Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Chimps are dying of human sniffles. Is great ape tourism to blame?

admin — Thu, 02 May 2024 05:00:50 +0000

Viruses that cause the common cold in humans are devastating populations of chimpanzees and gorillas. In some ape communities, it’s a bigger killer than habitat loss or poaching

There was something wrong with the chimpanzees. For weeks, a community of 205 animals in Uganda’s Kibale national park had been coughing, sneezing and looking generally miserable. But no one could say for sure what ailed them, even as the animals began to die.

Methane emissions from gas flaring being hidden from satellite monitors

admin — Thu, 02 May 2024 05:00:49 +0000

Use of enclosed combustors leaves regulators heavily reliant on oil and gas companies’ own flaring data

Oil and gas equipment intended to cut methane emissions is preventing scientists from accurately detecting greenhouse gases and pollutants, a satellite image investigation has revealed.

Big oil spent decades sowing doubt about fossil fuel dangers, experts testify

admin — Wed, 01 May 2024 20:29:48 +0000

US Senate hearing reviewed report showing sector’s shift from climate denial to ‘deception, disinformation and doublespeak’

The fossil fuel industry spent decades sowing doubt about the dangers of burning oil and gas, experts and Democratic lawmakers testified on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.

Kenya floods: tourists evacuated from Maasai Mara after river bursts banks

admin — Wed, 01 May 2024 18:16:20 +0000

Kenya Red Cross rescues more than 90 people from hotels and lodges as heavy rainfall continues

Scores of tourists have been evacuated by air from Kenya’s Maasai Mara national reserve after more than a dozen hotels, lodges and camps were flooded as heavy rains battered the country.

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.

Unlocking the genetic mysteries behind plant adaptation: New insights into the evolution of a water-saving trait in the pineapple family (bromeliaceae)

admin — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 14:55:25 +0000

Researchers have achieved a breakthrough in understanding how genetic drivers influence the evolution of a specific photosynthesis mechanism in Tillandsia (air plants). This sheds light on the complex actions that cause plant adaptation and ecological diversity.