Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Activists blend science and folklore as they try to revive Somerset’s eel population

admin — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 15:32:41 +0000

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Feargal Sharkey back campaign to save the animal, which once inspired placenames, songs and stories

When the Somerset Levels flood in winter, their reed-fringed waterways swell into a glinting inland sea – haunting and half forgotten.

Collapse of critical Atlantic current is no longer low likelihood, study finds

admin — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 15:00:52 +0000

Scientists say ‘shocking’ discovery shows rapid cuts in carbon emissions are needed to avoid catastrophic fallout

The collapse of a critical Atlantic current can no longer be considered a low-likelihood event, a study has concluded, making deep cuts to fossil fuel emissions even more urgent to avoid the catastrophic impact.

‘The tree is trying its best’: why New Yorkers are counting – and rating – every park tree

admin — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 14:04:48 +0000

Volunteers are tasked with logging about 150,000 park trees by hand – and for some, it’s become a strange obsession

On a recent morning, as the late August sun began to beat down, a few dozen New Yorkers stood in the shade of one of the nearly 500 trees adorning Harlem’s Marcus Garvey Park, worrying a bit about hurting its feelings.

Chemical companies lobbying MPs not to ban Pfas

admin — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 13:58:26 +0000

Exclusive: Analysis of responses shows firms are urging parliamentarians to limit regulation of ‘forever chemicals’

Chemical firms are lobbying MPs not to ban “forever chemicals” in the same way as proposed in the EU, using arguments disputed by scientists and described as “big tobacco playbook” tactics, it can be revealed.

Humans inhale as much as 68,000 microplastic particles daily, study finds

admin — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 12:00:52 +0000

Particles are small enough to burrow into lungs, says report, with health impacts ‘more substantial than we realize’

Every breath people take in their homes or car probably contains significant amounts of microplastics small enough to burrow deep into lungs, new peer-reviewed research finds, bringing into focus a little understood route of exposure and health threat.

Post-it notes and tiny trackers: behind the race to stop Asian hornets thriving in the UK

admin — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 09:00:47 +0000

The invaders present a devastating threat to Britain’s pollinators – constant watchfulness and clever technology are needed to thwart their progress

Heat pumps could halve heating bills with energy system reform, study finds

admin — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 08:03:10 +0000

Steps to make electricity cheaper, such as ending levies, could transform prospects for pumps, thinktank shows

Heat pumps could save households hundreds of pounds a year on heating bills, if the government took simple measures to reform the energy system, an analysis has found.

The average household’s heating bills could be roughly halved, saving about £375 a year with a heat pump instead of a gas boiler, if steps were taken to make electricity cheaper.

Bluefin tuna are miraculously returning to UK shores – only to be tormented for ‘sport’ | George Monbiot

admin — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 07:00:26 +0000

A tournament in Cornwall will pit anglers against these magnificent creatures, as part of a rising trend for so-called ‘sportfishing’

Weatherwatch: does August rain bring honey and wine?

admin — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 05:00:24 +0000

The old saying about late summer rain being good for vineyards and bees may be plausible

Each month has its weather folklore, and according to one old saying: “When it rains in August, it rains honey and wine.”

Where have all the crabs gone? How development is squeezing out southern Malaysia’s sea people

admin — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 04:00:22 +0000

In the waters of the Johor strait, Indigenous communities are struggling to survive as nearby cities expand and fishing stocks dwindle

Words and photographs by Izzy Sasada

Aween Bin Terawin submerges himself in the mangrove swamp to reach a crab cage on the riverbed below. After a moment of suspense, he lifts the cage above the water’s surface and inspects its interior. Empty.