Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Humpback whale song and human language are more similar than you might think. Here’s why

admin — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 19:00:21 +0000

Researchers have found a pattern indicating certain ‘words’ are used more often than others – but humans won’t be speaking whale any time soon

Starmer pledges to ‘build, baby, build’ as green groups criticise nuclear plans

admin — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 17:30:03 +0000

Greenpeace says PM has ‘swallowed industry spin whole’ after plans unveiled to expand in England and Wales

Keir Starmer has channelled his inner Donald Trump and promised to “build, baby, build” in his push for more nuclear power stations, despite warnings from environmental groups about the industry’s record for soaring costs and long delays.

Trump interior department directive raises fears for national monuments

admin — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 17:10:14 +0000

Conservation groups say policy would allow Doug Burgum to redraw boundaries of protected areas to boost fossil fuels

The US interior department has raised fears among conservationist groups about how national monuments will be affected in its transformation to support the Trump administration’s pro-fossil fuel agenda.

Council set to drop Essex wildlife site from housing plan after eight-year fight

admin — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 16:52:17 +0000

Middlewick Ranges in Colchester considered to be of national importance for nightingales and acid grassland

A council is proposing to remove the second-best place for nightingales in the UK from its local plan for 1,000 new homes, in a win for community campaigners and environmentalists.

Middlewick Ranges, a former Ministry of Defence firing range on the southern edge of Colchester, is set to be dropped from the city council’s allocated housing sites after councillors heeded a growing array of ecological evidence highlighting its national importance for nature.

The Observer view on Heathrow runway: Rachel Reeves is flying in face of dire climate threat | Observer editorial

admin — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 16:51:19 +0000

On almost every level the chancellor’s decision to expand the London airport looks naive, if not foolish

Jeff Bezos fund ends support for climate group amid fears billionaires ‘bowing down’ to Trump

admin — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 12:21:19 +0000

Concerns raised as $10bn Bezos Earth Fund halts funding for Science Based Targets initiative, which monitors companies’ decarbonisation

Jeff Bezos’s $10bn climate and biodiversity fund has halted its funding of one of the world’s most important climate certification organisations, amid broader concerns US billionaires are “bowing down to Trump” and his anti-climate action rhetoric.

Air pollution reduces people’s ability to focus on everyday tasks, study finds

admin — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:27:56 +0000

Even brief exposure to particulate matter found to impede selective attention and emotional recognition

A person’s ability to focus on everyday tasks is affected by short-term exposure to air pollution, a study has found.

Researchers analysed data from cognitive tests completed by 26 participants before and after they were exposed either to high levels of particulate matter (PM) using smoke from a candle, or clean air for an hour.

Trump’s EPA to prioritize AI, lobbyists and staff cuts in ‘mission to traumatize’

admin — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:00:49 +0000

New EPA administrator Lee Zeldin’s pillars pledge to help auto industry and have no mention of the climate crisis

A new and starkly different vision for the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been outlined by the Trump administration – one that involves mass staff cuts, an influx of industry lobbyists and, unusually, the promotion of artificial intelligence as a key agency priority.

Riverford employees to share £1.3m payout as veg box firm’s profits jump

admin — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 07:00:03 +0000

More than 1,000 staff at Devon-based group will get about £1,000 each after profits more than doubled

Employees of Riverford will share in a payout of £1.3m after the organic vegetable box company more than doubled profits last year.

More than 1,000 staff at the Devon-based group, which began making deliveries from an old Citroën in 1993, will receive about £1,000 each as the employee-owned company nearly tripled its annual payout to workers.

Snake catchers find 102 red-bellied black snakes found in a single mulch pile in Sydney – video

admin — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 06:26:05 +0000

Dylan Cooper and Cory Kerewaro from Reptile Relocation Sydney have removed 102 red-bellied black snakes from a single mulch pile on a property in western Sydney. Upon arrival they had expected to remove only four red-bellies which had been seen by the owner of the Horsley Park home. But during summer it can be common for some female snakes to congregate and share the same birthing site