Humpbacks are thriving in the warm waters off the coast of Manhattan but maritime restrictions have not kept pace
It is the beginning of August and a crowd is gathered on the deck of the American Princess cruise boat waiting for one thing – and they are not disappointed. Suddenly, a juvenile humpback whale, known as NYC0318 in local records, bursts through the surface of the water, engulfing thousands of small, oily fish.
For those onboard the 29-metre (95ft) vessel, the scene is a thrill to watch, in part because it is taking place not far out at sea but just off the coast of Manhattan, New York. Among the tourists watching is Chris St Lawrence, a naturalist and the communications director of Gotham Whale, a volunteer-run marine research organisation in the city. He is not just looking out for the whales, he is watching for danger around them.
Continue reading...
Breaking Waves: Ocean News
09/23/2025 - 04:00
09/23/2025 - 03:57
Coal Australia also wants government to broaden restrictions on foreign donations to stop money flowing to environmental groups
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
An Australian coal industry lobby group wants national intelligence agencies to report on any involvement of foreign interests in unnamed “activist groups” it claims are attempting to undermine the nation’s prosperity.
Coal Australia also wants the government to broaden restrictions on foreign donations to stop money being channelled to Australia-based environmental groups and create powers to terminate grants and rescind charity status to organisations who aren’t transparent about funding sources.
Continue reading...
09/23/2025 - 02:00
Growth rate slightly lower than previous first-half years but sector still strong and resilient, experts say
Investment in renewable energy has continued to increase around the world despite moves by Donald Trump’s White House to cancel and derail low-carbon projects.
In the first half of 2025, investment globally in renewable technologies and projects reached a record $386bn, up by about 10% on the same period last year.
Continue reading...
09/23/2025 - 00:00
Near-ideal conditions have led to high yields at some of the country’s best loved orchards and walled gardens
The nights may be drawing in and the days becoming chillier, but there is cheering news from some of the UK’s best loved orchards and walled gardens: a bumper crop of apples and pumpkins.
Fruit and squashes have ripened weeks earlier than normal in many places and yields are higher thanks to near-ideal conditions, including 2024’s wet weather followed by a warm and dry spring and plenty of summer sun this year.
Continue reading...
09/23/2025 - 00:00
The winners of the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2025 have been revealed. The competition, presented by Oceanographic and Blancpain, showcases breathtaking images that celebrate the ocean’s beauty and highlight the urgent need to protect it
Continue reading...
09/22/2025 - 21:37
Murray Watt agrees recovery plans for greater glider, ghost bat, lungfish and sandhill dunnart were not made by successive governments
Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
The federal environment minister, Murray Watt, has conceded that successive governments acted unlawfully when they failed to create mandatory recovery plans for native species threatened with extinction in a major legal win for one of Australia’s largest environmental organisations.
The Wilderness Society has been successful in federal court proceedings it launched in March that sought to compel the minister to make recovery plans for species including the greater glider and the ghost bat.
Continue reading...
09/22/2025 - 19:20
Fattest brown bears, bulking up for hibernation, pitted against each other in online public vote – who will win?
It’s that time of year again, when audiences turn to a welcome distraction from the heavy news cycle: Katmai national park and preserve in southern Alaska is celebrating its fattest brown bears.
The park is set to kick off its annual Fat Bear Week on Tuesday, an online competition where the public votes for the park’s fattest brown bear.
Continue reading...
09/22/2025 - 10:50
As the Brazilian city prepares to host 50,000 delegates, local people are being pushed from their homes
The two-bedroom apartment in Belém became Suelen Freitas’s home in 2020, when she moved her family to the same building as her elderly mother. On the edge of the Amazon rainforest, it was where her story played out for five years, from enduring the Covid pandemic, to watching her two children get into the university.
But in March everything changed. An eviction notice gave them and their neighbours 30 days to vacate their apartments. One by one, all 12 families were forced out. “It was very painful,” Freitas said.
Continue reading...
09/22/2025 - 06:34
Sun Day national action supported renewable energy, day after ‘Make Billionaires Pay’ march ahead of Climate Week
Hundreds of environmentalists gathered in New York City’s Stuyvesant Square Park and a nearby Quaker meeting house on Sunday to rally in support of solar power and other forms of renewable energy. The event was part of a national “day of action” billed Sun Day, founded by veteran environmental activist Bill McKibben and first Earth Day coordinator Denis Hayes.
“It’s so sad to watch the sun going to waste,” McKibben said at a press conference, standing beside environmentalists and their children. “Every single day, energy from heaven going to waste while we drill down to hell for another dose of the stuff that is wrecking this planet.”
Continue reading...
09/22/2025 - 05:00
For years Nova Scotia’s Burntcoat Head Park claimed the superior tidal height, but now a challenger from the far north is seeking the crown
For visitors to Burntcoat Head Park in Nova Scotia, a scramble along the russet shoreline of the Atlantic Ocean is a pilgrimage to the site of one of the planet’s great natural wonders.
Twice a day, more than 100bn tons of seawater fills and drains the Bay of Fundy – a figure comparable to the flow of all the world’s freshwater rivers combined.
Continue reading...
