As the Earth heats up, the amount of algae in our waterways is rapidly increasing, transforming the colour of lakes and killing entire ecosystems
Before the elephants collapsed, they walked in aimless circles. Some fell head first, dying where they stood moments earlier; their carcasses scattered near watering holes across the Okavango delta. The unexplained deaths in May 2020 alarmed conservationists. By July, at least 350 elephants had died and nobody knew why.
“The animals all had their tusks, so poaching was unlikely. A lot of them had obviously died relatively suddenly: they had dropped on to their sternums, which was indicating a sudden loss of muscle function or neural capacity,” says Niall McCann, director of the conservation group National Park Rescue.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
06/10/2025 - 02:00
06/09/2025 - 23:01
Move to narrow classification of Pfas and weaken regulation is ‘politically and/or economically motivated’
A group of 20 internationally renowned scientists have issued a strong warning against attempts to narrow the definition of “forever chemicals” in what they describe as a politically or economically motivated effort to weaken regulation of the potentially harmful chemicals.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (Pfas) are a large group of synthetic chemicals used for their oil-, water- and stain-resistant properties in a range of consumer and industrial products from waterproof clothing and non-stick cookware to firefighting foams and electronics.
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06/09/2025 - 21:11
Exclusive: In the first legal challenge to the plan, top climate lawyers claim the government relies too heavily on forestry and failed to consult the public
Hundreds of top environment lawyers are suing the New Zealand government over what they say is its “dangerously inadequate” plan to reduce emissions to net zero by 2050.
It is the first time the country’s emissions reduction plan has faced litigation, and the lawyers believe it is the first case globally that challenges the use of forestry to offset emissions.
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06/09/2025 - 20:33
Less than 1% of our country’s seas are highly protected and the damaging practice of bottom-trawling must be restricted
It’s a remarkable feat that a small, isolated island nation of just five million people has managed to stake a claim to one of the largest ocean territories in the world.
New Zealand’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) spans more than 4m square kilometres – an area 15 times the size of our landmass.
Rt Hon Helen Clark is a former prime minister of New Zealand, and former administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Dr Kayla Kingdon-Bebb is chief executive of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) New Zealand.
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06/09/2025 - 18:34
Findings highlight how misinformation about battery safety prevents drivers from investing in low-emission cars
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More than a third of Australians believe misinformation about electric vehicles, while almost half accept the myth that battery-powered cars are more likely to catch fire, a study shows.
Interventions using fact sheets and artificial intelligence chatbots may help lower false beliefs, researchers say, but those with a strong “conspiracy mentality” are harder to convince.
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06/09/2025 - 18:01
Ed Miliband promises to ‘get Britain off the fossil fuel rollercoaster’ with new plant expected to create 10,000 jobs
The biggest nuclear programme in a generation will “get Britain off the fossil fuel rollercoaster”, the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, has said, announcing £14.2bn to build a new nuclear power station and a drive to build small modular reactors.
The multibillion-pound investment at Sizewell C on the Suffolk coast, which has been long expected, will create 10,000 jobs and power the equivalent of 6m homes.
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06/09/2025 - 18:01
Only 7% of Britain’s woodlands in good condition, while number of birds fell by 15% over last five years
The variety of wildlife in the UK’s woodlands continues to decline as the habitats deteriorate, according to a new report.
The Woodland Trust found that the progressively worsening ecological condition of woodlands is making them a less effective habitat for the wildlife living in them.
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06/04/2025 - 23:00
npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 05 June 2025; doi:10.1038/s44183-025-00133-6
The escalating loss and degradation of coastal habitats significantly affect coastal communities, ocean biodiversity, and planetary health. A special Collection launched in npj Ocean Sustainability on “Bridging Land and Seascape Restoration for Ecoscape Recovery” aimed to establish a widely applicable foundation for scalable approaches that support integrated multi-habitat coastal ecosystem restoration and recovery. In this Editorial, we define the concept of “ecoscape restoration” and highlight the key themes emerging from the Collection.
06/03/2025 - 23:00
npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 04 June 2025; doi:10.1038/s44183-025-00125-6
A blueprint for national assessments of the blue carbon capacity of kelp forests applied to Canada’s coastline
World Ocean Explorer Wins Gold Medal Serious Simulation Award from Serious Play Annual International Competition
10/26/2023 - 14:35
For Immediate Release October 19, 2023
Sedgwick, Maine USA World Ocean Explorer, a 3D virtual aquarium and educational simulation, was recently cited for excellence, winning a Gold Medal Award in the 2023 International Serious Play Awards Program.
World Ocean Explorer is an innovative 3D virtual aquarium designed for educational exploration of the world’s oceans. With interactive exhibits and a lobby space, visitors can immerse themselves in realistic marine environments, including a DEEP SEA exhibit funded by Schmidt Ocean Institute, showcasing unprecedented deep-sea discoveries off Australia. Targeted at 3rd graders and beyond, this immersive experience offers a range of perspectives on the ocean environment and can be explored through guided tours or user-controlled interfaces. Visit DEEP SEA at worldoceanexplorer.org/deep-sea-aquarium.html.
Serious Play Conference brings together professionals who are exploring the use of game-based learning, sharing their experience, and working together to shape the future of training and education. For more information on Serious Play Award Program visit seriousplayconf.com/international-serious-play-award-programs.
World Ocean Explorer is a transformative virtual aquarium designed to deepen understanding of the world ocean and amplify connection for young people worldwide. Organized around the principles of Ocean Literacy and the Next Gen Science Standards, World Ocean Explorer brings the wonder and knowledge of ocean species and systems to students in formal and informal classrooms, absolutely free to anyone with a good Internet connection. As an advocate for the ocean through communications, World Ocean Observatory believes there is no better investment in the future of the sustainable ocean than through a new approach to educational engagement that excites, informs, and motivates students to explore the wonders of our marine world and to understand the pervasive connection and implication for our future, inherent in the protection and conservation of all aspects of our ocean world.
World Ocean Explorer presents an astonishing 3-dimensional simulated aquarium visit, organized to reveal the wonders of undersea life, with layers of detailed data and information to augment the emotional connection made to the astonishing beauty and complexity of the dynamic ocean. Within each of the virtual exhibits, students visit exemplary theme-based sites with myriad opportunities to understand the larger perspectives of scientific knowledge as organized and visualized to dramatize the impact and change on ocean life as a result of natural and human-generated events. Through immersion among displays, mixed media and 3D models, the experience of an aquarium visit will be brought into classrooms or home school environments as a free, accessible, always available opportunity for teaching and learning. All of this will be available to a world audience without physical limitation or cost. World Ocean Explorer, a project of the World Ocean Observatory, receives support from the Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation, Visual Solutions Lab, the Climate Change Institute, the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, and The Fram Museum Oslo. To learn more about the current and future exhibits of World Ocean Explorer, visit worldoceanexplorer.org.
media contact
Trisha Badger, Managing Director, World Ocean Observatory | [email protected] +12077011069
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