Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Rio Tinto’s solar power and battery purchase for Gladstone aluminium operations praised as ‘right direction’

admin — Thu, 13 Mar 2025 07:22:27 +0000

Company says new solar agreements will now mean 80% of Boyne smelter’s energy needs are covered by renewable sources

Baby wombat-snatching US influencer at risk of losing Australian visa

admin — Thu, 13 Mar 2025 05:11:01 +0000

Video footage, described as ‘callous’ and ‘pretty dreadful’, shows Sam Jones grabbing the joey from its mother at night

A US hunting influencer who shared video of herself snatching a baby wombat away from its mother is being investigated for a potential breach of her Australian visa.

The footage, with scenes described as “callous” by the RSPCA and “pretty dreadful” by the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, showed the Montana-based influencer Sam Jones grabbing the wombat joey at night as it was walking with its mother.

Atmospheric river to wallop California as study finds storms getting worse

admin — Thu, 13 Mar 2025 00:13:19 +0000

Thunderstorms and high winds forecast for San Francisco Bay while southern California under flood watch

A powerful atmospheric river storm was set to wallop California on Wednesday evening, drenching large swaths of the state with rain and bringing several feet of snow to the mountains – the latest in a wave of intense storms that new research shows are getting worse.

Dead and dying Port Pirie birds and bats exposed to lead at 3,000 times acceptable levels

admin — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 23:00:45 +0000

South Australia’s EPA did not open a formal investigation into the source of the lead poisoning, despite referral from the Department of Primary Industries

Trump officials to reconsider whether greenhouse gases cause harm amid climate rollbacks

admin — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 20:55:22 +0000

Activists horrified as EPA reverses pollution laws and reviews landmark finding that gases harm public health

Donald Trump’s administration is to reconsider the official finding that greenhouse gases are harmful to public health, a move that threatens to rip apart the foundation of the US’s climate laws, amid a stunning barrage of actions to weaken or repeal a host of pollution limits upon power plants, cars and waterways.

Plastic pollution leaves seabirds with brain damage similar to Alzheimer’s, study shows

admin — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 18:00:48 +0000

Blood tests on migratory chicks fed plastics by their parents show neurodegeneration, as well as cell rupture and stomach lining decay

Ingesting plastic is leaving seabird chicks with brain damage “akin to Alzheimer’s disease”, according to a new study – adding to growing evidence of the devastating impact of plastic pollution on marine wildlife.

Want to preserve biodiversity? Go big

admin — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 16:38:52 +0000

Large, undisturbed forests are better for harboring biodiversity than fragmented landscapes, according to recent research. Ecologists agree that habitat loss and the fragmentation of forests reduces biodiversity in the remaining fragments. But ecologists don't agree whether it's better to focus on preserving many smaller, fragmented tracts of land or larger, continuous landscapes. The study comes to a clear conclusion.

US energy industry’s climate retreat is putting profits over people, advocates say

admin — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 16:00:47 +0000

Oil giants retreat on climate pledges, embrace Trump-era fossil fuel policies at CERAWeek in Texas

At a major oil and gas conference in Texas this week, companies publicly retreated from their flashy climate pledges of years past, redoubling their commitment to planet-warming fossil fuels.

Balance of power: Loch Ness hydro storage schemes fuel local anxiety

admin — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 14:00:45 +0000

As energy firms race to meet challenges of storing power, critics worry about fluctuations in the depth of the loch

Brian Shaw stood at the edge of Loch Ness and pointed to a band of glistening pebbles and damp sand skirting the shore. It seemed as if the tide had gone out.

Trump’s ‘drill, baby, drill’ agenda could keep the world hooked on oil and gas

admin — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 11:00:41 +0000

The US president is making energy deals with Japan and Ukraine, and in Africa has even touted resurrecting coal

Donald Trump’s repeated mantra of “drill, baby, drill” demands that more oil and gas be extracted in the United States, but the president has set his sights on an even broader goal: keeping the world hooked on planet-heating fossil fuels for as long as possible.