Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Global conference told benefits should not come at expense of well-protected environments The energy transition must not be used as a fresh excuse to plunder Indigenous territories, delegates at a groundbreaking global conference on phasing out fossil fuels were warned. High oil prices and war in the Middle East have boosted the attraction of renewable technologies in many parts of the world, but the economic, security and climate benefits should not come at the expense of well-protected natural environments, Indigenous leaders said at the weekend. Continue reading...

After her sister died, Victoria Bennett left Cumbria for the remote Scottish archipelago, where she learned to go with the ebb and flow of life It was during her first winter in Orkney that the nature writer Victoria Bennett experienced the joy of baying into the sea during a storm. “There’s something very physically releasing about howling,” she says. “It’s quite animalistic and powerful.” On a stormy beach, when waves are crashing on the rocks, “you can really let rip”, she says. “The sound just disappears.” Until that moment, Bennett had been struggling with her decision to move to the remote archipelago off the north coast of Scotland. “I was beginning to feel like I was in a fight against the sea, and against the weather.” Continue reading...

Extreme weather likely to continue after devastating homes and endangering millions in US south and midwest At least two people are dead after a very powerful tornado struck northern Texas on Saturday night, as extreme weather continued to devastate homes and put millions across the south and midwestern US at risk, with wildfires also raging on in parts of Georgia. Officials from Wise county in Texas said the storm reached the area at around 10pm and caused significant damage across multiple neighborhoods. In addition to the confirmed deaths, six people were treated or transported by emergency responders to be treated for storm-related injuries. Continue reading...

Researchers find ‘alarming’ effect on fertility across global species from simultaneous exposures Simultaneous exposure to toxic chemicals and climate change’s impacts likely generates an additive or synergistic effect that increases reproductive harm, and may contribute to the broad global drop in fertility, new peer-reviewed research finds. The review of scientific literature considers how endocrine-disrupting chemicals, often found in plastic, coupled with climate change’s effects, such as heat stress, are each linked to reductions in fertility and fecundity across global species – including in humans, wildlife and invertebrates. Continue reading...