Breaking Waves: Ocean News

‘Half the tree of life’: ecologists’ horror as nature reserves are emptied of insects

admin — Tue, 03 Jun 2025 07:00:25 +0000

A new point in history has been reached, entomologists say, as climate-led species’ collapse moves up the food chain even in supposedly protected regions free of pesticides

Daniel Janzen only began watching the insects – truly watching them – when his ribcage was shattered. Nearly half a century ago, the young ecologist had been out documenting fruit crops in a dense stretch of Costa Rican forest when he fell in a ravine, landing on his back. The long lens of his camera punched up through three ribs, snapping the bones into his thorax.

Vanuatu criticises Australia for extending gas project while making Cop31 bid

admin — Tue, 03 Jun 2025 04:49:14 +0000

Climate minister says greenlighting North West Shelf project until 2070 is not the leadership Pacific countries expect as Australia seeks to host summit

Vanuatu’s climate minister has expressed disappointment over Australia’s decision to extend one of the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas projects and said it raises questions over its bid to co-host the Cop31 summit with Pacific nations.

Trump officials open up millions of acres in Alaska to drilling and mining

admin — Mon, 02 Jun 2025 22:35:11 +0000

Doug Burgum says Biden order that banned drilling in 23m-acre National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska will be reversed

Millions of acres of Alaska wilderness will lose federal protections and be exposed to drilling and mining in the Trump administration’s latest move to prioritize energy production over the shielding of the US’s open spaces.

Indonesia’s stunning microlibraries draw young readers – in pictures

admin — Mon, 02 Jun 2025 14:00:03 +0000

Using passive design and local materials such as ice cream buckets, these modern community spaces offer a respite from urban heat and hustle

‘We need new numbers’: Comedian David Cross cracks jokes to spread climate crisis awareness

admin — Mon, 02 Jun 2025 12:00:02 +0000

The Emmy award winning comic teams up with renowned scientist Michael Oppenheimer for a new video campaign

David Cross is many things: a famed comic, an Emmy award winner, and a New York Times bestseller. But he is not a climate scientist.

That fact might make him the perfect person to communicate the urgency of global heating to mass audiences.

Parks, libraries, museums: here’s why Trump is attacking America’s best-loved institutions | Margaret Sullivan

admin — Mon, 02 Jun 2025 12:00:01 +0000

The president’s funding cuts and bullying are about dividing Americans and tightening his grip on power

The author and environmentalist Wallace Stegner called our national parks “America’s best idea”.

Certainly, these jewels – 85m acres of parkland throughout all the 50 states – are beloved by the public. So are America’s public libraries, arts organizations and museums.

Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture

Key US weather monitoring offices understaffed as hurricane season starts

admin — Mon, 02 Jun 2025 10:00:40 +0000

National Weather Service offices are reeling from job cuts and a hiring freeze imposed by Trump

More than a dozen National Weather Service (NWS) forecast offices along the hurricane-prone Gulf of Mexico coast are understaffed as the US plunges into an expected active season for ruinous storms, data seen by the Guardian shows.

Calls for Drax to be forced to fully disclose its biomass sourcing

admin — Mon, 02 Jun 2025 05:00:34 +0000

Campaigners say the publication of key KPMG report must be a condition to MPs extending subsidies scheme

The owner of the Drax wood-burning power station should be forced to disclose full details of its tree consumption, campaigners have argued, as MPs review the billions in renewables subsidies the North Yorkshire plant receives.

High electricity bill taxes holding us back, say industry groups

admin — Mon, 02 Jun 2025 05:00:33 +0000

Make UK tells government that prices threaten to derail industrial strategy as Energy UK calls for charges to be ‘rebalanced’

The UK government is being pressed to wipe billions from the energy costs facing households and heavy industry by reforming the high taxes levied on electricity bills.

Rethinking maritime security from the bottom up: Four principles to broaden perspectives and centre humans and ecosystems

admin — Mon, 02 Jun 2025 04:00:00 +0000

npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 02 June 2025; doi:10.1038/s44183-025-00130-9

Rethinking maritime security from the bottom up: Four principles to broaden perspectives and centre humans and ecosystems