Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Trump order seeks to protect weedkiller at center of barrage of lawsuits

admin — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 20:32:15 +0000

President’s move, which also seeks ‘immunity’ for makers, faces backlash from health advocates and Maha coalition

New Zealand bug of the year: moth named Avatar after mining threat crowned winner

admin — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 20:00:12 +0000

Arctesthes avatar moth, which won nearly half of the votes, was discovered in 2012 and is critically endangered

A tiny critically endangered moth, named after the Avatar films because of the proposed mining activity threatening its primary habitat, has been crowned New Zealand’s bug of the year.

The Guardian view on Merz and Meloni: an emerging Berlin-Rome axis is threatening the EU’s green deal

admin — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 19:05:08 +0000

The deregulation agenda being pushed by Germany’s chancellor and Italy’s prime minister is economically and ethically flawed

Avalanche risks remain high in California after deaths of skiers

admin — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 14:30:01 +0000

Forecasters predict more snow in Sierra Nevada mountains as climate crisis increases threat of dangerous conditions

Avalanche risks remain high in the Sierra Nevada mountains of northern California this week, following the deadliest snowslide the region has seen in modern times.

The climate crisis has set the stage for more dangerous conditions, with sharper swings between dry periods and severe storms, according to experts, who have long warned that extremes will amplify as the world warms.

Horse meat set to be banned in Italy amid draft equine bill

admin — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 13:52:41 +0000

Law defines animals including horses, donkeys and mules as pets and is backed by opposition parties

Italy could soon ban horse meat as part of a law that would define equine animals including horses, donkeys and mules as pets, making it illegal to kill them.

The bill has been drafted by Michela Vittoria Brambilla, a politician with Noi Moderati, a member of Giorgia Meloni’s ruling coalition, and is backed by opposition parties.

‘There has to be glitter’: can the Rio carnival give up its love of beach-polluting microplastics?

admin — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 12:01:21 +0000

A bill banning the sale and use of plastic and metallic glitter has yet to go through in Brazil as the capital’s sandy shores bear cost of carnival’s shine

Whether it is embellishing elaborate costumes, delicately applied as eye makeup, or smeared across bare skin, glitter is everywhere at Rio de Janeiro’s carnival in Brazil. The world’s largest party, which ended on Wednesday, leaves a trail of sparkles in its wake.

MPs in call to halt Drax’s £2m-a-day subsidy over sustainability doubts

admin — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 10:10:47 +0000

Exclusive: Cross-party group ‘deeply concerned’ power plant may have misled ministers and regulators over source of wood pellets

Ed Miliband is under pressure from MPs to suspend subsidies worth £2m a day paid to the owner of the Drax power plant in North Yorkshire after court documents cast doubt on the company’s sustainability claims.

‘It’s a catastrophe’: Wellington rages as millions of litres of raw sewage pour into ocean

admin — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 03:42:57 +0000

Abandoned beaches, public health warning signs and seagulls eating human waste are now features of the popular coastline in New Zealand

A tide of anger is rising in New Zealand’s capital, Wellington, as the city’s toilets continue to flush directly into the ocean more than two weeks after the catastrophic collapse of its wastewater treatment plant.

Trump news at a glance: president’s ‘board of peace’ set to meet, minus some key US allies

admin — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 02:00:51 +0000

Some European leaders have criticised the organisation’s murky funding and political mandate – key US politics stories from Wednesday 18 February at a glance

Dozens of world leaders and national delegations will meet in Washington DC on Thursday for the inaugural meeting of Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, as major European allies declined to join the group and criticised the organisation’s murky funding and political mandate.

Environmental group Extinction Rebellion says it is under FBI investigation

admin — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 23:58:50 +0000

Activist group says some members have been visited by agents, including by agency’s terrorism taskforce

Environmental group Extinction Rebellion said on Wednesday it was under federal US investigation and that some of its members had been visited by FBI agents, including from the agency’s taskforce on extremism, in the last year.

Asked for comment, the FBI said it could neither confirm nor deny conducting specific investigations, citing justice department policy.