Breaking Waves: Ocean News https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-waves en ‘Termination shock’: trust our expert warnings on geoengineering’s planetary risks | Raymond Pierrehumbert, Julia Slingo, Michael Mann and Valerie Masson-Delmotte https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/termination-shock-trust-our-expert-warnings-geoengineering-s-planetary-risks-raymond-p <p>Do we really want to play dice with our planet?</p> <p>A series in the Guardian recently declared “it’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/series/it-s-time-to-talk-about-geoengineering">time to talk</a> about geoengineering.” So let’s talk about it. And let us start with some simple truths about this cluster of techno-optimistic “quick fixes” which purport to somehow offset our slow progress towards zeroing out planet-warming carbon emissions.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/termination-shock-trust-our-expert-warnings-geoengineering-s-planetary-risks-raymond-p" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Fri, 19 Jun 2026 10:00:30 +0000 admin 103641 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Week in wildlife: a hungry hoopoe, a hot croc and a snoozing otter pup https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/week-wildlife-hungry-hoopoe-hot-croc-and-snoozing-otter-pup <p>This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world</p> <p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2026/jun/19/week-in-wildlife-a-hungry-hoopoe-a-hot-croc-and-a-snoozing-otter-pup">Continue reading...</a></p> Fri, 19 Jun 2026 07:00:28 +0000 admin 103640 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org ‘I’m 90 for goodness sake’: rainforest activist to pedal 104 miles down Thames https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/i-m-90-goodness-sake-rainforest-activist-pedal-104-miles-down-thames <p>Veteran campaigner Robin Hanbury-Tenison is raising money for a research station near his home in Cornwall</p> <p>Pedalling on water for more than a hundred miles in a heatwave, pushed back by east winds and having to navigate 31 locks would be a challenge for anybody. But when that body is 90 years old, with a bad knee, failing balance and malfunctioning arms and shoulders, it’s a herculean feat.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/i-m-90-goodness-sake-rainforest-activist-pedal-104-miles-down-thames" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Fri, 19 Jun 2026 06:00:27 +0000 admin 103639 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org The Tassie devils in my neighbourhood keep stealing shoes and laundry, but I adore them | Kelley Swain https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/tassie-devils-my-neighbourhood-keep-stealing-shoes-and-laundry-i-adore-them-kelley-swa <p>The thievery of these little creatures is endlessly amusing to me, but there have been, I’m told, a few rounds of inconvenience</p> <ul> <li> <p>Get our <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?CMP=cvau_sfl">breaking news email</a>, <a href="https://app.adjust.com/w4u7jx3">free app</a> or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/series/full-story?CMP=cvau_sfl">daily news podcast</a></p> </li></ul><p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/tassie-devils-my-neighbourhood-keep-stealing-shoes-and-laundry-i-adore-them-kelley-swa" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Fri, 19 Jun 2026 02:45:02 +0000 admin 103638 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Trump administration reverses decision to scrap ocean monitoring system https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/trump-administration-reverses-decision-scrap-ocean-monitoring-system <p>Move to dismantle $368m sea observatory initiative faced opposition from experts and lawmakers</p> <p>The Donald <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/trump-administration">Trump administration</a> has reversed its decision to dismantle a $368m deep-sea observation system following an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jun/02/trump-administration-ocean-observatories-initiative">outcry from lawmakers</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jun/05/trump-plan-ocean-monitoring-system-concern-scientists">ocean experts</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/trump-administration-reverses-decision-scrap-ocean-monitoring-system" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 18 Jun 2026 19:31:44 +0000 admin 103637 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Heathrow third runway likely to harm health of millions nearby, official report warns https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/heathrow-third-runway-likely-harm-health-millions-nearby-official-report-warns <p>Expansion could also hit access to housing, education, healthcare, open spaces and transport, analysis says</p> <p>Construction of a third runway at Heathrow is likely to have significant adverse effects on the health and wellbeing of up to 3 million people living nearby, an official report has said, as the government launched the next stage of its rapid <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/22/heathrow-third-runway-plans-fast-tracked-anps">airport expansion plan</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/heathrow-third-runway-likely-harm-health-millions-nearby-official-report-warns" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 18 Jun 2026 16:19:01 +0000 admin 103635 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org South African men sentenced in ‘world’s largest’ rhino horn trafficking case https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/south-african-men-sentenced-world-s-largest-rhino-horn-trafficking-case <p>‘Mastermind’ Dawie Groenewald given fine of 2m rand or four-year jail term almost 16 years after arrest</p> <p>Two traffickers of rhino horns have been sentenced by a South African court in what police said was the world’s largest such case, partly bringing to an end an almost two-decade legal saga.</p> <p>Dawie Groenewald and Tielman Erasmus had faced more than 1,700 charges ranging from illegally hunting and dehorning rhinos to racketeering and money laundering.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/south-african-men-sentenced-world-s-largest-rhino-horn-trafficking-case" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 18 Jun 2026 16:15:31 +0000 admin 103636 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Showdown in the desert: the small town fending off a new California gold rush https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/showdown-desert-small-town-fending-new-california-gold-rush <p>A prospecting company’s search for gold has the town of Lone Pine and Indigenous leaders on edge, as the Trump administration greenlights new projects across the American west</p> <p>Lone Pine, population 1,882, lies along a stretch of California highway framed by the vast Inyo mountains and a sweeping desert landscape of sagebrush and dunes.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/showdown-desert-small-town-fending-new-california-gold-rush" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 18 Jun 2026 16:00:07 +0000 admin 103634 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org ‘Mega-consumers’ of food and energy cost environment $5.7tn a year, study finds https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/mega-consumers-food-and-energy-cost-environment-57tn-year-study-finds <p>Top 10% generate climate and biodiversity damage bill that exceeds economies of most countries, say researchers</p> <p>The environmental damage bill racked up by the highest-consuming 10% of the world’s population has reached up to $5.7tn a year – larger than the economy of every country except the US and China, a study has found.</p> <p>Mega-consumers in this group are concentrated in the global north, accounting for more than half the population of the US and 40-45% of people in the EU.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/mega-consumers-food-and-energy-cost-environment-57tn-year-study-finds" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 18 Jun 2026 15:00:06 +0000 admin 103633 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Lake Tahoe residents ‘horrified’ by plans to spray cancer-linked glyphosate in public lands https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/lake-tahoe-residents-horrified-plans-spray-cancer-linked-glyphosate-public-lands <p>Federal agency to use herbicide to clear lands for replanting after 2021 Caldor fire – but public reaction to plan is fierce</p> <p>Katherine Levy remembers a childhood deeply rooted in the natural offerings of Lake Tahoe – water-skiing in the summer and working as ski instructor on the surrounding snow-covered mountains during winter months.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/lake-tahoe-residents-horrified-plans-spray-cancer-linked-glyphosate-public-lands" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 18 Jun 2026 13:00:03 +0000 admin 103632 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org