Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Toxic Pfas above proposed safety limits in almost all English waters tested

admin — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 09:00:53 +0000

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.

Week in wildlife: a flying vole, a Wimbledon wagtail and some lovebugs

admin — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 09:00:52 +0000

The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world

Detection of fire ants in Queensland 800km from closest infestation sparks fury over gaps in eradication funding

admin — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 08:45:59 +0000

Businesses and industry urged to stay alert after invasive species discovered at coalmine in Moranbah, about 150km inland from Mackay

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It’s 12ft tall, covered in feathers and has been extinct for 600 years – can the giant moa bird really be resurrected?

admin — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 04:00:06 +0000

Colossal Bioscience is adding the extinct animal to its revival wishlist, joining the woolly mammoth, dodo and thylacine. But scepticism is growing

Standing more than three metres (10ft) high, the giant moa is the tallest bird known to have walked on Earth. For thousands of years, the wingless herbivore patrolled New Zealand, feasting on trees and shrubs, until the arrival of humans. Today, records of the enormous animal survive only in Māori oral histories, as well as thousands of discoveries of bone, mummified flesh and the odd feather.

Welcome to Prime Day, when thousands of product thumbnails blur together to form a giant pile of garbage | Anna Spargo-Ryan

admin — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 00:17:50 +0000

I love a sale – but scrolling the list of Amazon’s deals is overwhelming to the point of delirium

I’m a simple girl. My idea of fun is an annual event in which people are crushed in pursuit of half-price Christmas decorations. But those days have passed. Welcome to the era of the always-on sale.

Zonal pricing is dead. Now Miliband should be less absolutist on his 2030 goals | Nils Pratley

admin — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 18:36:06 +0000

The imperative ought to be to bear down on costs for consumers, starting with a more pragmatic approach to generation targets

The chief executive of Ofgem, Jonathan Brearley, backed zonal pricing. Fintan Slye, the head of the National Energy System Operator, also supported a system that could have led to different parts of Great Britain charging different rates for their electricity. Chris Stark, the head of the “mission control” unit within Ed Miliband’s energy department, declared himself to be “zonal curious”.

Extreme heat could lead to 30,000 deaths a year in England and Wales by 2070s, say scientists

admin — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 18:00:44 +0000

Worst-case scenario of 4.3C of warming could result in fiftyfold rise in heat-related deaths, researchers say

More than 30,000 people a year in England and Wales could die from heat-related causes by the 2070s, scientists have warned.

Cold weather blamed for killing thousands of bony herring in central west NSW lake

admin — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 15:00:34 +0000

Ecologist says the native fish is important for ecosystems as they are a food source for bigger fish and birds such as pelicans, cormorants and gulls

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Trump’s inaugural fund received $19m from fossil fuel industry, analysis shows

admin — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 15:00:31 +0000

President raised $239m for inauguration – more than previous three inaugural committees took in combined

The fossil fuel industry poured more than $19m into Donald Trump’s inaugural fund, accounting for nearly 8% of all donations it raised, a new analysis shows, raising concerns about White House’s relationship with big oil.

South West Water allowed to invest £24m rather than pay £19m fine

admin — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 14:04:21 +0000

Campaigners say Ofwat ‘subservient to industry and its rampaging pursuit of profit’ after illegal sewage discharges

South West Water has agreed to pay a £24m penalty for illegal sewage discharges into the environment from its treatment works.

The regulator for the water and wastewater sector in England and Wales, Ofwat, says the company, which has 1.8 million customers in Cornwall, Devon, the Isles of Scilly and parts of Dorset and Somerset, is being penalised for dumping sewage in breach of its legal permit conditions.