Breaking Waves: Ocean News

08/05/2024 - 23:01
Percentage of badgers with bTB fell to zero in Cornish study, raising hopes of end to cull of 210,000 badgers since 2013 A large-scale vaccination programme could help eradicate bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in badgers, according to a first-of-its-kind study with “really promising” results for cattle farmers, whose herds have been devastated by the disease. Over four years, researchers vaccinated 265 badgers across 12 farms in Cornwall. They found the percentage of badgers testing positive for bTB fell from 16% to zero. Continue reading...
08/05/2024 - 23:00
Married couple from Bristol attract awe and abuse on X with photos that show ‘staggering’ changes in the Alps A tourist has posted “staggering” photos of himself and his wife at the same spot in the Swiss Alps almost exactly 15 years apart, in a pair of photos that highlight the speed with which global heating is melting glaciers. Duncan Porter, a software developer from Bristol, posted photos that were taken in the same spot at the Rhône glacier in August 2009 and August 2024. The white ice that filled the background has shrunk to reveal grey rock. A once-small pool at the bottom, out of sight in the original, has turned into a vast green lake. Continue reading...
08/05/2024 - 16:48
Ex-president, who previously denigrated electric vehicles, says they are suitable for a ‘small slice’ of the population Donald Trump has for months denigrated electric vehicles, arguing their supporters should “rot in hell” and that assisting the nascent industry is “lunacy”. He now appears to have somewhat shifted his view thanks to the support of Elon Musk, the world’s richest person. “I’m for electric cars, I have to be because Elon endorsed me very strongly,” Trump, the Republican nominee for US president, told supporters at a rally in Atlanta, Georgia, on Saturday. Continue reading...
08/05/2024 - 15:19
One dolphin was discovered near Chelsea Harbour Pier, the other on the riverbank at Greenwich Two dolphins have reportedly been found dead on the banks of the Thames in London, after one was spotted in the river last week. The common dolphin was seen multiple times from late morning on Thursday, and was described as appearing to be “struggling with the tide”. Continue reading...
08/05/2024 - 10:00
Each piece of information about this xenophobic rodent is worse than the last, but you cannot stop reading Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email To read about the naked mole rat is to come across information that you wish you never knew – and then to look for more. The first thing to know about this tunnelling creature is that some people call them sand puppies. The next is that they are “eusocial” mammals. What could that mean, you wonder, and you look it up: as it is with termites, so it is with naked mole rats. Continue reading...
08/05/2024 - 07:03
Industry downgrades forecast for sales of battery vehicles after 18.8% rise in July on a year earlier The UK car industry has downgraded its forecast for electric vehicle sales this year in the latest sign of pessimism in the industry over its ability to meet government targets for shifting away from fossil fuels. The number of battery EVs sold in the UK in July rose by 18.8% on the figure a year ago, according to data published on Monday by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Continue reading...
08/05/2024 - 05:15
America’s landmark climate law, which turns two years old this month, has Harris’s signature all over it Two years ago this week, I watched as Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote for the largest climate investment in American history. It was an emotional moment. After decades of inaction, the US had finally passed a climate law – one of the strongest climate laws in the world. I didn’t know it then, but a month later I would get a call asking if I would like to interview the vice-president about climate policy. Continue reading...
08/05/2024 - 05:00
Climate denialists – 23 in Senate and 100 in House – are all Republicans and make US an outlier internationally US politics is an outlier bastion of climate denial with nearly one in four members of Congress dismissing the reality of climate change, even as alarm has grown among the American public over dangerous global heating, an analysis has found. A total of 123 elected federal representatives – 100 in the House of Representatives and 23 US senators – deny the existence of human-caused climate change, all of them Republicans, according to a recent study of statements made by current members. Continue reading...
08/05/2024 - 03:53
Rangers euthanise large crocodile believed to have attacked man who went missing while fishing near Cooktown on Saturday Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast A large crocodile believed to be responsible for a fatal attack on a 40-year-old father in far north Queensland has been euthanised. Rangers had targeted a crocodile with a distinctive scar near its snout as an extensive search for the NSW man near Cooktown entered a third day. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...
08/05/2024 - 03:37
‘I do believe we are being targeted and they are trying to silence us out of this space,’ ACF spokesperson says Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast The X account of the Australian Conservation Foundation was suspended for more than 24 hours with the charity saying it believes it is being “report bombed by pro-nuclear groups” seeking to remove negative commentary. The environment charity’s X account @AusConservation was suspended on Sunday morning, sparking outrage among supporters. The account was reinstated late on Monday, but without the charity’s 32,000 followers. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...