The emergence of trillions of cicadas is under way in parts of the US – what should you do when they’re around, and what on earth are ‘zombie’ cicadas?
The cicadas are arriving. The periodic emergence of trillions of cicadas, on a scale not seen in several hundred years, is under way in parts of the US, with several states reporting the orange-eyed insects are bursting from their underground dormancy.
Cicadas have started arriving earlier than expected in Illinois, a cicada hotspot this year, while there are reports of swarms emerging in Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee, along with some other states.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
05/04/2024 - 04:33
Water bottle stations set up in St Leonards-on-Sea and part of Hastings as customers face days without service
More than 30,000 properties in East Sussex are without water because of a burst water main.
The disruption in St Leonards-on-Sea was first reported on Thursday afternoon and is expected to continue into Sunday, according to Southern Water.
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05/04/2024 - 02:00
More frequent heatwaves mean bees are unable to thermoregulate their hives – further endangering a species already in decline
Bumblebee nests may be overheating, killing off broods and placing one of the Earth’s critical pollinators in decline as temperatures rise, new research has found.
Around the world, many species of Bombus, or bumblebee, have suffered population declines due to global heating, the research said. Bumblebee colonies are known for their ability to thermoregulate: in hot conditions, worker bees gather to beat their wings and fan the hive, cooling it down. But as the climate crisis pushes average temperatures up and generates heatwaves, bumblebees will struggle to keep their homes habitable.
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05/04/2024 - 02:00
Even products marketed as ‘organic’ may be toxic, say campaigners, with risks for the wider ecosystem
Gardeners are inadvertently killing scores of earthworms with soil conditioners marketed as “organic”, experts fear, as they call for tighter regulation on products that poison the invertebrates.
Earthworms may appear humble, but Charles Darwin thought their work in improving soil structure and fertility was so important he devoted his final book to them and said: “It may be doubted if there are any other animals which have played such an important part in the history of the world as these lowly organised creatures.”
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05/04/2024 - 01:29
Officials say a landslide hit Luwu regency in South Sulawesi on Friday after torrential rain pounded the area
A flood and a landslide have hit Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, killing at least 14 people, according to officials.
The landslide hit Luwu regency in South Sulawesi on Friday just after 1am local time, Abdul Muhari, spokesperson of Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency (BNPB), said in a statement.
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05/04/2024 - 01:00
For 30 years, Brian McNeill hunted the world’s second-biggest fish from small boats off the wild west coast of Ireland. Now the species has made a recovery so rapid it has astounded scientists
The ambush was simple. A spotter on a hill would scan the sea and when he saw the big black fins approach, he would shout down to the boatmen. They would ready their nets and quickly row out to the kill zone.
When a shark got tangled in the mesh, Brian McNeill would wait a minute or two while it struggled, then steady himself and raise his harpoon. This was the crucial moment. The creature would be diving and thrashing, desperate to escape. If the blade hit the gills blood would spurt, clouding the water. The trick was to hit a small spot between the vertebrae.
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05/03/2024 - 16:26
A new study shows stony coral tissue loss disease is causing drastic changes in the Caribbean's population of corals, which is sure to disrupt the delicate balance of the ecosystem and threaten marine biodiversity and coastal economies.
05/03/2024 - 13:13
Science Advances report also finds people of color and low-income residents in US disproportionately affected
Using a gas stove increases nitrogen dioxide exposure to levels that exceed public health recommendations, a new study shows. The report, published Friday in Science Advances, found that people of color and low-income residents in the US were disproportionately affected.
Indoor gas and propane appliances raise average concentrations of the harmful pollutant, also known as NO2, to 75% of the World Health Organization’s standard for indoor and outdoor exposure.
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05/03/2024 - 11:05
Extraordinary general meeting of the UK writers’ union narrowly voted against making an official protest at violence that has killed ‘at least 95 journalists and media workers’
The Society of Authors (SoA) has come under fire from all sides after members voted against a resolution demanding it issue an official statement condemning Israel’s military action in Gaza.
The campaign group Fossil Free Books (FFB) submitted two motions to the SoA, the UK’s largest trade union for writers, illustrators and translators, triggering an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on Thursday night. Members voted 1,480 to 251 in favour of the first, which called for the publishing industry to divest from ties with the fossil fuels industry. Calls for the book industry to break ties with investment firm Baillie Gifford, which sponsors the UK’s most prestigious nonfiction prize and a number of literary festivals, began after Greta Thunberg pulled out of her scheduled appearance at the Edinburgh international book festival last year. Since then, FFB was formed, and a number of authors have continued to speak out against Baillie Gifford, which has a proportion of its investments in corporations that profit from fossil fuels.
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05/03/2024 - 07:00
Jason Williams, known as the cloud gardener, is campaigning for green spaces in new builds and rights for tenants to grow plants
Developers and landlords should give tenants a “right to garden”, a leading horticulturist has said as he campaigns for more green spaces in new-build homes.
To inspire those who live in homes without gardens, Jason Williams worked with students to create balcony gardens for the Royal Horticultural Society urban show, held this month in Manchester, to demonstrate what can be done in a small space. Each garden cost £500 to create. He also created an example allotment with easy-to-tend plants, which a developer could easily put into a new-build block of flats.
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