Supporters of deregulation want Europe to be more like the US. But that would serve only American interests
In July 2024, a European Union law came into force requiring plastic bottle caps to remain attached to their bottles. The regulation was widely mocked by social-media jokesters and Silicon Valley billionaires alike. This, people said, was Brussels at its worst: bureaucrats micromanaging, treating citizens like children who couldn’t be trusted to recycle a cap.
What went almost entirely unreported was the evidence behind it. Plastic bottle caps have been identified, across decades of coastal cleanup data, as among the top items found littering European beaches. Small, light and made from a different plastic than the bottle itself, the caps float independently once separated, travelling far longer distances than the bottles they came from. They are far more likely to be swallowed by seabirds, fish and marine turtles who mistake them for food.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
05/26/2026 - 23:00
05/26/2026 - 22:00
Puncak Jaya in Indonesia is one of the last equatorial mountains with glaciers but the ice has retreated drastically because of the climate crisis. Project Pressure came to the mountain to create the first 3D model of the remaining ice before it disappears
‘Planetary destruction on fast-forward’: witnessing the disappearance of Indonesia’s eternity glaciers
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05/26/2026 - 15:46
Lawmakers cite studies linking weedkiller to Parkinson’s as pressure mounts for a wider US ban
Vermont is the first US state to ban the weedkilling pesticide paraquat, backed by lawmakers who cited concerns about research showing the chemical substantially increases the risk of the incurable brain ailment known as Parkinson’s disease.
Phil Scott, the governor, signed the legislation on Tuesday. The new law takes effect on 1 November, though it contains a provision allowing state regulators to issue special permits for paraquat use on fruit-producing tree orchards, berries and other “small fruit” crops up until 31 December 2030.
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05/26/2026 - 09:17
Temperature reaches 35.1C at Heathrow on Tuesday after 34.8C high at Kew Gardens in London on Monday
Tell us: how are you coping in the UK heatwave?
The UK has recorded its highest ever May temperature for the second consecutive day, as thermometers hit 35.1C at Heathrow and Kew Gardens in London, the Met Office has said.
The latest high was recorded the day after the country’s provisional hottest meteorological spring temperature, of 34.8C in Kew Gardens in south-west London. The previous May peak of 32.8C had stood since 1922.
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05/26/2026 - 09:01
Property owners’ lack of motivation due to ‘split incentive’ is main reason rental properties are missing out on energy upgrades, research finds
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Renters make up nearly a third of Australian households yet many are missing out on energy upgrades – such as insulation, appliances and rooftop solar – that could slash their power bills and improve home comfort.
The problem, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), is landlords’ lack of motivation.
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05/26/2026 - 07:00
The EPA said it was cutting Biden-era regulations on Pfas in drinking water, but advocates say the move will harm public health and benefit industry
A new Trump administration plan to ditch Pfas drinking water regulations and instead attempt to destroy “forever chemicals” on a wide scale tears a page from the fossil fuel industry’s carbon capture playbook, and will benefit the industry while harming public health.
The US Environmental Protection Agency last week announced it is moving to kill strong Biden-era drinking water limits around four Pfas compounds, and delaying implementation for two more. It represented a blow to public health – advocates say strong limits and a dramatic cut in the production of the dangerous chemicals are imperative.
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05/26/2026 - 06:56
Investigation finds number of dairy farms where cows cannot go outside has more than doubled since 2015
There has been a huge rise in factory-style dairy farming of “battery cows” in the UK as farmers struggle with increasing costs and face selling milk at a loss.
The number of intensive dairy farms that permanently confine some of their cattle indoors has more than doubled in the past 10 years, an investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ) has found. Data suggests there are now at least 180 dairy farms where cows have no access to the outdoors, up from about 70 in 2015.
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05/26/2026 - 06:29
A sweeping new study of wild snakes in the southeastern US has revealed a hidden health crisis slithering beneath the surface. Researchers found that many snakes are carrying multiple infections at once, with a dangerous fungal disease called ophidiomycosis — or snake fungal disease — emerging as one of the biggest threats. Pygmy rattlesnakes appeared especially vulnerable, frequently infected with both the fungus and a parasitic “snake lungworm.”
05/26/2026 - 04:19
Extreme early summer event across western Europe also brings highest temperatures for month in UK and Ireland
Seven people have died in France in an extreme early summer heat event affecting a swathe of western Europe, with record high temperatures for May recorded for a second day in several countries.
In France, which logged its hottest ever May day on Monday and again on Tuesday, the weather agency Météo France said the heatwave could last through the week and predicted temperatures could reach 39C in some areas.
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