Legislation has new life in wake of Los Angeles catastrophe but US fossil-fuel industry is already mobilizing against it
In the year preceding the devastating Los Angeles county wildfires, big oil fiercely lobbied to kill a “polluter pay” bill that moved through the California senate and would have forced major fossil fuel companies to help cover the costs of climate disasters.
Fossil-fuel industry lobbying in California spiked to record levels during the 2023-24 legislative session, and the polluter pay bill was among the most targeted pieces of legislation, a Guardian review of state lobby filings found.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
01/15/2025 - 06:00
01/15/2025 - 04:39
Forecasters warn of ‘particularly dangerous weather situation’ in California
LA mayor, Karen Bass, has shared a phone number for residents who have evacuated to get assistance in finding and retrieving pets in evacuation areas.
Posting on X, Bass wrote:
Pets are family.
The City is making help available to find and retrieve pets in evacuation areas.
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01/15/2025 - 04:30
World Economic Forum says responses from experts in business, politics and academia also highlight climate crisis
Global leaders have said that escalating armed conflict is the most urgent threat in 2025 but the climate emergency is expected to cause the greatest concern over the next decade, according to the World Economic Forum.
Ahead of its yearly gathering in the Swiss ski resort of Davos next week, the WEF asked more than 900 leaders from business, politics and academia about the risks that most concern them.
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01/15/2025 - 04:00
Experts believe H5N1 bird flu belongs in a growing category of infectious diseases that can cause pandemics across many species. But there are ways to reduce the risks
Bird flu poses a threat that is “unique and new in our lifetime” because it has become a “‘panzootic” that can kill huge numbers across multiple species, experts warn. For months, highly pathogenic bird flu, or H5N1, has been circulating in dairy farms, with dozens of human infections reported among farm workers. It has now jumped into more than 48 species of mammals, from bears to dairy cows, causing mass die-offs in sea lions and elephant seal pups. Last week, the first person in the US died of the infection.
This ability to infect, spread between, and kill such a wide range of creatures has prompted some scientists to call H5N1 a “panzootic”: an epidemic that leaps species barriers and can devastate diverse animal populations, posing a threat to humans too. As shrinking habitats, biodiversity loss and intensified farming create perfect incubators for infectious diseases to jump from one species to another, some scientists say panzootics could become one of the era’s defining threats to human health and security.
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01/15/2025 - 01:59
Penny Sharpe says ‘mystery’ debris sent for testing and beaches not closed as there were so few balls
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More ball-shaped debris has washed ashore at Sydney’s Bondi, Coogee, Maroubra and Cronulla beaches, the New South Wales government has confirmed.
The office of the acting premier, Penny Sharpe, told Guardian Australia on Wednesday that “small numbers of balls” – some only pea-sized – had washed up on the four beaches in the past few days.
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01/15/2025 - 01:00
Exclusive: Sampling results show ‘extremely concerning’ concentrations of PFOS and PFOA at sites across UK
Where are the UK’s ‘forever chemical’ hotspots?
RAF bases are hotspots of toxic “forever chemical” pollution in water, analysis of Ministry of Defence documents has revealed.
Moreover, some of the highest concentrations of these chemicals in British drinking water sources are near RAF bases, official sampling results obtained by the Guardian and Watershed Investigations show.
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01/15/2025 - 01:00
British arm of Heartland, which has taken oil and Republican funding, to be led by ex-Ukip head Lois Perry
Climate science deniers are lining up a political offensive in Britain after a US lobby group opened a UK branch which is already working with Nigel Farage.
The Reform UK leader was the guest of honour at the launch of Heartland UK/Europe, which is to be headed by a former leader of Ukip and climate denier.
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01/15/2025 - 00:00
UK firm in vanguard of companies arguing SMRs are quicker and cheaper option than large Hinkley-sized nuclear plants
The Hinkley Point C power plant in Somerset is gargantuan. The 176-hectare (435-acre) plant will provide 3.2 gigawatts of power, enough for 6m homes. It is not just the project that is huge: the cost is as well. With a price tag that has ballooned to a reported £48bn, and delayed by at least five years, it has become a symbol of the pitfalls of nuclear power.
But a clutch of companies argue they have a quicker, cheaper option than large Hinkley-sized plants in the form of small modular reactors (SMRs), which can be built in a factory and then slotted together on site.
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01/14/2025 - 19:21
Dee Why and South Curl Curl remain closed but seven others reopen after marble-sized debris washed up at multiple locations
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Sydney’s Northern Beaches council says it has reopened seven of the nine beaches that were closed to the public after marble-sized “grease balls” washed ashore.
Queenscliff, Freshwater, North Curl Curl, North Steyne and North Narrabeen beaches reopened on Wednesday morning, the day after they were closed after the discovery of the debris.
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01/14/2025 - 13:47
Efforts by the plastics industry to thwart regulation come from a familiar playbook
As the public wake up to the risk of “forever chemicals”, or PFAS, the industry is fighting back with a campaign researchers have compared with big tobacco’s battle against restrictions on smoking. New findings about its intense lobbying efforts are highly concerning and require a response from the environment secretary, Steve Reed. A recent consultation by the European Chemicals Agency, regarding proposals for comprehensive regulation of the substances, which take an enormous length of time to degrade, was inundated with responses from business.
Varieties of these chemicals have been used in manufacturing and consumer goods since the 1950s. They protect equipment, remove grease and smooth skin – hence their appearance in kitchenware and cosmetics. But they can also leak into soil and water, and accumulate inside human tissues. Some have been linked to health problems including cancer and high cholesterol.
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