Republican frontrunner vows to put an end to ‘horrible’ wind turbines, pledging to undo yet another key US green policy
Donald Trump has vowed to immediately halt offshore wind energy projects “on day one” of a new term as US president, in his most explicit threat yet to the industry and the latest in a series of promises to undo key aspects of the transition to cleaner energy.
Trump repeated false accusations about wind projects as being lethal to whales during a rally on Saturday in Wildwood, a resort city on New Jersey’s coast, promising to stamp out an industry that has been enthusiastically backed by Joe Biden.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
05/13/2024 - 17:19
05/13/2024 - 14:28
State’s department of fish and wildlife says the brown pelicans are showing signs of malnutrition, but that the cause is still unclear
Hundreds of starving and stranded brown pelicans have turned up along the California coast in recent weeks in what wildlife advocates have described as a “crisis”.
In Newport Beach in southern California, lifeguards came upon two dozen sick pelicans on a pier last week. The Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach, the non-profit caring for the animals, said they had treated more than 100 other birds who were anemic, dehydrated and extremely underweight.
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05/13/2024 - 14:04
The researchers found that birds were more evolutionarily similar on smaller, more isolated islands than on larger, less remote places. The team had expected to find that forested areas had more numerous and more varied species of birds compared to farmland areas. But they were surprised to find that the opposite was true: Areas with farms and human settlements had more species of birds and greater diversity than forested areas.
05/13/2024 - 10:00
The ancient fish were successfully hatched by scientists in Tasmania using two adults and 50 eggs. The Maugean skate is thought to be found only in the vast harbour on the state’s west coast. Numbers have fallen sharply due to the impact of salmon farms, hydro power stations altering upstream river flows, gillnet fishing and rising harbour temperatures due to the climate crisis, studies have found
Politics and science: Tasmanian leaders back salmon farms ‘at all costs’ while researchers work to save endangered Maugean skate
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05/13/2024 - 09:13
To move away from a disposable culture, businesses need robust, efficient reuse systems, argue campaigners
For several months last year, patrons of a Seattle coffee shop called Tailwind Cafe had the option of ordering their americanos and lattes in a returnable metal to-go cup. They could borrow one from Tailwind, go on their way and then at some point – perhaps a few hours later, perhaps on another day that week – return it to the shop, which would clean it and refill it for the next person. If the cup wasn’t returned within 14 days, the customer would be charged a $15 deposit, although even that was ultimately refundable if the cup was returned by the end of 45 days.
But the system quickly ran into trouble. It was “overwhelming” trying to explain the return system to every interested customer, said Tailwind’s head chef, Kayla Tekautz. Many were hesitant to participate after learning that they could only return the cups to Tailwind or the other drop-off location, six miles away. Plus, Tailwind’s QR code reader kept malfunctioning, requiring repeated visits from a mechanic. At the end of last summer, Tailwind quietly ended the scheme. “It just didn’t work,” Tekautz said.
This story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
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05/13/2024 - 09:00
Read more from the DIY Climate Changers, a new series on everyday people’s creative solutions to the climate crisis
Jannine Mancilla, 32, and Nicole Macias, 34, bonded over a shared love of DIY fashion and hand-me-downs, and frustrations with an environmentally destructive industry and a throwaway culture that creates huge amounts of waste. So they came up with a radical idea: asking people to offer up their old clothes – for free. Their Los Angeles clothing swaps have grown from humble origins to “overwhelmingly” popular events that receive hundreds of pounds of clothing donations each month, helping attendees save the planet and keep money in their pockets.
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05/13/2024 - 07:42
British Columbia wildfire service says blaze is burning 2km from Fort Nelson and encourages remaining people to leave
Officials in western Canada were bracing for “volatile wildfire activity” on Monday as an out-of-control blaze, which has already forced the evacuation of thousands, threatened to destroy a northern British Columbia town.
The province’s wildfire service said the blaze was burning just 2km (1.2 miles) north-west of Fort Nelson, which has already seen about 3,500 people evacuated from there after an order to leave was issued on Friday.
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05/13/2024 - 07:23
More than 4,000 species are targeted by traffickers, with illegal trade active in 80% of countries, says Office on Drugs and Crime
More than 4,000 species around the world are being targeted by wildlife traffickers, causing “untold harm upon nature”, a UN report has warned.
Wildlife crime is driven by demand for medicine, pets, bushmeat, ornamental plants and trophies. Out of all the mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians seized, 40% were on the red list of threatened or near-threatened species, the report found.
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05/13/2024 - 02:00
Common infections will kill millions if drug resistance through misuse of antibiotics is not curbed, says England’s ex-chief medical officer
What is antimicrobial resistance and how big a problem is it?
The Covid-19 pandemic will “look minor” compared with what humanity faces from the growing number of superbugs resistant to current drugs, Prof Dame Sally Davies, England’s former chief medical officer, has warned.
Davies, who is now the UK’s special envoy on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), lost her goddaughter two years ago to an infection that could not be treated.
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05/13/2024 - 01:00
Water campaigner Feargal Sharkey says newly designated sites will join ‘ignoble, floundering list of failure’
Twenty-seven new bathing sites will be designated in England ahead of this summer’s swimming season, the government has announced.
Giving waterways bathing status means the Environment Agency has to test them for pollution during the summer months, putting pressure on water companies to stop dumping sewage in them.
Church Cliff beach, Lyme Regis, Dorset
Coastguards beach, River Erme, Devon
Coniston boating centre, Coniston Water, Cumbria
Coniston Brown Howe, Coniston Water, Cumbria
Derwent Water at Crow Park, Keswick, Cumbria
Goring beach, Worthing, West Sussex
Littlehaven beach, Tyne and Wear
Manningtree beach, Essex
Monk Coniston, Coniston Water, Cumbria
River Avon at Fordingbridge, Hampshire
River Cam at Sheep’s Green, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
River Dart estuary at Dittisham, Devon
River Dart estuary at Steamer Quay, Totnes, Devon
River Dart estuary at Stoke Gabriel, Devon
River Dart estuary at Warfleet, Dartmouth, Devon
River Frome at Farleigh Hungerford, Somerset
River Nidd at the Lido leisure park in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire
River Ribble at Edisford Bridge, Lancashire
River Severn at Ironbridge, Shropshire
River Severn at Shrewsbury, Shropshire
River Stour at Sudbury, Suffolk
River Teme at Ludlow, Shropshire
River Tone in French Weir Park, Taunton, Somerset
River Wharfe at Wetherby Riverside, High St, Wetherby, West Yorkshire
Rottingdean beach, Rottingdean, East Sussex
Wallingford beach, River Thames, Berkshire
Worthing Beach House, Worthing, West Sussex
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