Breaking Waves: Ocean News

08/30/2026 - 08:00
The movement against datacenters is uniting Americans because they perfectly illustrate how a few individuals hold all the power to control decisions that affect our lives Bryce Gustafson has been knocking on doors in Indiana for more than a decade. The lead organizer with Citizens Action Coalition (CAC), a consumer and environmental organization, he usually encounters a mix of reactions when he’s out canvassing; whatever issue he’s talking about, there’s always at least a few people on the other side. But at a recent festival in the rural town of Monrovia, Indiana, he was struck by an unusual spirit of unity. He was there about a proposed datacenter, a 550-acre (222-hectare) Google project in this small town of 1,600 people. “I had 50 people I talked to,” Gustafson told me. “Nobody wanted that datacenter in their community. And at least a half a dozen people came up to me to say, ‘Hey, I voted for Trump. What the heck’s he doing, supporting these things?’” Continue reading...
08/30/2026 - 07:00
Record inundations wrecked homes and took seven lives but Trump has not approved emergency aid and the state has cut funds for environmental agencies It’s been 10 days since the floodwater receded from Cambridge City’s main street and yet signs of disaster are all around. Abandoned cars, toilets and bathtubs are strewn across parks and side streets on a recent visit to the city. Garages have been lifted from their foundations and moved by the rushing water. Dumpsters up and down the street are overflowing with people’s belongings, with red paint sprayed on homes indicating which houses have been cleared by water rescue teams. Continue reading...
08/30/2026 - 01:00
Exclusive: Friends of the Earth finds greatest sewage discharge in Devon, Cornwall, Dorset and Somerset ‘Tiny bit of rain and the sewage comes’: Brighton swimmers vent fury at sea pollution South West Water is doing more harm to the environment than any other water company in England, according to new analysis, with more sewage discharged in Devon, Cornwall, Dorset and Somerset than anywhere else. Friends of the Earth analysed water companies’ environmental performance in six categories: sewage spills, water quality at bathing sites, pollution incidents or warnings at bathing sites, severity of sewage pollution at bathing sites, the percentage of rivers rated below the standard for good ecological health, and the affordability of bills. Continue reading...
08/30/2026 - 01:00
Checking for sewage spills has become as normal as checking the weather forecast, say swimmers on East Sussex beaches South West Water has worst environmental record in England, analysis shows “I’m furious,” says Jo Armstrong, 75, sitting on Brighton beach with her daughter and granddaughter. Armstrong lives in Lewes, a town 8 miles from Brighton, and usually goes swimming in nearby Seaford in East Sussex every day. But over the past week the water there has been too polluted to swim. “Brighton beach was the only place that stayed clean,” she says. Continue reading...
08/29/2026 - 18:51
Plaskett fire has swept through more than 5,900 acres in Monterey county and remains un-contained, says Cal Fire A fire in California’s Big Sur region doubled in size overnight, forcing the evacuation of nearby residents, in a coastal region where firefighters have battled another blaze for weeks. The Plaskett fire, which sparked on Tuesday, had swept through more than 5,900 acres (2,400 hectares) in Monterey county as of Friday, and remained un-contained, according to Cal Fire. Its cause is under investigation. Continue reading...
08/29/2026 - 08:43
Half the world away, a Himalayan diaspora reacts in sorrow and pitches in to help victims in their home countries Geeta Tamang was getting ready for bed when her aunts shared news that upended her world. “My aunts came into my room and told me what had happened,” said Tamang, a 24-year-old computer science student at Queens College. She lives in Jackson Heights, home to one of the largest Nepali and Tibetan communities in New York City. Continue reading...
08/29/2026 - 07:00
Recent deadly water-related incidents amid heatwave leads National Park Service to issue water-safety reminders As a heatwave continues to bake the western and central US, officials are urging swimmers to be cautious when seeking respite from the summer heat, especially amid a score of recent deadly water-related incidents. Each year, from April to September, drowning deaths rise nationwide, according to 2018-24 data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Continue reading...
08/28/2026 - 13:38
Nevada-based Kingsbarn Realty Capital seeks to acquire land to construct private road to development outside park The Trump administration is reportedly pushing to give a parcel of land inside Yosemite, one of the country’s most popular national parks, to a Nevada-based private developer. Staff with the National Park Service have been exploring how the agency can give a quarter-mile parcel to a company operated by Kingsbarn Realty Capital, the news outlet Notus reported on Friday, citing agency documents and unnamed sources “directly familiar with discussions”. Continue reading...
08/28/2026 - 11:57
Campaigners say ‘seismic shift’ follows years of pressure to sever ties with oil and gas firm The London Science Museum has ended its decades-long partnership with the oil and gas company BP in what has been described as a “seismic shift” for the museum. The Science Museum Group academy, which was established in 2018 to provide training and resources, announced on Friday that it would be ending its partnership with BP. In a statement, the director and chief executive of the Science Museum Group, Sir Ian Blatchford, said the partnership had “drawn to a close at the end of the current contract term”. Continue reading...