Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Senators urge Ford to disclose suspected lobbying over Trump’s climate rollbacks

admin — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 17:00:52 +0000

Sheldon Whitehouse adds auto giant to investigation after US president claimed CEO requests changes to regulations

As the Trump administration prepares to overturn the rule underpinning virtually all US climate regulations, a Senate committee is investigating whether or not the US’s second-largest automaker lobbied for the rollback.

New wood-burning stoves to carry health warnings in UK plan

admin — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 13:56:37 +0000

Pollution from wood burners kills thousands but proposed emissions limit would cut toxic particles by 10%

New wood-burning stoves will carry a health warning highlighting the impact of the air pollution they produce, under UK government plans.

Ministers have also proposed cutting the limit on the smoke emitted from wood burners by 80%. However, the measure would only apply to new stoves, most of which already meet the stricter limit. The new limit would cut the annual toxic emissions from wood burning in the UK by only 10% over the next decade, according to the consultation.

Nearly 200 arrested in cross-border crackdown on gold mining in Amazon

admin — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 13:08:33 +0000

Cash, gold, mercury and firearms seized in operations in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana and Suriname

Police and prosecutors from Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana and Suriname have arrested nearly 200 people in their first joint cross-border operation targeting illegal gold mining in the Amazon region, authorities said.

Tower Hamlets mayor acted unlawfully in attempted removal of LTN schemes

admin — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 13:03:40 +0000

Road safety activists ‘vindicated’ after success of campaign supported by NHS trusts and headteachers

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The mayor of Tower Hamlets acted unlawfully in attempting to remove three low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) schemes, the court of appeal has ruled.

Australia’s worst heatwave since black summer made five times more likely by global heating, analysis finds

admin — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 13:01:25 +0000

Extreme heat ‘is getting worse and whether we like it or not … there’s ultimately a limit to what we can actually physically cope with,’ scientist says

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A bid to clean up shipping industry intensified a coral bleaching event on Great Barrier Reef, study says

admin — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 11:00:53 +0000

The removal of sulphur from shipping fuels caused ‘a lot of extra sunlight’ to get through atmosphere and hit reef in 2022

Steps to clean up the shipping industry by removing sulphur from fuels intensified a major coral bleaching event on the Great Barrier Reef by allowing more of the sun’s energy to hit the oceanic wonder, according to a new study.

Blind, slow and 500 years old – or are they? How scientists are unravelling the secrets of Greenland sharks

admin — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 10:00:43 +0000

Described by one researcher as looking ‘already dead’, the enigmatic creatures are one of the least understood species on the planet

It looks more like a worn sock than a fearsome predator. It moves slower than an escalator. By most accounts, it is a clumsy and near-sightless relic drifting in the twilight waters of the Arctic, lazily searching for food scraps.

The Greenland shark, an animal one researcher (lovingly) said, “looks like it’s already dead”, is also one of the least understood, biologically enigmatic species on the planet.

Half the world’s 100 largest cities are in high water stress areas, analysis finds

admin — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 06:00:03 +0000

Exclusive: Beijing, Delhi, Los Angeles and Rio de Janeiro among worst affected, with demand close to exceeding supply

Half the world’s 100 largest cities are experiencing high levels of water stress, with 38 of these sitting in regions of “extremely high water stress”, new analysis and mapping has shown.

Water stress means that water withdrawals for public water supply and industry are close to exceeding available supplies, often caused by poor management of water resources exacerbated by climate breakdown.

Schools, airports, high-rise towers: architects urged to get ‘bamboo-ready’

admin — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 06:00:03 +0000

Manual for building design aims to encourage low-carbon construction as alternative to steel and concrete

An airport made of bamboo? A tower reaching 20 metres high? For many years, bamboo has been mostly known as the favourite food of giant pandas, but a group of engineers say it’s time we took it seriously as a building material, too.

What happens when the taps run dry? England is about to find out | Aditya Chakrabortty

admin — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 06:00:02 +0000

It’s not just Tunbridge Wells – a country famous around the world for its rain is in danger of self-imposed drought

You get up and go to the loo, only to find the flush doesn’t work. You try the shower, except nothing comes out. You want a glass of water, but on turning the tap there is not a drop. Your day stumbles on, stripped of its essentials: no washing hands, no cleaning up the baby, neither tea nor coffee, no easy way to do the dishes or the laundry. Dirt accumulates; tempers fray.