Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Bonobos transformed how we think about animal societies. Can we save the last of the ‘hippy apes’?

admin — Sun, 19 Oct 2025 10:00:11 +0000

They are peaceful, female-led and use sex in everyday interactions. Now a new conservation scheme could offer a lifeline to our critically endangered close relatives living on the Congo river

Developers encroach on 2,000-year-old Devon wetland citing ‘blockages’ to Labour’s housing plans

admin — Sun, 19 Oct 2025 08:00:09 +0000

According to planning conditions, Wolborough Fen in Newton Abbot must be protected as groundworks are prepared for 1,200 homes

A 2,000-year-old wetland which is one of England’s most protected habitats has “bulldozers at its gates” after developers said conditions to protect it were blocking the growth the government is demanding.

Wolborough Fen in Newton Abbot, Devon, a site of special scientific interest (SSSI), must be protected from any damage by developers Vistry Group as they flatten hills and prepare the groundworks for 1,200 houses, according to planning conditions.

Regulators overlooking toxic Pfas found around Lancashire chemicals plant

admin — Sun, 19 Oct 2025 06:00:06 +0000

Exclusive: Environment Agency not testing for ‘forever chemical’ made by factory despite evidence of emissions

Regulators measuring “forever chemicals” near a Lancashire chemicals plant are not testing for a substance made by the company itself, despite evidence it could be reprotoxic and is being emitted in large volumes.

Reprotoxic means a substance can be damaging to a person’s sexual function, fertility, or their child’s development and, now,

Government aims to create 400,000 jobs through UK national green energy plan

admin — Sat, 18 Oct 2025 23:01:00 +0000

Scheme will offer training for plumbers, welders and carpenters as well as promoting trade union recognition

Plumbers, electricians and welders will be in huge demand as part of a national plan to train people for an extra 400,000 green jobs in the next five years, Ed Miliband has said.

The energy secretary unveiled a scheme to double the number of people working in green industries by 2030, with a particular focus on training those coming from fossil fuel jobs, school leavers, the unemployed, veterans and ex-offenders.

The amazing world of fungi – in pictures

admin — Sat, 18 Oct 2025 23:00:01 +0000

Dr Tom May, a mycologist at the Royal Botanic Gardens and an expert witness at the Erin Patterson trial, has collaborated with renowned fungi photographer Stephen Axford for Planet Fungi, a new book from CSIRO Publishing full of incredible macro-photography

US Senate poised to approve industry lobbyist to lead chemical safety at EPA

admin — Sat, 18 Oct 2025 12:00:45 +0000

If Douglas Troutman is confirmed, the top four toxics office at the environmental agency will be held by ex-lobbyists

The US Senate is poised to approve Donald Trump’s nomination of an industry lobbyist to lead the US Environmental Protection Agency’s chemical safety office.

‘There were stoats in kitchen cupboards’: AI deployed to help save Orkney’s birds

admin — Sat, 18 Oct 2025 12:00:44 +0000

Stoats have been an existential threat to Orkney’s rare birds but technology is helping to eradicate them

At first, the stoat looks like a faint smudge in the distance. But, as it jumps closer, its sleek body is identified by a heat-detecting camera and, with it, an alert goes out to Orkney’s stoat hunters.

World’s landscapes may soon be ‘devoid of wild animals’, says nature photographer

admin — Sat, 18 Oct 2025 11:54:18 +0000

Margot Raggett, whose latest compilation shows animals scrubbed from natural habitats, calls for rethink on UK accelerated housebuilding

Margot Raggett has spent the past decade raising money for conservation efforts around the world but now she feels nervous about the future. “It does feel like we’ve taken a backward step,” she said.

World’s oceans losing their greenness through global heating, study finds

admin — Fri, 17 Oct 2025 18:00:22 +0000

Researchers say decline in phytoplankton suggests weakened planetary capacity to absorb carbon dioxide

The world’s oceans are losing their greenness owing to global heating, according to a study that suggests our planet’s capacity to absorb carbon dioxide could be weakening.

The change in the palette of the seas is caused by a decline of phytoplankton, the tiny marine creatures that are responsible for nearly half of the biosphere’s productivity.

Shipping emissions levy shelved as countries bow to US pressure

admin — Fri, 17 Oct 2025 16:31:35 +0000

Long-planned charge on greenhouse gas emissions postponed as Trump officials accused of intimidation tactics

Under intense pressure from Donald Trump’s government, countries have postponed plans to force shipowners to start paying for the damage they do to the climate.