Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Veterinarians and conservationists respond to mass beaching, but experts warn inaccessibility and poor conditions may limit ability to help Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast More than 150 whales have stranded on a beach near Arthur River, on Tasmania’s remote north-west coast. A group of 157 animals that appear to be false killer whales have stranded, according to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

Using mathematical modeling, researchers have discovered that rate-induced tipping, which can happen if an environment changes too fast, can happen even in Daisyworld, a simple daisy-filled ecological model. If the planet heats up or cools down too quickly, all the daisies will go extinct, even if they would otherwise have been able to survive just fine under those conditions. This discovery mirrors similar observations found in other models and observed in real-life ecosystems.

Demonstrators have protested against an expedited cleanup process that would involve using a beloved beach as a toxic waste sorting site This weekend, more than a hundred demonstrators protested against a new plan by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to use a local beach as a toxic waste sorting site, to process debris from the Palisades fire. They waved signs saying “Save Our Beaches” and “Sort Toxics at the Burn Site” as they walked up and down the path along Will Rogers state beach in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, just outside Los Angeles. Their message? Wildfire debris isn’t just ash – it’s poison. “Asbestos, heavy metals, dioxins and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons will not remain contained,” a petition circulated by a local resident, Ashley Oelsen, says. “Toxic contaminants from the wildfire debris could leach into the soil and the waterways. Onshore winds will undoubtedly carry these hazardous particulates, compromising the air quality where people live, work and play. The risk to our ocean’s health is just as alarming.” Continue reading...

‘Make polluters pay’ laws, led by blue states AGs, and accountability suits will be a major front for climate litigation for the coming years Donald Trump’s re-election has “turbocharged” climate accountability efforts including laws which aim to force greenhouse gas emitters to pay damages for fueling dangerous global warming, say activists. These “make polluters pay” laws, led by blue states’ attorneys general, and climate accountability lawsuits will be a major front for climate litigation in the coming months and years. They are being challenged by red states and the fossil fuel industry, which are also fighting against accountability-focused climate lawsuits waged by governments and youth environmentalists. Continue reading...