Breaking Waves: Ocean News

We got our first feline hero in 1971 when Matthew Flinders’ heartfelt tribute to his pet Trim was discovered In 1872, the city of Melbourne hosted its first cat show one year after London’s Crystal Palace debuted its first show. By 1885, “cats were seldom treated very well” in Australia, according to a writer in the Victorian Almanac that year – but they were pleased to report that Australians were starting to appreciate them more. The colonial newspapers were also beginning to report on a curious fad: “the cult of the cat”, which saw the humble moggie, once viewed as a back-alley scavenger or nondescript companion of women and children, transformed into a fashionable commodity in places like London. Cat breeding became a popular and lucrative pastime for mainly upper- and middle-class women and men, with fancy breeds, like Persians, selling for hefty sums. As the cat economy picked up, British newspapers were filled with “pages of cat business” as cat-loving contributors shared regular updates on litters, feline purchases and ribbons acquired at prestigious shows. Continue reading...

The next great climate divide will be between countries that have the resources to adapt and those that don’t This summer, much of the media’s attention has focused on record temperatures across Europe and the United States. Television coverage has been filled with familiar images: heat maps shaded deep red, schools closing, rail lines slowing, wildfires spreading and emergency rooms treating growing numbers of people with heat-related illnesses. Public officials have responded with equally familiar advice: stay indoors, drink plenty of water and, if possible, turn on the air conditioning. Continue reading...

Oil giant has denied involvement, but climate activists are closely watching court case against Israeli private investigator for answers A group of American climate activists are closely watching a US court case that could reveal who hired hackers to target their inboxes a decade ago. In 2015, a set of explosive media reports revealed that ExxonMobil’s own scientists determined as early as 1982 that the extraction and burning of fossil fuels caused the climate crisis – but Exxon went on to fund climate denial campaigns anyway. The reports prompted attorneys general to investigate the company. Continue reading...

Vulnerable people more at risk as research finds only half of local authority plans require cooling strategies England risks constructing a new generation of “death trap” buildings that can fatally overheat unless the government tightens standards and prioritises climate safeguards, planning experts have said. Fears are growing about the plight of vulnerable people in heatwaves, with research this week suggesting that 2,700 people had died in the May and June heatwaves in England and Wales. Yet only about half of local plans being drawn up by councils and local authorities require new buildings to have a cooling or ventilation strategy to prevent overheating, according to findings from the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA). Continue reading...