Breaking Waves: Ocean News

‘Like a sea out there’: flooded Somerset residents wonder how water can be managed

admin — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 15:40:52 +0000

People in south-west mop up after Storm Chandra and prepare for next bout of rain, with major incident declared

In the early hours, the Wade family’s boxer puppy began barking. Thinking it needed to be let out, they traipsed downstairs and opened the back door – to be greeted not by their neat garden but an expanse of water.

“It was like a sea out there,” said James Wade. Over the coming hours the water crept into their home on a modern estate in Taunton, forcing James, his wife, Faye, and their three children, six, 11 and 12, out and into emergency accommodation.

‘Not radical, it’s fair’: Australian households would receive compensation in proposed ‘polluter pays levy’ scheme

admin — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 13:01:11 +0000

Superpower Institute report fleshes out 2024 call from Labor heavyweight Ross Garnaut to re-embrace carbon pricing 12 years after Tony Abbott axed it

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‘Shameful’: Trump’s EPA accused of prioritizing big business over public health

admin — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 12:00:10 +0000

A year into Trump’s second term, critics say the EPA is rolling back dozens of protections and giving a leg up to polluters

After a tumultuous year under the Trump administration, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has adopted a new, almost unrecognizable guise – one that tears up environmental rules and cheerleads for coal, gas-guzzling cars and artificial intelligence.

Swift bricks to be installed on all new buildings in Scotland as MSPs back law

admin — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 11:22:14 +0000

Rest of UK has resisted calls to make builders install bricks that provide nesting for swifts and other endangered birds

Swift bricks will be installed in all new buildings in Scotland after the Scottish parliament voted in favour of a law to help endangered cavity-nesting birds.

The Scottish government and MSPs across the parties backed an amendment by Scottish Green Mark Ruskell to make swift bricks mandatory for all new dwellings “where reasonably practical and appropriate”.

Pregnant, 19 and facing down a mutiny: how did Mary Ann Patten steer her way into seafaring lore?

admin — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 11:00:38 +0000

Finding herself in charge of her sick husband’s clipper, a self-taught working-class teenager overcame storms, icebergs and a disloyal first mate to get her ship to safety

No one knows exactly what Mary Ann Patten said in September 1856 when she convinced a crew on the verge of mutiny to accept her command as captain. What is known is that Patten, who was 19 and pregnant, was a force to be reckoned with.

Filming a Frosty Fruit in 48C heat. Spoiler alert: the camera couldn't handle it – video

admin — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 06:41:04 +0000

How long does it take for a Frosty Fruit to melt in a heatwave? Guardian Australia sacrificed three ice blocks in Melbourne, Sydney and Ouyen, where the temperature hit 48C on Tuesday. It was the fifth day in a row that temperatures have exceeded 40C, with four more forecast to follow

Explainer: What happens to the human body in 49C heat? Australians are finding out

‘My Tesla has become ordinary’: Turkey catches up with EU in electric car sales

admin — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 05:00:04 +0000

Popularity of EVs in country is part of global trend of emerging markets spurning fossil fuel cars at surprising speeds

When Berke Astarcıoğlu bought a BMW i3 in 2016, he was one of just 44 people in a country of 80 million to buy a battery electric vehicle (BEV) that year. By the time he bought a Tesla in 2023, BEVs were no longer a complete oddity in Turkey, making up 7% of new car sales.

The UK government didn't want you to see this report on ecosystem collapse. I'm not surprised | George Monbiot

admin — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 16:52:06 +0000

It took an FOI request to bring this national security assessment to light. For ‘doomsayers’ like us, it is the ultimate vindication

I know it’s almost impossible to turn your eyes away from the Trump show, but that’s the point. His antics, ever-grosser and more preposterous, are designed to keep him in our minds, to crowd out other issues. His insatiable craving for attention is a global-threat multiplier. You can’t help wondering whether there’s anything he wouldn’t do to dominate the headlines.

Through the heatwave haze, the hypocrisy of Australia’s fossil fuel policy shines bright | Clean Air

admin — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 14:00:45 +0000

The heatwave in Melbourne and Adelaide this week is likely to become the norm. We should prepare now

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Europe’s supermarket shelves packed with ‘misleading’ claims about recycled plastic packaging

admin — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 13:48:58 +0000

Manufacturers use method that labels plastic as ‘circular’ and climate-friendly, despite being mostly fossil-based

Europe’s supermarket shelves are packed with brands billing their plastic packaging as sustainable, but often only a fraction of the materials are truly recovered from waste, with the rest made from petroleum.

Brands using plastic packaging – from Kraft’s Heinz Beanz to Mondelēz’s Philadelphia – use materials made by the plastic manufacturing arm of the oil company Saudi Aramco.