Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Australian nature: if our laws don’t radically change, environmental degradation will continue | Adam Morton

admin — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 19:00:09 +0000

Australia has a long history of taking its unique wildlife and landscapes for granted, but what has happened in this term of parliament is remarkable

Trump has brought much-needed attention to a site of great tragedy: the Gulf of Mexico | Greg Grandin

admin — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 16:21:56 +0000

Environmental disasters have plagued the water body for decades. Now the region is thrust in the global spotlight

The enormous semi-enclosed bay, its waters flanked by the Florida and Yucatán peninsulas and partially blockaded by Cuba, has been called the Golfo de México for centuries, a name that first appeared on a world map in 1550. And for centuries the name bothered no one.

Greenland ice sheet cracking more rapidly than ever, study shows

admin — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 16:06:12 +0000

Crevasses increasing in size and depth in response to climate breakdown, Durham University researchers find

The Greenland ice sheet – the second largest body of ice in the world – is cracking more rapidly than ever before as a response to climate breakdown, a study has found.

Researchers used 8,000 three-dimensional surface maps from high-resolution commercial satellite imagery to assess the evolution of cracks in the surface of the ice sheet between 2016 and 2021.

Levels of microplastics in human brains may be rapidly rising, study suggests

admin — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 16:00:06 +0000

Research looking at tissue from postmortems between 1997 and 2024 finds upward trend in contamination

Sign up for the Detox Your Kitchen newsletter on avoiding potentially harmful chemicals in your food

The exponential rise in microplastic pollution over the past 50 years may be reflected in increasing contamination in human brains, according to a new study.

Republicans move to repeal lead limits imposed by Biden-era rules

admin — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 15:00:21 +0000

US government would be prohibited from ever mandating lead pipe replacement or lowering lead limits in water

Republicans in Congress and the Trump administration are attempting to repeal the Biden administration’s groundbreaking rules that require all the country’s lead pipes to be replaced over the next 13 years and lower the limit on lead in water.

‘No idea what he’s talking about’: Dutton’s nuclear plan could raise – not cut – electricity bills, experts warn

admin — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 14:00:48 +0000

Opposition leader claims a 44% cost reduction compared with Labor’s plan would be passed onto Australian household bills, but not everyone agrees

A manatee: Imagine eating lettuce under water | Helen Sullivan

admin — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 14:00:48 +0000

Manatees don’t have incisors or canines, only ‘cheek teeth’. No hair, only whiskers. Algae growing on their backs. Everything is gentle

A manatee looks like every animal I have ever tried to make with play-dough: roll a big piece into a sausage, flatten a bit on either side with your forefingers and a bit at the end with your thumb. Hey presto. A manatee also happens to be the grey of all play-dough colours mixed together.

Why are gen Zs deserting garden centres? Maybe they’re more into planting than shopping | Claire Ratinon

admin — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 13:09:31 +0000

They can be joyful and important social spaces, but a new generation of customers runs a mile from the shelves of plastic and chemicals

Study finds microplastic contamination in 99% of seafood samples

admin — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 12:00:42 +0000

The peer-reviewed study detected microplastics in 180 of 182 samples comprising five types of fish and pink shrimp

How Trump is targeting wind and solar energy – and delighting big oil

admin — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 11:00:39 +0000

Critics say Trump is using every presidential power possible against clean power in sharp turn after Biden investments created jobs

For several years, Republicans accused Joe Biden of waging a “war on energy” even as the Untied States drilled more oil and gas than at any time in its history. Now, a more tangible assault is gathering pace under Donald Trump – aimed squarely at wind, solar and other cleaner forms of power.