Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Rapidly rising levels of TFA ‘forever chemical’ alarm experts

admin — Wed, 01 May 2024 04:00:45 +0000

Trifluoroacetic acid found in drinking water and rain is thought to damage fertility and child development

Rapidly rising levels of TFA, a class of “forever chemical” thought to damage fertility and child development, are being found in drinking water, blood and rain, causing alarm among experts.

TFA, or trifluoroacetic acid, is a type of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS), a group of human-made chemicals used widely in consumer products that do not break down for thousands of years. Many of the substances have been linked to negative effects on human health.

Lawyers granted more time to consider appeal – as it happened

admin — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 21:00:47 +0000

This blog is now closed.

Low-intensity grazing is locally better for biodiversity but challenging for land users, a new study shows

admin — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 17:19:05 +0000

A team of researchers has investigated the motivation and potential incentives for and challenges of low-intensity grazing among farmers and land users in Europe.

Man allegedly pours bleach into Oregon hatchery tank and kills 18,000 salmon

admin — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 17:07:01 +0000

Joshua Alexander Heckathorn, 20, arrested and booked into jail for second-degree burglary, criminal trespass and criminal mischief

Nearly 200 programs to raise baby salmon in a controlled environment dot the rivers in Oregon, holding them before releasing them into the wild to live out their life cycle. Last week, a man broke into the Winchester Bay Salmon Trout Enhancement Program (Step) and poured bleach into a Chinook salmon tank, killing about 18,000 fish.

Cuts to England’s cycling and walking budget challenged in court

admin — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 16:23:26 +0000

Campaigners say loss of £200m from active travel budget is illegal and resulted from Treasury pressure

Swingeing cuts to public spending on cycling and walking in England should be overturned as government expenditure was already insufficient to meet legally binding climate targets, the high court has been told.

Nationwide stops lending on some flood-risk properties

admin — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 14:31:03 +0000

Banks may follow suit after UK weather-related claims on home insurance reach new high

Britain’s biggest building society has stopped granting mortgages on some properties where there is a high risk of flooding but said this affected only “a very limited number” of homes.

Nationwide’s head of property risk, Rob Stevens, said the lender used mapping technology to identify which homes were vulnerable to flooding, and it would decline to grant a mortgage to buy a property it deemed to be at high risk.

‘It can be done’: peat-free garden to feature at Hampton Court flower show

admin — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 13:29:11 +0000

Gardeners’ World presenter Arit Anderson creating colourful display to encourage gardeners to move away from peat

A completely peat-free garden will be showcased at the Hampton Court Palace flower show so the public can “have a chat about peat-free gardening” and learn how to do it themselves.

Peat-free compost has been a divisive topic in the gardening world, with some gardeners arguing that it is not as good as the peaty stuff for growing plants.

EPA to ban most uses of chemical linked to dozens of deaths

admin — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 13:25:26 +0000

Agency announces rule on methylene chloride, colorless liquid used for stripping paint, cleaning metal and decaffeinating coffee

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on Tuesday that it will ban most uses of methylene chloride, a colorless liquid used for stripping paint, cleaning metal, and even decaffeinating coffee. The chemical has been linked to dozens of deaths and advocates have long called for its ban.

Big oil privately acknowledged efforts to downplay climate crisis, joint committee investigation finds

admin — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 13:00:27 +0000

Internal documents revealed by committee show companies lobbied against climate laws they publicly claimed to support

Big oil has privately acknowledged its efforts to downplay the dangers of burning fossil fuels, US Democrats have found.

Major fossil-fuel firms have also pledged support for international climate efforts, but internally admit these efforts are incompatible with their own climate plans. And they have lobbied against climate laws and regulations they have publicly claimed to support, documents newly revealed by the committee show.

‘Incredible’ news for bears and wild horses as US shifts preservation plans

admin — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 12:00:26 +0000

National Park Service will reintroduce bears to Washington’s North Cascades and won’t remove horses from North Dakota park

Wildlife advocates are celebrating “incredible” news for the preservation of threatened bears, and a herd of historically significant wild horses, in separate north-western and upper midwestern national parks.