Breaking Waves: Ocean News https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-waves en Almost all external insulation fitted under Tory scheme needs repair or replacing, report finds https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/almost-all-external-insulation-fitted-under-tory-scheme-needs-repair-or-replacing-repo <p>Homeowners who took advantage of government programmes left with cladding likely to cause damp</p> <p>Almost all the external insulation fitted under the previous government’s energy efficiency scheme was installed so poorly it will have to be repaired or replaced, an investigation has found.</p> <p>Thousands of homeowners who took advantage of the home insulation schemes have been left with incompetently fitted cladding that in some cases is likely to cause damp and mould.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/almost-all-external-insulation-fitted-under-tory-scheme-needs-repair-or-replacing-repo" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Tue, 14 Oct 2025 04:00:11 +0000 admin 101519 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Millions more homes in Great Britain at risk of flooding, investigation finds https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/millions-more-homes-great-britain-risk-flooding-investigation-finds <p>Every constituency projected to be at greater risk, with many areas likely to be uninsurable</p> <ul> <li> <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/13/tenbury-wells-flood-prone-worcestershire-town-abandoned-by-insurers">The flood-prone Worcestershire town being abandoned by insurers</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/14/protecting-home-flood-defence-doors-drains-paving">Doors, drains and paving perils: protecting your home from flooding</a></p> </li></ul><p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/millions-more-homes-great-britain-risk-flooding-investigation-finds" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Tue, 14 Oct 2025 04:00:10 +0000 admin 101520 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Matilda Boseley sports homemade pelican outfit to talk bird of the year on ABC – video https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/matilda-boseley-sports-homemade-pelican-outfit-talk-bird-year-abc-video <p>Guardian Australia's Matilda Boseley, dressed as an Australian pelican, joins ABC News Breakfast to talk bird of the year with Nate Byrne. Boseley highlights the importance of the poll in promoting conservation. 'The point is to appreciate Australian native wildlife,' she says. 'It's fun, it's silly, we're all dressing up, but ultimately it's for a good cause'</p> <ul> <li> <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2025/oct/06/australian-bird-of-the-year-2025-vote-now">Australian bird of the year poll: last day to vote for your favourite</a></p> </li></ul><p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/matilda-boseley-sports-homemade-pelican-outfit-talk-bird-year-abc-video" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 13 Oct 2025 23:35:55 +0000 admin 101518 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org It took just 60 years for the red fox, one of Australia’s most devastating predators, to colonise the continent | Sean Tomlinson and Damien Fordham for the Conversation https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/it-took-just-60-years-red-fox-one-australia-s-most-devastating-predators-colonise-cont <p>The rapid spread of the invasive species offers clues to how we might prevent future extinctions of native animals</p> <p>To a newly arrived red fox, the abundant rolling grasslands and swamps of Wadawurrung Country, around what is now called Port Phillip Bay in Victoria, must have seemed like a predator’s paradise.</p> <p>This landscape was filled with small native marsupials and birds, and free of European wolves or bears that usually kept fox numbers in check.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/it-took-just-60-years-red-fox-one-australia-s-most-devastating-predators-colonise-cont" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 13 Oct 2025 23:01:28 +0000 admin 101517 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org ‘Dismal’ health of world’s forests is threat to humanity, report warns https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/dismal-health-world-s-forests-threat-humanity-report-warns <p>Financial institutions pouring money into land clearance and undermining efforts to stop destruction, says Climate Focus</p> <p>Global forest health has plunged to “dismal” levels and threatens the wellbeing of humanity, warns <a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/resources/forest-declaration-assessment-2025">a damning report</a> that highlights how financial systems are pouring money into land clearance and undermining efforts to reduce destruction.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/dismal-health-world-s-forests-threat-humanity-report-warns" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 13 Oct 2025 23:01:03 +0000 admin 101516 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Carmakers chose to cheat to sell cars rather than comply with emissions law, ‘dieselgate’ trial told https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/carmakers-chose-cheat-sell-cars-rather-comply-emissions-law-dieselgate-trial-told <p>Mercedes, Ford, Renault, Nissan and Peugeot/Citroën face group action in which damages could exceed £6bn</p> <p>Car manufacturers decided they would rather cheat to prioritise “customer convenience” and sell cars than comply with the law on deadly pollutants, the first day of the largest group action trial in English legal history has been told.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/carmakers-chose-cheat-sell-cars-rather-comply-emissions-law-dieselgate-trial-told" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 13 Oct 2025 14:48:51 +0000 admin 101515 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Earth’s climate just crossed a line we can’t ignore https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/earth-s-climate-just-crossed-line-we-can-t-ignore <p>Humanity has reached the first Earth system tipping point, the widespread death of warm-water coral reefs, marking the beginning of irreversible planetary shifts. As global temperatures move beyond 1.5°C, the world risks cascading crises such as ice sheet melt, Amazon rainforest dieback, and ocean current collapse. Scientists from the University of Exeter warn that these interconnected tipping points could transform the planet unless urgent, systemic action triggers “positive tipping points,” like rapid renewable energy adoption.</p> Mon, 13 Oct 2025 14:18:19 +0000 admin 101514 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Greenpeace threatens to sue crown estate for driving up cost of offshore wind https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/greenpeace-threatens-sue-crown-estate-driving-cost-offshore-wind <p>Environmental group accuses king’s property management company of ‘milking for profit’ its monopoly ownership of seabed</p> <p>Greenpeace is threatening to sue King Charles’s property management company, accusing it of exploiting its monopoly ownership of the seabed.</p> <p>The environmental lobby group alleges the crown estate has driven up costs for wind power developers and boosted its own profits, as well as the royal household’s income, due to the “aggressive” way it auctions seabed rights.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/greenpeace-threatens-sue-crown-estate-driving-cost-offshore-wind" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 13 Oct 2025 13:24:42 +0000 admin 101513 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Microplastics are brought into the wilderness on hiking shoes and gear, study shows https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/microplastics-are-brought-wilderness-hiking-shoes-and-gear-study-shows <p>Research comparing Adirondack mountain lakes in New York suggests foot traffic is significant source of pollution</p> <p>Hiking shoes and outdoor gear are likely a significant source of microplastic pollution in the wilderness, <a href="https://adkh2h.org/wp-content/uploads/Return-to-Lake-Tear-Expedition-Report-September-2025.pdf">new research</a> that checked for the pernicious material in several Adirondack mountain lakes in upstate New York suggests.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/microplastics-are-brought-wilderness-hiking-shoes-and-gear-study-shows" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 13 Oct 2025 12:00:51 +0000 admin 101512 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Climate investment is only growth opportunity of 21st century, says leading economist https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/climate-investment-only-growth-opportunity-21st-century-says-leading-economist <p>Lord Stern says fossil-fuelled growth is futile as the damage it causes ends in economic self-destruction</p> <p>Investment in climate action is the economic growth story of the 21st century, while growth fuelled by fossil fuels is futile because the damage it causes ends in self-destruction, the economist Nicholas Stern has said.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/climate-investment-only-growth-opportunity-21st-century-says-leading-economist" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Mon, 13 Oct 2025 10:17:37 +0000 admin 101511 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org