Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Island’s reservoirs hit record lows even before tourist season starts as Cypriots are warned ‘every drop counts’ Europe live – latest updates Authorities in Cyprus have urged residents to reduce their water intake by 10% – the equivalent of two minutes’ use of running water each day – as Europe’s most south-easterly nation grapples with a once-in-a century drought. The appeal, announced alongside a €31m (£27m) package of emergency measures, comes as reservoirs hit record lows with little prospect of replenishment before the tourist season starts. Continue reading...

Analysis reveals big regional disparities as critics say Labour’s proposed levy could slow uptake of EVs Drivers in the south-west of England would pay nearly four times as much as those in London as a result of Labour’s mileage-based tax on electric cars, according to analysis of official data. The 3p-a-mile road charge, announced in the autumn budget and due to take effect in 2028, is expected to raise £1.1bn a year, partly offsetting the loss of fuel duty revenues as drivers switch from petrol to electric vehicles. Continue reading...

Wetter winters are set to become the norm, so unless we’re farmers or flood victims, we need some coping strategies to keep our spirits up There’s a lot of complaining about the weather currently and I get it, it’s wet. Here in York the river is getting above itself yet again and the council has fenced off large puddles in the park for health and safety reasons, to widespread mockery. Things currently taking in water include the letterbox (yesterday the postman told me with a manic laugh that he was leaving for the Philippines), the hens, my shoes and our car, which is growing moss around the windows. On the inside. But does it merit all the moaning? I don’t mean farmers, for whom it’s a catastrophe, flood victims or the poor folk of Cardinham, North Wyke and Astwood Bank, who endured a biblical 40 days straight of rain. They’re entitled to rend their garments and corral their pets into boats, two by two. But maybe the rest of us, just dealing with it being “quite wet”, could get a grip. When life gives you rain, make rain-ade (do not drink rain; it’s full of forever chemicals)! After all – OK, not the cheeriest thought – this could be as good as it gets in future, given accelerating climate breakdown. At the very least, these wet patches will probably happen more often, so we need coping strategies. Here are mine. Continue reading...

Some districts are adding programs in clean energy and sustainability, while one state is infusing environmental lessons into culinary education and construction On one end of the classroom, high school juniors examined little green sprouts – future baby carrots, sprigs of romaine lettuce – poking out of the soil of a drip irrigation system they built a few weeks prior. On the opposite end of the room, a model of a hydropower plant showed students how the movement of water can stimulate electrical currents. In this class in South Carolina’s Greenville county school district, students primarily learn about one topic: renewable energy. Continue reading...