Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Echidna mothers change their pouch microbiome to protect tiny ‘pink jelly bean’ puggles, new research finds

admin — Thu, 15 May 2025 15:00:35 +0000

Egg-laying monotremes have no nipples, so young rub their beaks against ‘milk patch’ to get milk from mother’s skin

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When echidna mothers nurse their young, known as puggles, the microbiome of their pouch changes to protect their babies in their first weeks of life, new research has found.

RSPCA Victoria warns surging animal cruelty against horses cannot be investigated without more funding

admin — Thu, 15 May 2025 15:00:33 +0000

Organisation receives $2.3m from the Victorian government but has projected operation costs of $10.8m this year

The RSPCA has warned it may not be able to investigate animal cruelty complaints against horses unless it receives more funding, as it reports a surge in the number of horses subject to cruelty complaints in the past 12 months.

Half-yearly loss of almost $15m for NSW native forest logging shows industry future shaky, conservationists say

admin — Thu, 15 May 2025 15:00:33 +0000

Former independent MP accuses division of throwing ‘good money after bad only to see our native wildlife suffer’

How 'forever chemicals' have seeped into almost everything – video

admin — Thu, 15 May 2025 13:21:37 +0000

Pfas are a group of thousands of chemicals that are used for their non-stick and water-resistant properties. They are often refered to as 'forever chemicals' because they can take thousands of years to break down. Pfas are being found in so many everyday items that it's starting to feel like they are everywhere - non-stick frying pans, waterproof mascaras, stain-resistant clothing, packaging for takeaway food items. Pfas are even in our food, our drinking water and in the rain.

The US buried millions of gallons of wartime nuclear waste – Doge cuts could wreck the cleanup

admin — Thu, 15 May 2025 13:00:12 +0000

Hanford made the plutonium for US atomic bombs, and its radioactive waste must be dealt with. Enter Elon Musk

In the bustling rural city of Richland, in south-eastern Washington, the signs of a nuclear past are all around.

A small museum explains its role in the Manhattan Project and its “singular mission – [to] develop the world’s first atomic bomb before the enemy might do the same”. The city’s high school sports team is still known as the Bombers, with a logo that consists of the letter R set with a mushroom cloud.

A seadragon and flushing worms: Environmental Photography award winners – in pictures

admin — Thu, 15 May 2025 11:34:29 +0000

Winning images from the 2025 Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation Environmental Photography award, selected from 10,000 images submitted globally. The contest aims to reward photographers who put their creativity to good use in raising awareness of the importance of environmental protection

South Korea’s female freedivers: TV has made stars of the haenyeo but what is their real story?

admin — Thu, 15 May 2025 08:00:20 +0000

The craze for Korean culture has brought fame to the ‘women of the sea’, but not always to their benefit. Now they want to reclaim their stories to inspire a new generation

Labour has denounced me as ‘deeply misleading’ on its planning reform. I wish that were true | George Monbiot

admin — Thu, 15 May 2025 05:00:17 +0000

Even it now admits that brick by brick, these proposals will wreck habitats. This could be Starmer’s most damaging mistake yet

The precedent is uncanny, and the failure to learn from it downright mystifying. Keir Starmer is rushing gladly towards the catastrophe Boris Johnson inflicted on himself in 2020. Had he set out to stymie Labour’s chances of re-election, he couldn’t be doing it better.

MP to launch bill to target superyachts, private jets and fossil fuel producers

admin — Thu, 15 May 2025 05:00:16 +0000

Bill would force major polluters to pay into fund for flood defences and home insulation – but has little chance of becoming law

Fossil fuel companies and their shareholders and owners of superyachts and private jets should have to pay into a fund for flood defences and home insulation, according to a private member’s bill to be launched on Thursday.

Endangered New Zealand bird caught fighting ‘at risk’ reptile in rare footage

admin — Thu, 15 May 2025 04:47:53 +0000

A video shows the large flightless takahē bird in hot pursuit of the tuatara – but the tables soon turn

Two of New Zealand’s most rare and beloved animals – a large flightless takahē bird and an ancient tuatara reptile – have been captured chasing and nipping at one another during a bush-floor melee.