Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Iowa senator Chuck Grassley calls for embargo on diesel exports as tariffs and Iran war drive up costs for sector Donald Trump is facing growing calls, including from within his own party, to boost support for US farmers as his administration faces mounting anger over its treatment of the agricultural sector. Republican senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa called on the US president to place an embargo on diesel exports this weekend and help farmers grapple with high prices. Continue reading...

New study describes two species, Anchiale robusta and Anchiale mabiensis, both found in far north Queensland Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter here Two new large stick insect species have been identified by Australian researchers, in a discovery they say illustrates how little we still understand about insect diversity. The two species, both found in far north Queensland, are described in a study published in Austral Entomology. Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter here Continue reading...

‘Godzilla-level’ phenomenon is supercharging the climate crisis and will have a huge impact on communities across the world The “jaw-dropping” El Niño currently heating up the planet has burst through the highest temperature ever recorded for the phenomenon, several months before its expected peak. The latest data shows the temperature rise at the heart of El Niño in the Pacific Ocean has now reached 3.05C. That is higher than the 3.02C set in late November 2015, the previous high set in the 150 years of modern records. This temperature is measured against the average of 1991-2020. Continue reading...

The Canadian government has committed C$25m to try to rescue the caribou in the province – but there is no agreement on how best to save the keystone species The caribou of Quebec are at breaking point. The province, home to 15% of Canada’s population of woodland caribou, has seen numbers crash to about half of what they were a decade ago. For years, local First Nations people, researchers and environmental groups have criticised the provincial government’s lack of action on protecting caribou, an animal considered a keystone species by Indigenous peoples. A recently announced agreement between the federal and Quebec governments has raised hopes that the province will finally be compelled to release a protection strategy. The federal government has committed C$25m (£13m) to the province for caribou over five years, with an additional C$15m for the First Nations communities on whose land the herds live. Continue reading...