Devastation in Brazil wetlands was made at least four times more likely by fossil fuel use and deforestation, scientists say
The devastating wildfires that tore through the world’s biggest tropical wetland, Brazil’s Pantanal, in June were made at least four times more likely and 40% more intense by human-caused climate disruption, a study has found.
Charred corpses of monkeys, caimans and snakes have been left in the aftermath of the blaze, which burned 440,000 hectares (1.1m acres) and is thought to have killed millions of animals and countless more plants, insects and fungi.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
08/08/2024 - 10:27
08/08/2024 - 10:00
Exclusive: Victorian Environment Protection Authority launches ‘proactive program’ to investigate potential risks from recycled soil fill
Asbestos found in recycled soil at more than half NSW waste facilities
Victoria’s environment watchdog has launched a compliance blitz of waste facilities that produce cheap landscaping soil after a Guardian Australia investigation revealed systemic problems with similar recycled products in New South Wales.
The Victorian Environment Protection Authority (EPA) said it had begun “a proactive program looking at recovered fines” – the cheap soil or sand substitute made from construction and demolition waste residues after larger recyclable materials are removed.
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08/08/2024 - 09:42
Juneau residents clear sodden homes after lake dammed by Mendenhall Glacier gives way in what is now yearly event
Residents in Alaska’s capital cleared out waterlogged homes on Wednesday after a lake dammed by the picturesque Mendenhall Glacier gave way, causing the worst flooding in Juneau yet from what has become a yearly phenomenon.
At least 100 homes and some businesses were damaged by rapidly rising floodwaters that crested early on Tuesday, according to initial estimates. In some areas, cars floated in chest-high water as people scrambled to evacuate. The waters receded by Wednesday, and the river level was falling.
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08/08/2024 - 08:00
Volunteers are helping save baby sea turtles as the endangered species’ favourite nesting spots come under pressure from development, poaching and tourists
Photographs by Thilina Kaluthotage
It’s a sweltering night on the western coast of Sri Lanka, and on Mount Lavinia beach there’s an unusual flurry of activity. Several young people in orange hi-vis vests are squatting in a circle, digging in the sand in the semi-darkness.
The team of volunteers is patrolling a popular tourist beach on the outskirts of Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital, scouting for turtle nesting sites. Finding the nests can involve a bit of detective work.
Turtle volunteers at a nesting site on Colombo’s Mount Lavinia beach. ‘Sometimes we dig holes on the beach to look for the eggs’
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08/08/2024 - 07:29
UN says a global ‘backlash’ against climate action is being stoked by fossil fuel companies
Fossil fuel companies are running “a massive mis- and disinformation campaign” so that countries will slow down the adoption of renewable energy and the speed with which they “transition away” from a carbon-intensive economy, the UN has said.
Selwin Hart, the assistant secretary general of the UN, said that talk of a global “backlash” against climate action was being stoked by the fossil fuel industry, in an effort to persuade world leaders to delay emissions-cutting policies. The perception among many political observers of a rejection of climate policies was a result of this campaign, rather than reflecting the reality of what people think, he added.
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08/08/2024 - 05:55
A year after the fire some try to rebuild life in the city known as the ‘ninth Hawaiian island’ – as temperatures top 117F
Remedios Ramos moved into her newly built, sand-colored Las Vegas home during a blistering week in July, when temperatures topped 117F. Inside her air-conditioned living room, a shiny grandfather clock, its price tag still attached, chimed every half hour. “I like it here,” Ramos said, glancing around at her pristine surroundings: brand new reclining chairs, a glossy dining set, a television still in its box.
“But,” she sighed, scrunching her face, “I like it better back home, in Hawaii.”
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08/08/2024 - 01:00
A new study is mapping the secrets to the remarkably steady flight of kestrels, which could inform future drone designs and help achieve steadier flight in fixed wing aircraft. Scientists later hope to adapt the data so it can be applied to larger aircraft
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08/07/2024 - 23:00
Much of Italy’s beachfront is in the hands of family-run concessions who operate exclusive clubs or charge big money for umbrellas and loungers. But a new ruling is rallying activists on both sides
Photographs by Roberto Salomone
“Most Italians don’t know they have the right to go to the beach for free,” says Manuela Salvi, planting her umbrella in the sand of a private beach club in Gaeta, a small seaside town in central Italy. “They are used to paying to go to the seaside. And if we don’t make our voices heard, the institutions will think we’re fine with it.”
Behind her, another 30 people are preparing to do the same. They are all members of Mare Libero (Free Sea), the association that since 2019 has swarmed beaches with protesters in an effort to reclaim the space. They want to make Italy’s beaches free to access or at least allocated to beach operators through a transparent bidding process.
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08/07/2024 - 23:00
First phase of trial starts this month and includes rice and pasta
Ocado is testing offering everyday products such as pasta, rice and washing liquid in refillable packaging in a first by an online supermarket.
The scheme will trial a reusable vessel that can take food or laundry products with no extra costs for customers.
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08/07/2024 - 17:01
Experts say booming demand for holidays afloat mean ocean liners’ burden on the environment is growing
The huge passenger vessels sometimes known as “cruisezillas” are getting bigger than ever, according to new research which has found that the world’s biggest cruise ships have doubled in size since 2000.
If the industry’s growth does not slow, the biggest ships in 2050 will be eight times larger, in terms of tonnage, than the Titanic – the largest ship on the seas before it sank a century ago, according to the campaign group Transport & Environment (T&E). The group also found that the number of cruise ships has risen 20-fold since 1970.
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