Researchers have found a chemical clue in Italian limestone that explains a mass extinction of marine life in the Early Jurassic period, 183 million years ago. Volcanic activity pumped out CO2, warming oceans and lowering their oxygen levels. The findings may foretell the impact climate change and oxygen depletion might have on today's oceans.
Breaking Waves: Ocean News
06/26/2024 - 14:20
06/26/2024 - 12:21
Days of flooding have submerged homes and farmland across South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota
At least two people have died as a result of devastating floods in the US midwest. Flood warnings remain in place across South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota as more rainfall and storms are expected to hit the region this week.
More than 3 million people have been affected by days of flooding that washed away homes and submerged vast swaths of farmland. On Sunday, a railroad bridge connecting Iowa and South Dakota collapsed from flooding.
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06/26/2024 - 12:09
North Herefordshire candidate and chef also call for water industry overhaul and more support for farmers
The Green party and the celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall are calling for a “protection zone” to be placed around one of the UK’s most beautiful but threatened rivers and have demanded “drastic” nationwide changes to the water industry’s management and regulation.
At a wild-swimming event on the River Wye on Wednesday, Fearnley-Whittingstall and the Green party’s candidate for North Herefordshire, Ellie Chowns, both took dips, but only after measuring the level of pollution in the water.
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06/26/2024 - 10:00
Paper outlines different legal theories that could help governments pursue accountability for harms
Companies have spent decades obstructing efforts to take on the plastics crisis and may have breached a host of US laws, a new report argues.
The research from the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) details the widespread burdens that plastic pollution places on US cities and states, and argues that plastic producers may be breaking public-nuisance, product-liability and consumer-protection laws.
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06/26/2024 - 10:00
Climate campaigners and scientists disturbed over claims about global warming found in document obtained through Gipa laws
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The New South Wales government is facing criticism over a review of how to cut emissions from coalmines that claims the goal of limiting global heating to well below 2C will not be met – a position at odds with the state’s laws and policies.
Climate campaigners and scientists said the claim in the report, prepared for the planning department, is inconsistent with state legislation that commits to pursuing efforts to limit temperature increases to 1.5C.
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06/26/2024 - 09:00
Charges are reasonable after July 2023 extreme weather event, prosecutors write in new memorandum
Prosecutors in Arizona could reasonably press homicide charges against big oil for deaths caused by a July 2023 heatwave, lawyers wrote in a new prosecution memorandum.
“[T]he case for prosecuting fossil fuel companies for climate-related deaths is strong enough to merit the initiation of investigations by state and local prosecutors,” the document says.
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06/26/2024 - 08:00
As temperatures broil the US, experts share how to mitigate increased chances of heat illness and heatstroke
Millions of Americans are under a heat advisory as record temperatures scorch much of the country. Pregnant people are among the most at risk – they are more susceptible to heat exhaustion and other ailments. Extreme heat is associated with stillbirth, preterm birth and other adverse pregnancy outcomes. “When we think of heat, a lot of us think of discomfort,” said Blair Wylie, an OB-GYN who leads Columbia University’s Collaborative for Women’s Environmental Health. “For pregnant patients, not only is it uncomfortable, it’s actually risky.”
Public health experts and physicians explain the risks of extreme heat during pregnancy and share ways to stay safe.
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06/26/2024 - 07:00
We asked a naturalist, a writer, a champion surfer, a walker, a forager and a yoga teacher to tell us what makes the seaside so special
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Steve Backshall – Sandaig Bay, Scotland
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06/26/2024 - 07:00
Boom in air cargo due to shoppers’ expectations of speedy delivery and shift in post-pandemic economy, researchers say
Air freight operators have increased their greenhouse gas emissions by 25% compared with 2019, analysis has found.
In 2023, air freight operators ran about 300,000 more flights than in 2019, an increase in flight volume of almost 30%. The US accounted for more than 40% of global air freight emissions, according to the report by campaign group Stand.earth.
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06/26/2024 - 06:24
New law is too weak and has been made harder to enforce, while transport ministry has not taken sufficient action, groups say
German climate activists are taking the government to court for “unconstitutional” climate policy, seeking to build on a landmark victory three years ago that they had hoped would force Europe’s biggest polluter to clean up quickly.
The activists argue that the new climate law is too weak, that a recent update makes it harder to enforce, and that inaction from the transport ministry, which has repeatedly failed to meet its emissions targets, will force tough measures on poor groups in the future.
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