Former energy officials raise alarm about tariffs, cuts and other policies creating uncertainty in geothermal industry
Geothermal is one of the most promising clean energy sources in the US, providing 24/7 renewable power that could meet rising energy demand from AI datacentres. But former Department of Energy officials are alarmed that Donald Trump is fumbling its potential.
Compared with other clean energy sources such as solar and wind, geothermal enjoys rare bipartisan support. The US energy secretary, Chris Wright, has praised the technology, calling it “an awesome resource that’s under our feet”. And Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act preserved tax credits for geothermal.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
07/29/2025 - 07:30
07/29/2025 - 06:00
Developing snorkelling trails is part of my job, but I never tire of the teeming underwater life and seeing some of the least crowded parts of Britain’s coast
People always ask me: isn’t it too cold to snorkel in Scotland? And I reply that while it’s obviously much cooler than it would be in Spain, the sea does warm up from May, when the temperature rises from about 9C to as high as 12-15C by August and September.
I go snorkelling in Scotland all year round. I work for the Scottish Wildlife Trust, developing snorkel trails on the Scottish coast and creating guides to the places you can go to enjoy snorkelling in a particular area. But even so, the Wildlife Trust always recommends wearing a wetsuit.
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07/29/2025 - 03:00
Pollution incidents reported between 2014 and 2019 were compared against scientific study that used satellite imagery to count slicks
Just 474 out of more than 90,000 oil slicks from ships around the world were reported to authorities over a five-year period, it can be revealed, and barely any resulted in any punishment or sanctions.
The figure, obtained from Lloyd’s List by the Guardian and Watershed Investigations, shows the pollution incidents reported between 2014 and 2019, compared against a scientific study using satellite imagery that counted the number of slicks from ships over the same period.
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07/29/2025 - 02:56
Ofwat finds company breached its legal obligations in how it operated its wastewater treatment works
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The water regulator, Ofwat, has ordered Anglian Water to pay £62.8m over failures in managing its wastewater treatment works and network that meant it was unable to cope with sewage flows.
The regulator found that the company, which supplies water to 7 million customers across the east of England and Hartlepool, “failed to operate, maintain and upgrade its wastewater assets adequately”, leading to a breach of its legal obligations.
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07/29/2025 - 02:00
Research shows difficulties ahead for ministers if they are to keep manifesto pledge to extend riverside public access
Campaigners in Devon are calling for a right to the riverbank after finding their local river, the Dart, has 108 separate owners, with an eighth of it owned via offshore companies.
Locals used site visits, angling maps, Companies House records and Land Registry data to find out who owns the River Dart.
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07/29/2025 - 01:03
Independent MP Jacqui Scruby says she saw ‘fresh koala scratchings on trees just metres from clear-felling’ in parts of proposed Great Koala national park
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The Minns government has lost its way on environmental policy, according to the New South Wales opposition, the Greens and a member of the crossbench, after government data revealed a 40% surge in land clearing across the state.
The report is the latest headache for a state government under pressure over conservation concerns, including continued logging in a promised koala park in the state’s north and the failure of a koala translocation project in the state’s south.
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07/28/2025 - 23:01
Government launches licensing round for 52 fossil fuel blocks, potentially undermining a flagship conservation initiative and affecting an estimated 39 million people
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is opening crucial gorilla habitats and pristine forests to bids for oil and gas drilling, with plans to carve up more than half the country into fossil fuel blocks.
The blocks opened for auction cover 124m hectares (306m acres) of land and inland waters described by experts as the “world’s worst place to prospect for oil” because they hold vast amounts of carbon and are home to some of the planet’s most precious wildlife habitats, including endangered lowland gorillas and bonobo.
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07/28/2025 - 19:59
Authorities relocated 80,000 residents from China’s capital after registering rainfall of up to 543 mm in some districts
More than 30 people have been killed by heavy rain and flooding in Beijing and a neighbouring region, state media have reported, as tens of thousands more were evacuated from China’s capital.
State broadcaster CCTV said that as of midnight on Monday, 28 people had died in Beijing’s hard-hit Miyun district and two others in Yanqing district as of midnight. Both are outlying parts of the sprawling city, far from the downtown.
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07/28/2025 - 12:24
Environment secretary says Defra will be launching changes to post-Brexit scheme for sustainable farming
Farmers in England will get new payments for cleaning up the waterways near their land, the environment secretary has said.
Agricultural pollution affects 40% of Britain’s lakes and rivers, as fertiliser and animal waste washes off the land into waterways.
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07/28/2025 - 10:00
Two huge swarms have made themselves at home inside author Pip Harry’s house – but learning to live together revealed bees can be excellent housemates
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As a child, I was allergic to bees. Just one sting on my fingertip could swell my whole arm. I was allergic to most things – dust, cat hair, pollen – and was always clutching an inhaler, sniffling into my sleeve and keeping a safe distance from stinging insects.
As an adult, when my family bought our first house, a mid-century gem nestled in thick bushland on Sydney’s northern beaches, I wasn’t expecting a visit from my former nemesis. But one warm spring day, we heard the unmistakable hum of 20,000 of those honey-producing insects.
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