Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Regulator investigates Thames Water over delayed environmental schemes

admin — Wed, 12 Feb 2025 08:41:21 +0000

Ofwat’s enforcement case into whether company breached obligations follows Guardian investigation

Thames Water is being investigated by the water regulator for England and Wales, Ofwat, after it delayed environmental improvement schemes.

England’s wildlife watchdog failing to protect crucial sites, say campaigners

admin — Wed, 12 Feb 2025 07:00:21 +0000

In three years Natural England has designated just two new SSSIs, which protect areas from development

The government’s wildlife watchdog for England is failing to halt the decline of nature after a sharp fall in the number of new places given top protection, according to campaigners.

Britons urged to join hunt for rare daffodil breeds amid extinction fears

admin — Wed, 12 Feb 2025 06:00:19 +0000

RHS is asking people to look for under-threat varieties such as the Sussex Bonfire and Mrs William Copeland

Britons have been asked to hunt for rare pink, white and “bonfire yellow” daffodils in order to save threatened varieties from extinction.

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), which is running the daffodil count, is hoping to build a map of the spring blooms. It is asking people to log where daffodils are flowering in their area along with basic information such as colour, type and height.

Solomon Islands landowners seek compensation over catastrophic oil spill

admin — Wed, 12 Feb 2025 00:22:57 +0000

Claim over the 2019 Rennell Island disaster, which saw more than 300 tonnes of fuel leak into the water, filed in the Solomons High court

The companies allegedly responsible for the one of the worst environmental disasters in Solomon Islands’ history are being sued over the catastrophic oil spill that caused harm to an ecologically sensitive island.

The claim over the 2019 Rennell Island disaster was filed in the Solomons high court last week, just days before the statute of limitations expired.

Many birds-of-paradise species emit light through their plumage, study finds

admin — Wed, 12 Feb 2025 00:01:12 +0000

Researchers found that most birds-of-paradise are biofluorescent – meaning they absorb light through their bodies

Birds-of-paradise are known for their bright and colourful plumage, but it turns out they are even more dazzling than previously thought.

Researchers have found 37 of the 45 species show biofluorescence – in other words, patches of their plumage or other body parts absorb UV or blue light, and emit light at lower frequencies.

Heathrow to pledge to use UK steel and boost growth in third runway proposal

admin — Tue, 11 Feb 2025 22:00:08 +0000

Airport’s chief executive to formally spell out expansion plans in speech at British Steel plant in Scunthorpe

Heathrow will submit third runway proposals to the government this summer, pledging to use UK steel and boost growth, the airport has confirmed.

Its chief executive, Thomas Woldbye, will formally spell out plans for a third runway to follow a multibillion-pound upgrade of the London airport’s existing terminals and facilities, in a speech at the British Steel plant in Scunthorpe on Wednesday.

Tenants demand protections as LA fires exacerbate housing crisis: ‘Huge source of stress’

admin — Tue, 11 Feb 2025 14:00:05 +0000

Renters are not only facing an escalation in rent prices but also pressure to evict apartments from landlords

Wendy López, a single mother of three from Guatemala, received an eviction order the day before wildfires destroyed Pacific Palisades, where she worked as a caregiver for people with disabilities.

Seafood firm offers bounty to catch 27,000 escaped salmon off Norway

admin — Tue, 11 Feb 2025 12:40:12 +0000

Mowi to give fishers £36 per fish after loss from farm in what campaigners say is a ‘disaster for wild salmon’

The global seafood company Mowi is offering a bounty to fishers who catch escaped salmon after an estimated 27,000 fish went missing from a farm off the Norwegian coast in what campaigners said was a “disaster for wild salmon”.

The world’s largest farmed salmon producer is offering a reward of 500 kroner (£36) per salmon caught after it said a quarter of its 105,000 salmon population escaped from a cage in Troms, north-west Norway.

Rangers corral feral pigs thought to have been released in Cairngorms

admin — Tue, 11 Feb 2025 12:03:53 +0000

Animals suspected of being illegally left in ‘extremely harsh’ environment near where lynx were found last month

A herd of feral pigs believed to have been illegally released in the Cairngorms have been successfully corralled by estate workers who are now attempting to trap them.

The animals were first spotted near the Uath Lochans area, close to the village of Inch and only 5 miles from where four lynx were illegally released last month.

Microplastics can block blood vessels in mice brains, researchers find

admin — Tue, 11 Feb 2025 11:00:55 +0000

Scientists observe decreased motor function in rodents exposed to microplastics

Microplastics can move through mice brains and block blood vessels, essentially mimicking blood clots that could potentially be fatal or otherwise disrupt brain function.