Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Data shows continued surge in wind and solar power amid hopes Chinese greenhouse gas emissions may have peaked China added as much new clean energy generation in the first half of this year as the UK produced from all sources in the same period last year, data shows, as wind and solar power generation continued to surge in the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. Electricity generation from coal and gas dropped by 5% in China in July, year on year, according to an update from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) thinktank, basing its analysis on data released by the Chinese government on Thursday. Continue reading...

I smugly assumed I was offering my children a crash course in wholesomeness. The reality was quite different Earlier this week, I dropped my kids off at a day camp in a park in London and then congratulated myself all the way home. The summer holiday is long and camp programmes are expensive, and when you sign up for one, there is a hard-to-resist expectation that the kids will be not only entertained but improved – physically (swimming lessons), morally (team games – specifically rounders) and, in the case of the camp we signed up for, spiritually. By which, of course, I refer to two sacred words in the middle-class lexicon: forest school. I should say I’m completely down with the broad mission of forest school. Adults and children are improved by spending time in nature; studies and experience show this. There is a difference, however, between forest school the movement, a laudable push to get kids learning outside based on ideas that stretch back to the 19th century and popularised in the 1950s by, of course, the Scandinavians, and forest school, the modern marketing and business initiative. It reminds me of the catnip status latterly occupied by Mandarin lessons in the New York state primary system, which, when my three-year-olds started pre-school in 2018 – one of them still wearing pull-ups – saw them slogging each week through a mandatory class. There is nothing wrong with learning Mandarin, but it is perhaps not a priority for people who can’t use the toilet yet. Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Researchers at Australia’s Flinders University hope the acoustic method will make it easier to find and fix soil degradation Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast Ever wondered what the Earth sounds like? New research suggests healthy soil has a distinctive soundtrack of its own – the crackles, pops and clicks of ants and worms bustling around underground. Scientists from Australia’s Flinders University listened to microphones planted in the ground to see if invertebrate instrumentals are a good indicator of biodiversity and soil health. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...

This year could beat 2023 for the hottest year on record as 15-month heat streak extends, according to Noaa The world just had its hottest July ever recorded, elongating a string of monthly temperature highs that now stretch back 15 consecutive months, US government scientists have announced. Last month was about 1.2C (2.1F) hotter than average across the globe, making it the hottest July on record, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) said on Thursday. This means that every month for the past 15 months has beaten its previous monthly record. Continue reading...