Breaking Waves: Ocean News

How penguin poo is making Antarctic snow melt faster

admin — Wed, 04 Nov 2026 06:00:27 +0000

Researchers find the birds’ guano feeds algal blooms that absorb significantly more solar energy

Penguin poo is making the Antarctic snow melt faster, a study shows. As temperatures rise, penguins are waddling closer to the south pole, with potential for this previously unrecognised phenomenon to affect a wider area.

Snow algae are tiny single-celled plants that make a home in some of the coldest places on Earth. When nutrients are scarce, the algae produces red pigments to protect itself from the sun and slow growth.

Rogue UK energy bosses and brokers face crackdown on mis-selling

admin — Wed, 04 Nov 2026 06:00:27 +0000

Exclusive: Ofgem to be given powers to issue fines and rein in bonuses for executives who ‘reward themselves while customers suffer’

Energy bosses in the UK will have their bonuses curtailed when suppliers and brokers break the rules under a crackdown on mis-selling.

Through the energy independence bill, which will be introduced on Wednesday, Ofgem will be given new powers to order compensation, impose fines and ban rogue operators that have pushed businesses and households into overpriced contracts.

The next global pandemic could be brewing on a mink farm in Utah – and little is being done to stop it | George Monbiot

admin — Wed, 04 Nov 2026 06:00:26 +0000

Mink farms are the perfect petri dishes for deadly flu strains to emerge. Yet officials appear to be protecting business interests over human lives

Could this be ground zero? Could it be the spot where the next pandemic begins? It’s certainly a candidate, not least because the chain of events that could trigger a plague far worse than Covid-19 looks like the opening sequence of a disaster movie. A really bad disaster movie, in which the levels of carelessness and turpitude defy belief.

Kashmir’s potato pits are vanishing – and generations of knowledge could be buried for ever

admin — Wed, 04 Nov 2026 03:00:22 +0000

Farmers in Gurez store their harvests underground to last the Himalayan winter. As the practice fades, local varieties and handed-down skills are disappearing too

Hajra Begum rolls a potato in her hands, checking its skin for cuts, soft spots and signs of rot. After a day harvesting in her family’s field in Chorwan, a remote mountain village in Gurez, Indian-administered Kashmir, she is sorting the crop for winter storage. Some of the potatoes will feed her family through the cold months; others will be saved for planting in spring.

UK makes huge aid cuts to Commonwealth nations despite warm words at Chogm

admin — Tue, 03 Nov 2026 17:22:58 +0000

Nations in the group fare worse than others, with funding for nature projects especially hard hit even as climate crisis intensifies global need

The UK government has slashed overseas aid to Commonwealth countries, the Guardian can reveal, in contrast to the warm words for the group from King Charles and the prime minister, Andy Burnham, this week.

Great Britain’s worst-ever bluetongue season ‘a major animal welfare crisis’

admin — Tue, 03 Nov 2026 15:50:12 +0000

British Veterinary Association president tells MPs surge in cases putting farmers under severe pressure and stress

The worst bluetongue season on record has been a major animal welfare crisis in Great Britain, MPs have been told, putting farmers under “severe emotional stress”.

Bluetongue, a viral disease that affects sheep, cattle and goats, can cause fever, lesions, stillbirths and death. The tongue may go blue and protrude from the mouth.

Snowy Hydro 2.0 executives awarded bonuses totalling $751,925 despite cost blowout

admin — Tue, 03 Nov 2026 14:00:44 +0000

Annual reports show NSW renewable company’s CEO opted out of cash bonus, while CSIRO’s chief received an extra $200,000

Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

New tool will help gardeners move away from thirsty English classics to drought-resistant plants

admin — Tue, 03 Nov 2026 13:05:28 +0000

Garden Climate Assessment Tool will allow users to predict a plant’s response to the projected climate in a given location

“In the 20th century, we could pretty much grow the same things with confidence, we could learn from previous generations,” said Prof Sam Brockington, a curator at Cambridge University Botanic Garden.

“But now we’re moving into climate scenarios that we just don’t have the traditions to understand fully.”

Brazil publishes first global ‘roadmap’ for phasing out fossil fuels

admin — Tue, 03 Nov 2026 13:00:07 +0000

Cop30 host sets out steps to break link with coal, oil and gas as it aims to move focus from negotiating to implementing

All countries can start to break their dependence on fossil fuels now without needing to wait for new technologies or economic changes, Brazil’s government has said ahead of a global climate summit.

North America’s most widely distributed game bird is under threat

admin — Tue, 03 Nov 2026 13:00:07 +0000

For the first time since 1937, no open permits to hunt ruffed grouse in Ohio have been issued due to falling numbers

Every November, hundreds of hunters descend on four designated wilderness areas in southern Ohio in pursuit of the elusive ruffed grouse.

But not this year.