean Dooley

admin — Sun, 24 Sep 2023 20:00:07 +0000

When framing the shortlist for the 2023 bird of the year, we opted for familiar Aussie birds that hold a special place in our hearts

Bird of the year 2023: six underbirds that deserve your vote

admin — Sun, 24 Sep 2023 20:00:06 +0000

Some of Australia’s most recognised feathered denizens have been flying under the popularity radar for far too long

This year’s Guardian/BirdLife Australia bird of the year poll runs from 25 September to 6 October. Nominate your favourite for the shortlist

Is there anything more thrilling than seeing an underbird soar? Keep that in mind when casting your vote in this year’s Guardian/Birdlife Australia bird of the year poll.

‘When I saw it I was appalled’: row over modern fountain splits Yorkshire town down middle

admin — Sun, 24 Sep 2023 11:00:21 +0000

Militant pensioner says a majority want a traditional feature but project leaders call row an attack on democracy

Ilkley is an affluent, leafy town, one point of Yorkshire’s “Golden Triangle” where average house prices top £560,000. Last year it was named the best place to live in the UK, and its tree-lined streets hark back to the days when it was a spa town where wealthy Victorians took the waters, Charles Darwin among them.

Methuselah arrived in the US in 1938. She’s now the oldest fish in captivity

admin — Sun, 24 Sep 2023 10:00:21 +0000

The lungfish arrived in San Francisco on a steamship along with 230 other fish. Today, she’s the only living aquatic animal from that vessel

She’s super-gentle, and doesn’t get overly excited. She enjoys eating earthworms, fruits and vegetables, and slowly moving around her tank. Her favorite food – at least for what is in season now – is a fig.

Alok Sharma challenges Rishi Sunak: show us how UK can meet green pledges

admin — Sun, 24 Sep 2023 08:00:18 +0000

Former Cop26 chair says emissions cuts must be made elsewhere and ministers must show how they plan to achieve this

Alok Sharma, the former Tory cabinet minister who chaired the landmark Cop26 UN summit in Glasgow, has warned Rishi Sunak that he will now have to find other ways to cut emissions if the UK is to meet its international climate obligations, following last week’s dramatic U-turns on green policy.

Job for Australian ex-PM fuels fears over direction of Murdoch media empire under son Lachlan

admin — Sun, 24 Sep 2023 08:00:17 +0000

Dismay as mogul’s successor nominates Tony Abbott, a climate change sceptic, to board of Fox Corporation

Six years ago the former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott argued global warming may benefit populations, noting that more people died from cold weather than heatwaves.

Major Tory donor says he will not back Sunak due to green U-turn ‘madness’

admin — Sat, 23 Sep 2023 22:13:45 +0000

John Caudwell, who gave party £500,000 before 2019 election, did not rule out supporting Labour

Billionaire John Caudwell, the biggest donor to the Conservative party before the last election, has said he will not back Rishi Sunak after the “madness” of his U-turn on green policies.

Caudwell said he was now thinking about switching to Labour instead.

UK ministers scrap energy efficiency taskforce after six months

admin — Sat, 23 Sep 2023 14:31:24 +0000

Group tasked with overseeing initiative to insulate homes and upgrade boilers was only set up in March

‘The worst kind of culture war’: Tories attack Rishi Sunak’s reversal on net zero

The government’s energy efficiency taskforce, charged with reducing the UK’s energy use by 15% by 2030, has been scrapped months after it was established.

Ban on wood burners threatens British boat-dwellers with winter freeze

admin — Sat, 23 Sep 2023 14:10:07 +0000

A new law allows councils to impose on-the-spot fines for emitting smoke

People who live on narrowboats and barges – many on low incomes – say they may struggle to stay warm this winter because an increasing number of councils are planning to fine people burning wood on moored vessels.

UK one of 32 countries facing European court action over climate stance

admin — Sat, 23 Sep 2023 04:00:17 +0000

Six Portuguese young people claim inadequate policies to tackle global heating breach their human rights

Europe live – latest updates

A key plank of the UK government’s defence against the biggest climate legal action in the world next week has fallen away as a result of the U-turn by the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, on green policies.