Breaking Waves: Ocean News

The war on ‘loudcasting’ phones can be won, but it will take some very British nudging | Dan Hancox

admin — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 07:00:51 +0000

Although mobiles blared in public are nothing new, this crop of headphone-dodging irritants are truly maddening. It’s time to take them on

‘Interesting cities can’t be quiet”, runs one of grime DJ and music industry thinker Elijah’s epigrams – and in its essential spirit, he is right. Silent, tidy, prim cities should be treated with suspicion. Any such atmosphere denotes that something has gone wrong at a macro level: either you’ve wound up in an authoritarian regime or, worse, Switzerland.

Going with the grain: how restoring biodiversity led one farmer back to heritage wheat

admin — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 07:00:50 +0000

Henry Astor looked back to his grandfather’s time for the inspiration to find older varieties that could help nature on his Cotswold farm

It is the earliest harvest Henry Astor can remember. But walking through the scorched wheatfields of his Cotswolds farm, signs of life are everywhere – swarms of insects, kaleidoscopic wildflower meadows, bushy hedgerows several metres wide. A yellowhammer perches on a nearby tree.

Climate damage would obliterate any economic benefits of new North Sea fields, analysis shows

admin — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 05:00:48 +0000

Exclusive: Economic harm of CO2 pollution from Rosebank and Jackdaw forecast to far outweigh any boost to UK

The climate damage caused by developing the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields under consideration by the UK government would destroy their economic benefits many times over, according to an analysis.

It estimates the economic damage caused by the carbon pollution from the oil and gas produced would be between £119bn and £336bn in the coming decades, compared with the £28.7bn in value to the UK estimated by Adura, the fossil fuel company promoting the new fields.

Europe’s heatwaves threaten insurers’ earnings, rating agency S&P says

admin — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 04:00:48 +0000

Rise in claims linked to heat-related deaths and illness, especially among older people, could drive up premiums

Europe’s intense heatwaves could hit insurers’ earnings as companies face a rise in claims linked to heat-related deaths and worsening health conditions, the rating agency S&P has said.

At least 35,000 excess deaths recorded in Europe’s back-to-back heatwaves

admin — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 04:00:47 +0000

True figure likely to be much higher as it only covers about half of continent and does not include August totals

At least 35,000 more people died during Europe’s four record-breaking, back-to-back heatwaves this summer than would normally be expected, according to incomplete figures from barely half the continent.

Excess mortality in three of the EU’s larger countries – Germany, France and Spain – alone has already exceeded 25,000, according to the provisional national figures, and experts say the toll will rise significantly once August totals are consolidated.

Nevada files lawsuit challenging federal plan for Colorado River revival

admin — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 20:56:51 +0000

In Trump administration’s plan, California, Arizona and Nevada face about a 20% cut to water supply over two years

Nevada filed a federal lawsuit on Monday challenging the Trump administration’s new plan for the imperiled Colorado River, launching what could become the first of many court battles over the waterway that supplies 40 million people, dozens of tribes and 5.5m acres of farm land across the American west.

French tourist dies in California’s Death Valley after being stranded in heat

admin — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 18:55:22 +0000

Man, 68, was left searching for help in 116F weather after his car became stuck in mud along remote park road

A French tourist recently died in Death Valley national park after a car mishap left him stranded in 116F (47C) weather.

The visitor, identified as 68-year-old Pierre Michel Formosa, was traveling with another French man along the park’s remote West Side Road when their vehicle became stuck in mud near Queen of Sheba Mine Road.

Fast-moving Hawk wildfire is about 27% contained in Reno, Nevada, officials say

admin — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 17:26:42 +0000

Tens of thousands are still under evacuation orders or warnings amid ‘human-caused’, wind-driven blaze

The Hawk fire is about 27% contained, authorities said on Monday afternoon, two days after the fast-moving, wind-driven wildfire sparked near Reno, Nevada.

Our climate is changing rapidly – and our politicians sound increasingly surreal | Zoe Williams

admin — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 15:17:07 +0000

On a panel show last week, everyone in the audience wanted to talk about the climate emergency, but the lines rolled out by a Tory MP simply dissolved on contact with reality

Australia has just 12,000 sea lions left – and ‘carnage’ may await them as bird flu takes hold, scientists warn

admin — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 15:00:36 +0000

Virus has already caused catastrophic losses in seals in South America and sub-Antarctica, particularly among pups

Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates