Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Visitors and staff at Arizona’s Grand Canyon and Colorado’s Black Canyon national park were evacuated Fire activity is increasing across the American west, as critically dry landscapes and spiking temperatures fueled blazes in 11 states on Friday. Evacuations were ordered at two national parks – Colorado’s Black Canyon of the Gunnison and the Grand Canyon in Arizona, as hot weather, low humidity and gusty winds pushed flames closer to recreation areas. Continue reading...

Guardian analysis heightens concerns on whether the air around many large factories is, or will be, safe to breathe A Guardian analysis has raised fresh questions over the way regulators and corporations measure the air quality impact of planned factories that risk emitting dangerous levels of pollution. Between 2014 and 2024, air pollution permit applications in Michigan – designed to gauge if proposed industrial projects would cause regions to violate federal pollution limits – did not meet data collection rules or best practices over 90% of the time. Some measurements were taken more than a hundred miles away from sites. Continue reading...

Pfas-laden pesticides and sewage sludge used as fertilizer move into crops and nearby water sources The Trump administration has killed nearly $15m in research into Pfas contamination of US farmland, bringing to a close studies that public health advocates say are essential for understanding a worrying source of widespread food contamination. Researchers in recent years have begun to understand that Pfas-laden pesticides and sewage sludge spread on cropland as a fertilizer contaminate the soil with the chemicals, which then move into crops and nearby water sources. Continue reading...

Exclusive: 110 of 117 bodies of water tested by Environment Agency would fail standards, with levels in fish 322 times the planned limit Nearly all rivers, lakes and ponds in England tested for a range of Pfas, known as “forever chemicals”, exceed proposed new safety limits and 85% contain levels at least five times higher, analysis of official data reveals. Out of 117 water bodies tested by the Environment Agency for multiple types of Pfas, 110 would fail the safety standard, according to analysis by Wildlife and Countryside Link and the Rivers Trust. Continue reading...