Breaking Waves: Ocean News

04/09/2024 - 15:00
Paper dates 82 pottery pieces found in single dig site at between 3,000 and 2,000 years old Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast Groundbreaking archaeological research may have upended the longstanding belief that Aboriginal Australians did not make pottery. A paper published in the Quaternary Science Reviews on Wednesday details the finding of 82 pottery pieces from a single dig site on a Great Barrier Reef island, dates them at between 3,000 and 2,000 years old and determines that the pots were most likely made by Aboriginal people using locally sourced clay and temper. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...
04/09/2024 - 11:40
Scientists from Macquarie University have come up with an innovative way to stop cane toads killing native wildlife by training goannas to avoid eating the deadly amphibians.
04/09/2024 - 11:40
Through the ages, the presence of humans has increased the heterogeneity and complexity of ecosystems and has often had a positive effect on their biodiversity.
04/09/2024 - 10:00
From decomposing waste to building coral reefs, invertebrates provide structure to ecosystems Invertebrate of the year 2024: all hail Earth’s spineless heroes Nominate your UK invertebrate species of the year From the moon jellyfish to the humble garden snail, invertebrates play a central – and often invisible – role in shaping our world. Numbering in their millions, species of insects, arachnids, snails, crustaceans, corals, jellyfish, sponges and echinoderms are among the least understood animals on Earth, often overshadowed by their vertebrate cousins. We asked scientists to tell us about how invertebrates shape our world and structure its ecosystems – and the unforeseen consequences of their disappearance. Continue reading...
04/09/2024 - 09:28
Environmental Protection Agency finalizes rule to strengthen protections for communities living near industrial sites More than 200 of the US’s chemical plants will be mandated to reduce toxic emissions linked to cancer to and better protect communities from hazardous pollution, the Biden administration announced on Tuesday. The long-awaited rule finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will strengthen protections for communities living near industrial sites, especially along the Gulf coast. Continue reading...
04/09/2024 - 09:00
The city’s pioneering step fell flat after a long fight in court, but campaigners – and leading chefs – say they’re still going electric Four years ago, Berkeley made history when it became the first city in the US to ban natural gas hookups in new buildings. It was a natural step for the famously progressive California community, which was an early adopter of curbside recycling in the 1970s, banned styrofoam in 1988, and more recently led the charge to outlaw single-use packaging and plastics. Continue reading...
04/09/2024 - 08:46
Kremlin official warns of more difficult days ahead after towns and cities overwhelmed by major rivers swollen by snowmelt Russia and Kazakhstan have ordered more than 100,000 people to evacuate after swiftly melting snow swelled rivers beyond bursting point in the worst flooding in the area for at least 70 years. The deluge of meltwater overwhelmed many settlements in the Ural mountains, Siberia and areas of Kazakhstan close to rivers such as the Ural and Tobol, which local officials said had risen by metres in a matter of hours to the highest levels ever recorded. Continue reading...
04/09/2024 - 08:21
Ben van Beurden says company is undervalued in UK and US investors are ‘more positive’ about fossil fuels Business live – latest updates Shell’s former chief executive has stoked fears that the oil company will quit the London Stock Exchange in favour of a New York listing because US investors are “more positive” about fossil fuels. Ben van Beurden used his first public interview since stepping down in 2021 to echo concerns that the £180bn company is “massively undervalued” by the UK market compared with its US listed rivals. Continue reading...
04/09/2024 - 06:30
Weak government climate policies violate fundamental human rights, the European court of human rights has ruled. In a landmark decision on one of three major climate cases, the first such ruling by an international court, the ECHR raised judicial pressure on governments to stop filling the atmosphere with gases that make extreme weather more violent. The court’s top bench ruled that Switzerland had violated the rights of a group of older Swiss women to family life Human rights violated by inaction on climate, ECHR rules in landmark case Continue reading...
04/09/2024 - 06:00
While the ecosystem is thriving off the coast of Argentina, the proliferation of salmon farms in Chile’s waters is threatening marine life, say critics A rocky path, strewn with thick tree roots, leads from a dirt road down to a small green hut overlooking the choppy waters of the Beagle Channel, a strait between Chile and Argentina. The shack is home to Diane Mendez and her family but doubles as Alama Yagan, one of nine restaurants in the fishing village of Puerto Almanza. The village, in Argentinian Tierra del Fuego, has become a foodie haven, and the final stop on the king crab route, a trail that starts in the provincial capital Ushuaia, 45 miles to the east. But things could have been different. Continue reading...