Seeds from the last toromiro, unique to remote Easter Island, were taken away in the 1960s. Now, after a crucial discovery gave hope for its survival, it is making a return
In the Mataveri Otai nursery on the island of Rapa Nui, Estefany Paté cradles a bag of soil with a 10cm sprout like it is a baby. She caresses its leaves. “It’s been so emotional to have it here,” says Paté, who works for Chile’s National Forest Corporation (CONAF).
“It was here before us; it was here before the moai,” she says, referring to the megalithic statues that dot the island. “It has a sentimental value.”
Continue reading...
Breaking Waves: Ocean News
02/19/2025 - 05:29
Bank is criticised for pushing climate targets to 2050 and watering down environmental goals
HSBC has been criticised after it delayed key parts of its climate goals by 20 years, while watering down environmental targets in a new long-term bonus plan for its chief executive, Georges Elhedery, that could be worth up to 600% of his salary.
The London-headquartered lender said it was reviewing its net zero emissions policies and targets – which are split between its own operations and those of the clients it finances – after realising its clients and suppliers had “seen more challenges” in cutting their carbon footprint than expected.
Continue reading...
02/19/2025 - 05:00
Analysis of UK BioBank data shows importance of factors including living conditions and smoking, say experts
The environment is about 10 times more important than genes in explaining why some people have a higher risk of an early death than others, research has suggested.
The study is based on an analysis of information from almost 500,000 participants in the UK BioBank database, including answers to questionnaires as well as data on deaths and diseases that occurred after people enrolled.
Continue reading...
02/19/2025 - 01:01
What is the point of this government?
Sign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are published
Get all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and prints
Continue reading...
02/19/2025 - 00:00
Researchers say study, which involved training bream to follow a specific diver for treats, could change the way we treat fish
Wild fish can tell people apart – at least when they are wearing different-coloured outfits – researchers have found in a study they say could shift our relationship with the creatures.
It is known that certain domestic animals – or those that live close to humans – can tell one person from another, a skill researchers say could be tied to particular humans being more inclined to share resources with them or, conversely, pose a danger. However, such discrimination is less well known in wild animals.
Continue reading...
02/18/2025 - 21:22
A group of 157 animals that appear to be false killer whales have stranded, according to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania, with initial observations showing 136 animals were still alive on Wednesday morning. Veterinarians and conservationists have responded to the mass beaching, but experts warn inaccessibility and poor conditions may limit their ability to help
More than 150 whales stranded on beach in remote north-western Tasmania
‘I closed my eyes to brace for impact’: the man who escaped a whale’s mouth
Continue reading...
02/18/2025 - 19:01
Study found electric vehicles and batteries added largest amount to country’s clean-energy economy
Clean energy contributed a record 10% of China’s gross domestic product in 2024, an analysis has found.
With sales and investments worth 13.6tn yuan (£1.5tn; $1.9tn), the sector has now overtaken real estate sales in value.
Continue reading...
02/18/2025 - 18:23
Attempt to refloat false killer whales was unsuccessful, forcing wildlife authorities to make difficult decision for safety and ‘welfare reasons’
Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
Tasmanian authorities plan to euthanise 90 surviving false killer whales in a group of 157 animals that have stranded on a beach near Arthur River, on the state’s remote north-west coast.
Marine conservation experts including wildlife veterinarians arrived at the site on Wednesday morning, confirming 90 animals were still alive.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...
02/18/2025 - 18:01
Growth in 2022 and 2023 was driven by soaring gas prices caused by Russia’s invasion, but 2024 saw sales slump
Heat pump sales fell 23% in Europe last year, industry data shows, reverting to the level they were at before the war in Ukraine and slowing the shift away from gas-burning boilers.
Demand for clean heating devices fell by about half in Belgium and Germany, and by 39% in France, according to data for 13 countries that cover 85% of the European heat pump market.
Continue reading...
World Ocean Explorer Wins Gold Medal Serious Simulation Award from Serious Play Annual International Competition
10/26/2023 - 14:35
For Immediate Release October 19, 2023
Sedgwick, Maine USA World Ocean Explorer, a 3D virtual aquarium and educational simulation, was recently cited for excellence, winning a Gold Medal Award in the 2023 International Serious Play Awards Program.
World Ocean Explorer is an innovative 3D virtual aquarium designed for educational exploration of the world’s oceans. With interactive exhibits and a lobby space, visitors can immerse themselves in realistic marine environments, including a DEEP SEA exhibit funded by Schmidt Ocean Institute, showcasing unprecedented deep-sea discoveries off Australia. Targeted at 3rd graders and beyond, this immersive experience offers a range of perspectives on the ocean environment and can be explored through guided tours or user-controlled interfaces. Visit DEEP SEA at worldoceanexplorer.org/deep-sea-aquarium.html.
Serious Play Conference brings together professionals who are exploring the use of game-based learning, sharing their experience, and working together to shape the future of training and education. For more information on Serious Play Award Program visit seriousplayconf.com/international-serious-play-award-programs.
World Ocean Explorer is a transformative virtual aquarium designed to deepen understanding of the world ocean and amplify connection for young people worldwide. Organized around the principles of Ocean Literacy and the Next Gen Science Standards, World Ocean Explorer brings the wonder and knowledge of ocean species and systems to students in formal and informal classrooms, absolutely free to anyone with a good Internet connection. As an advocate for the ocean through communications, World Ocean Observatory believes there is no better investment in the future of the sustainable ocean than through a new approach to educational engagement that excites, informs, and motivates students to explore the wonders of our marine world and to understand the pervasive connection and implication for our future, inherent in the protection and conservation of all aspects of our ocean world.
World Ocean Explorer presents an astonishing 3-dimensional simulated aquarium visit, organized to reveal the wonders of undersea life, with layers of detailed data and information to augment the emotional connection made to the astonishing beauty and complexity of the dynamic ocean. Within each of the virtual exhibits, students visit exemplary theme-based sites with myriad opportunities to understand the larger perspectives of scientific knowledge as organized and visualized to dramatize the impact and change on ocean life as a result of natural and human-generated events. Through immersion among displays, mixed media and 3D models, the experience of an aquarium visit will be brought into classrooms or home school environments as a free, accessible, always available opportunity for teaching and learning. All of this will be available to a world audience without physical limitation or cost. World Ocean Explorer, a project of the World Ocean Observatory, receives support from the Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation, Visual Solutions Lab, the Climate Change Institute, the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, and The Fram Museum Oslo. To learn more about the current and future exhibits of World Ocean Explorer, visit worldoceanexplorer.org.
media contact
Trisha Badger, Managing Director, World Ocean Observatory | [email protected] +12077011069
Read more »
