Breaking Waves: Ocean News

09/08/2024 - 04:00
Provisionally known as Greens Organise, the collective will fight ‘electoral assimilation’ and push for radical policies Leftwing members of the Green party are calling for a shift towards an “internationalist, anti-capitalist and ecologically transformative agenda” as they launch a new group at their party’s conference this weekend. The new collective aims to combine the party’s traditional environmentalist politics with “new strands of ecological consciousness, from river pollution and right to roam campaigns to an internationalist and decolonial climate justice movement”. Continue reading...
09/08/2024 - 03:00
Environment minister lambasts opposition leader over vow to overturn her rejection of tailings dam at McPhillamys goldmine Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Tanya Plibersek has accused Peter Dutton of planning to ignore evidence of historical Indigenous cultural practice and trash heritage protection laws to greenlight certain mining projects and companies based on “the vibe”. The environment minister told Guardian Australia that Dutton’s vow to overturn her determination rejecting the proposed site of a tailings dam at the $900m McPhillamys goldmine development in central-western New South Wales showed he had no respect for research or official advice. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...
09/07/2024 - 22:15
National species list expands, with orb spider named after Tom Hardy’s Marvel character, Venom, also included Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast A laughing frog and an intertidal marine worm named after Sir David Attenborough are among 750 animals, plants and other organisms that have been newly recognised on Australia’s list of species. The western laughing tree frog Litoria ridibunda, which laughs rather than croaks, the David Attenborough worm Marphysa davidattenboroughi, and the cracking-clay Pilbara marsupial Planigale tealei were added to the Australian National Species List in 2023. Continue reading...
09/07/2024 - 15:00
Creating a fox-proof haven for endangered eastern quolls required a high, encircling fence. But what about the other wildlife? Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Eastern long-necked turtles are known for their “ridiculously cute grin”, says Nick Dexter, and a much less charming ability to release a pungent stink to ward off predators. But what they’re not good at, unsurprisingly, is climbing fences. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...
09/07/2024 - 15:00
The problem: a fence that protects eastern quolls threatens long-necked turtles in Booderee national park at Jervis Bay. The solution? Turtle tunnels. Nine water-filled tunnels were built beneath a 82-hectare fence that surrounds the botanic gardens which keep out feral predators, providing a safe passage for the reptiles to go between watering holes. Over a period of 123 days, conservationists recorded 73 successful instances of the turtles using the tunnels ‘A symbol of our nation’: waratah among 20 more species added to Australia’s threatened wildlife list Continue reading...
09/07/2024 - 08:05
Jacob Rees-Mogg criticises plans for 2.6m members to decide on increasing share of vegan and vegetarian options National Trust members are being invited to vote on a plan to make 50% of the food in its cafes vegan and vegetarian as part of the charity’s commitment to reach net zero by 2030. Cafe menus at the trust’s 280 historic sites are already 40% plant-based. Now, the trust’s 2.6 million members will get to vote on whether the charity should gradually increase this figure to 50% over the next two years. Continue reading...
09/07/2024 - 08:00
Burning with unquenchable resentment, Restore Trust is making another attempt at taking over the institution The leaves are starting to change and there’s autumnal coolth in the air. Which means that the opaquely funded private organisation called Restore Trust is once again making its annual attempt to take over one of the country’s most successful and best-loved institutions, the National Trust. Burning with unquenchable resentment about a 2020 report that truthfully stated that Winston Churchill opposed Indian independence; armed with inflated stories about mushroom bans, cancelled Easters and vote-rigging; and furious about a single disco ball in one room of one of the National Trust’s 230 historic houses, Restore Trust has once again put up a slate of candidates for the National Trust’s council, with a view to turning their grievances into policy. If you’re a member of the National Trust, and you’d rather not see it turned into a platform for an angry minority, vote now for its recommended candidates. Continue reading...
09/07/2024 - 00:00
Big River Watch scheme asks general public to help monitor state of rivers after years of deregulation Rivers will be checked for sewage and other pollution by the general public this month in an attempt to assess the health of British waterways. Cuts to the UK regulators and a change in the law to allow water company self-monitoring of pollution in England mean there is little independent monitoring of the state of rivers in the UK. Continue reading...
09/06/2024 - 23:26
Driver, a 32-year-old man, escaped blaze in the early hours of Saturday unharmed Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Two hundred sheep have been killed in a truck fire near a remote town in western New South Wales. A truck fire broke out on the Mitchell Highway at Girilambone, north of Nyngan and 610km north-west of Sydney, about 12.50am on Saturday. Continue reading...
09/06/2024 - 13:16
Conservation efforts directed towards just 0.7% of the world's land mass could help protect one third of the world's threatened and unique tetrapod (four-limbed vertebrate) species.