Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Stop ‘cash for trash’ housebuilding in Norfolk Broads, says Labour MP

admin — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 12:20:08 +0000

Exclusive: Chris Hinchliff urges environment watchdog to block rules that will allow almost 16,000 new homes in one of UK’s most protected areas

The environment watchdog is being urged to intervene in “cash to trash” planning rules that will allow almost 16,000 new homes in the Norfolk Broads despite the damage to one of the UK’s most environmentally protected areas.

Can countries deliver on a deal to save the world’s plants and animals?

admin — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 10:16:09 +0000

Four years ago nearly every government on Earth agreed to protect nature. Now, as countries gather for Cop17, the pressure is on to follow through on those commitments

Cop17 at a glance: everything you need to know about the UN’s nature summit

Seabird numbers bounce back in Solent region after 2022 avian flu wipeout

admin — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 06:00:21 +0000

Conservation work by RSPB has led to recovery of terns, gulls, plovers and oystercatchers on England’s south coast

The colony of sandwich terns nesting at Pagham harbour, West Sussex, was completely wiped out by bird flu in 2022. But numbers have bounced back from zero to 756 breeding pairs in just three years after conservation work in the Solent.

Burnham urged to launch inquiry into unequal health impacts of air pollution

admin — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 05:00:20 +0000

Letter from 150 scientists, MPs and activists calls for action to protect lower-income and minority-ethnic communities

The government must hold an inquiry into the unequal impacts of air pollution, 150 scientists, MPs and activists have urged.

Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies shows that across England, lower-income areas have persistently higher levels of air pollution than wealthier areas.

Tap water no longer drinkable in Norwegian town as climate-related thawing releases heavy metals

admin — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 05:00:20 +0000

Warning for other Arctic communities as residents told not to use water in Longyearbyen in Svalbard, one of the fastest-warming places in the world

Residents of a remote town in Norway that is in one of the fastest-warming places in the world have been told they must no longer drink tap water due to heavy metal contamination that scientists have linked to the thawing permafrost.

Minns accused of bypassing high court ruling with laws to allow NSW mine to increase coal production by 32%

admin — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 04:21:15 +0000

Bill to authorise production expansion at Mount Pleasant coalmine, subject to a landmark high court decision, criticised as ‘legislative overreach’

Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

Cop17 at a glance: everything you need to know about the UN’s nature summit

admin — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 04:00:19 +0000

This month’s biodiversity summit in Yerevan, Armenia, aims to push governments to meet the 23 targets agreed at Cop15 in 2022

Can countries deliver on a deal to save the world’s plants and animals?

This month, nearly every country on Earth will return to the question of how to stem the rapid destruction of the natural world. Humans are driving it, but so far we have not found a way to stop it.

The next ayahuasca? Gabon fights to protect sacred plant from US drug companies

admin — Sun, 18 Oct 2026 13:00:02 +0000

Iboga root, central to several Gabonese ritual traditions, is believed to have huge potential for use in treating addiction and some mental illnesses

The temple is dark, its sandy floor edged with candles. People sit shoulder to shoulder beneath palm fronds hung from the rafters. Through the night, they swallow what they have come here for: a bitter root bark called iboga.

Tabernanthe iboga is a slow-growing central African rainforest shrub, the root bark of which has long been used in several Gabonese ritual traditions.

EPA quietly backtracks on claims US has phased out toxic Pfas compounds

admin — Sun, 18 Oct 2026 12:00:03 +0000

Agency changes wording on website as Texas-based firm continues manufacture of plastic container barriers

The Environmental Protection Agency has quietly backtracked on a claim that the US has phased out two of the most dangerous Pfas compounds – Pfoa and Pfos.

US workers facing deadly heat borrow from tomato pickers to win key protections

admin — Sun, 18 Oct 2026 12:00:02 +0000

As efforts to protect people from extreme heat stall, organizers are embracing an approach that targets major brands’ reputations

“It’s the kind of heat that makes you feel like you’re being dehydrated, like your skin is drying out,” said Lucas Benitez, after harvesting watermelons with his sons and wife this summer. “The heat that we had 30 years ago is not nearly the heat that we have today.”