Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Drax to stop burning controversial Canadian wood within next year

admin — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 17:27:56 +0000

Yorkshire plant has been criticised for taking material from some of British Columbia’s most environmentally important forests

The owner of Drax power plant has started reducing the amount of Canadian wood pellets it burns, and will stop burning trees from British Columbia entirely within the next year.

The FTSE 250 company Drax Group said its Canadian wood pellet plants, which once supplied millions of tonnes of biomass to be burnt in its North Yorkshire power plant, had cost the company almost £200m in financial impairments last year.

Democrats urge dropping plan to double gas exports as US energy prices soar

admin — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 17:00:17 +0000

Families are ‘struggling with cost of heating their homes’, letter says as Trump repeatedly pledges to slash utility bills

As energy prices for US households soar nationwide, Democratic and progressive lawmakers are calling on the energy department to end its plan to double exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

US ‘bullying’ could scupper carbon levy on shipping, warn experts

admin — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 14:46:25 +0000

Panama joins smaller nations in dropping support for policy aimed at cutting maritime emissions

US “bullying” over a proposed carbon levy on shipping appears to be paying off, experts have said, after Panama reversed its support for the measure.

‘A gift that falls from the sky’: why farmers are using Etna’s ash as fertiliser

admin — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 14:00:08 +0000

Falling volcanic ash has for years been viewed as a nuisance. But a Sicilian project has discovered its agricultural potential and wants to spread the word

In the Sicilian town of Giarre overlooking Mount Etna, Andrea Passanisi, a tropical and citrus fruits producer, uses an unusual fertiliser on his 100-hectare (247-acre) stretch of land: volcano ash.

Waitrose suspends sale of mackerel because of overfishing

admin — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 13:06:05 +0000

Supermarket chain says it will point customers to herring and other species to protect threatened Atlantic stocks

Waitrose has become the first UK supermarket to suspend the sale of mackerel because of overfishing and will start pointing customers toward herring and other species.

Calls to move England’s home insulation scheme into council workers’ hands

admin — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 12:00:34 +0000

Thinktank proposes councils stop using private contractors in attempt to improve quality and spending

Councils should train up their own workers to install insulation in England’s draughty houses, and offer home upgrades street by street, beginning in the most deprived areas, according to proposals for cutting energy bills.

Riding the wave: can surf tourism save Peru’s ancient reed-boat fishing culture?

admin — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 12:00:32 +0000

As fish stocks dwindle, surf tourism may offer a lifeline to traditional caballitos de totora fishers, whose vessels are thought to be among the first ever used to ride waves

Shakespeare’s Globe launches environmental playwright prize

admin — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 10:00:25 +0000

Theatre says it will harness art ‘to inspire societal shifts towards restorative relationship with nature’

From “shall I compare thee to a summer’s day” to “one touch of nature made the whole world kin”, some of the most famous lines in William Shakespeare’s works are about the relationship between humans and the environment.

‘The most important part is the vibe’: Bate Bay named Australia’s best beach

admin — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 07:10:50 +0000

Tourism Australia beach ambassador Brad Farmer says the coastline south of Sydney airport ‘ticked pretty much every box’

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‘Magic beneath the surface’: pioneering geothermal plant launched in Cornwall

admin — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 06:00:19 +0000

A new mini power station and lithium extraction facility near Redruth are set to bolster green energy and create jobs

Just outside the perimeter fence stand the hulking remains of grand stone engine houses, a testament to Cornwall’s proud tin and copper mining history.

But inside is a shiny new mini power station and lithium extraction plant that is once again accessing rich underground resources in the far south-west of Britain.