Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Peruvian cardinal hails $150m lead poisoning settlement for 1,300 people as a ‘historic milestone’

admin — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 10:40:03 +0000

Cardinal Pedro Barreto received death threats and harassment during his almost 20-year campaign against a US mining company’s operations in the Andes

A Peruvian cardinal who received a barrage of death threats when he challenged the firm behind a toxic smelter has called a $150m (£111m) out-of-court settlement to more than 1,000 people who were allegedly poisoned by the plant as children “a historic milestone”.

‘What they’re doing qualifies as torture’: new details of ICE force-feeding revealed

admin — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 10:00:17 +0000

Exclusive: cases of Afghan man, Ukrainian man and Saudi woman show repeated nasogastric tube insertions and lack of legal representation

One hunger striker in an immigration detention center was force-fed for almost six months.

One detained immigrant with mental health problems was about to be force-fed, until his attorney intervened and stopped the process.

Butterflies around the world are changing habitats – and experts say it’s ‘signalling a warning’

admin — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 09:05:58 +0000

New research shows early-warning species is on the move, expanding or contracting geographic range and changing altitude

Butterflies, often considered a “sentinel of change”, are on the move across every continent they inhabit, shifting to survive as global heating reshapes their environment.

About one in 10 species have already expanded or contracted their geographic range, or shifted in altitude, according to a global study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution.

Chris Bowen vows to override Queensland and NT to force renewables-powered AI datacentres

admin — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 08:09:25 +0000

Energy minister says Australian households and energy reliability will be protected by new federal legislation

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The ‘Cockroach Lord’ who names new species after Tolkien and Pokémon characters

admin — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 08:00:14 +0000

Cristian Lucañas has discovered multiple species of cockroach in the Philippines, and believes there’s far more to the much-maligned insect than meets the eye

When Cristian Lucañas tells people about his job, their response is normally a mix of shock and confusion. “The majority would actually be questioning why,” says Lucañas, 32, who is the only entomologist specialising in cockroaches in the Philippines, where he is known as the “Cockroach Lord”.

El Niño could push 50m people into acute hunger before end of next year

admin — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 08:00:13 +0000

UN forecasters warn of worsening conditions in 45 countries currently experiencing severe food insecurity

About 50 million people are likely to be pushed into acute hunger before the end of next year by the rapidly developing El Niño weather system, according to forecasting.

Murderous heat, an endangered food supply, decimated landscapes: embrace the Mediterranean life | George Monbiot

admin — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 05:00:10 +0000

As climate disaster stares us in the face, the radical right says ‘Embrace the Mediterranean life’. Embrace death, more like it

Can’t you leftists understand? Mass death is good for you. Reject the woke love of life! Welcome civilisational collapse! Watch it all burn, then dance in the ashes! This, roughly speaking, is how the dismissal of climate action is now being justified: the argument has shifted from science denial to outright nihilism.

Invertebrate of Year Q&A: discuss our countdown with Patrick Barkham

admin — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 05:00:10 +0000

This week, we launched our third annual vote to honour nature’s unsung heroes. The Guardian’s natural history writer – and woodlouse fanboy – Patrick Barkham will be here from 4pm BST (11am EDT) to discuss this year’s poll and why we must celebrate the spineless

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Calls to ban ‘toxic’ pet flea treatments that harm UK wildlife and environment

admin — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 05:00:09 +0000

Over-the-counter treatments for cats and dogs contain chemicals that are banned in pesticides and pollute waterways

Over-the-counter flea treatment for cats and dogs should be banned as millions of hazardous chemicals are unnecessarily applied to UK pets each year, a parliamentary report has concluded.

Cats and dogs are widely treated with topical, or “spot on”, treatments that include insecticides to prevent fleas. Vets often recommend regular treatments as a preventive measure, even when the animals do not have fleas.

‘I just want to find them’: deadly cloudbursts devastate Kashmir’s mountain communities

admin — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 04:00:10 +0000

Increasingly erratic weather patterns due to climate change mean people are losing homes, crops and livestock

As rain lashed the Pir Panjal mountains before dawn on 19 July, Haji Mohammad Latief stepped outside his home in Murrah, a remote mountain village in Indian-administered Kashmir. His daughter had asked him to move the family’s car to a safer place as the rain got heavier.