Breaking Waves: Ocean News https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-waves en Thames Water, I refuse to pay the sewage charge in my bill while you pollute Britain’s rivers and coastlines | Jenny Jones https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/thames-water-i-refuse-pay-sewage-charge-my-bill-while-you-pollute-britain-s-rivers-and <p>I will calmly read all the threatening letters and await the court case against me. But I will take a stand even if our government won’t</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/thames-water-i-refuse-pay-sewage-charge-my-bill-while-you-pollute-britain-s-rivers-and" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Wed, 02 Sep 2026 10:00:21 +0000 admin 104452 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Barclays faces complaint over backing for power plant near world’s largest mangrove forest https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/barclays-faces-complaint-over-backing-power-plant-near-world-s-largest-mangrove-forest <p>Bangladeshi complainants allege Rampal power station’s pollution and climate risks threaten the Sunderbans, a world heritage site</p> <p>Barclays Bank is facing a formal complaint over its financial links to a coal-fired power station near the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest and home to millions of people in Bangladesh and India.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/barclays-faces-complaint-over-backing-power-plant-near-world-s-largest-mangrove-forest" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Wed, 02 Sep 2026 10:00:21 +0000 admin 104451 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Britain is OK with public ownership, but only by foreign powers. Why? https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/britain-ok-public-ownership-only-foreign-powers-why <p>Arthur Downing, author of Power and the People: A History of British Energy, says all-encompassing rapid transition will need a mutualised system</p> <p>Have you ever wondered why it is that most houses in the UK are reliant on gas boilers? Not what’s stopping more people from replacing them with heat pumps, but instead why and how the gas boiler became so ubiquitous in the first place?</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/britain-ok-public-ownership-only-foreign-powers-why" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Wed, 02 Sep 2026 07:00:26 +0000 admin 104450 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Almost half of world’s farmers poisoned by pesticides every year, experts find https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/almost-half-world-s-farmers-poisoned-pesticides-every-year-experts-find <p>Study reveals that pesticide poisoning kills 11,000 people each year, with India accounting for nearly 60% of fatalities</p> <p>Almost half of the world’s farmers are poisoned by pesticides every single year, a <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1825899/abstract">study</a> has found.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/almost-half-world-s-farmers-poisoned-pesticides-every-year-experts-find" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Wed, 02 Sep 2026 06:00:25 +0000 admin 104448 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Wednesday briefing: ​What’s behind the global backlash against datacentres? https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/wednesday-briefing-what-s-behind-global-backlash-against-datacentres <p>In today’s newsletter: Communities from Scotland to India are pushing back against datacentres, warning they threaten energy supplies and the climate</p> <p>Good morning. This summer, datacentres have become targets of resistance across the world. Ever since the arrival of ChatGPT, big tech has been lobbying for the creation of enormous new facilities. Many governments claim they’re essential in any country that wants to cash in on AI.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/wednesday-briefing-what-s-behind-global-backlash-against-datacentres" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Wed, 02 Sep 2026 05:45:42 +0000 admin 104449 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Global heating will hit at least 1.8C, UN warns, and there are ‘no good outcomes’ https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/global-heating-will-hit-least-18c-un-warns-and-there-are-no-good-outcomes <p>But scientists say the world could get back to 1.5C through deep, rapid emissions cuts and removing carbon from the atmosphere</p> <p>Global heating will reach at least 1.8C under even the most optimistic future, well beyond the Paris agreement goal of 1.5C, according to a UN report that warns every fraction of temperature rise intensifies destructive extreme weather, glacier melt, ecosystem loss, and island and coastal city submersion.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/global-heating-will-hit-least-18c-un-warns-and-there-are-no-good-outcomes" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Wed, 02 Sep 2026 04:00:22 +0000 admin 104447 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Hungry bears are wandering into US homes and shops in record numbers – video https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/hungry-bears-are-wandering-us-homes-and-shops-record-numbers-video <p>Experts say more bears are wandering into human's homes and shops in search of food, due to drought-driven food shortages across the US west</p> <p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2026/sep/01/bears-wandering-west-colorado-homes-stores-food-shortage">Continue reading...</a></p> Tue, 01 Sep 2026 18:16:40 +0000 admin 104446 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Judge strikes down New York law that forced climate polluters to pay damages https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/judge-strikes-down-new-york-law-forced-climate-polluters-pay-damages <p>State cannot enforce policy requiring oil firms to pay $75bn over 25 years for climate mitigation and adaptation</p> <p>A federal judge has struck down a landmark New York law that forces major polluters to pay climate damages.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/judge-strikes-down-new-york-law-forced-climate-polluters-pay-damages" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Tue, 01 Sep 2026 16:11:11 +0000 admin 104445 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Is flying a shark drone a boring job? Possibly – until suddenly it isn’t https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/flying-shark-drone-boring-job-possibly-until-suddenly-it-isn-t <p>Taha Kafil-Hussain flies a drone above Coogee beach. Mostly he zooms in on seaweed or turtles – but occasionally he spots a shark and clears the water</p> <ul> <li> <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2026/sep/02/anthony-albanese-palau-forum-one-nation-pauline-hanson-channel-contos-ntwnfb">Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates</a></p> </li></ul><p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/flying-shark-drone-boring-job-possibly-until-suddenly-it-isn-t" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Tue, 01 Sep 2026 16:00:07 +0000 admin 104444 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org US border patrol expected to aid Grand Canyon search for missing person https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/us-border-patrol-expected-aid-grand-canyon-search-missing-person <p>Nearly 80 people have been rescued, and two people confirmed dead, after flood hit national park</p> <p>A US border patrol technical search team is expected to deploy in the Grand Canyon, as authorities continue the search for at least one missing person after <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/30/grand-canyon-flash-flood-arizona-people-missing-evacuated">a fatal flash flood</a> washed through the national park over the weekend.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/us-border-patrol-expected-aid-grand-canyon-search-missing-person" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Tue, 01 Sep 2026 14:19:17 +0000 admin 104443 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org