Breaking Waves: Ocean News

1.3m plastic bottles collected in a day in global volunteer ocean cleanup

admin — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 13:00:13 +0000

Ocean Conservancy says last year’s cleanup collected 13.9m pieces of rubbish from beaches and rivers worldwide

More than 1.3m plastic bottles were collected from beaches, rivers and waterways last year during the world’s largest single-day volunteer ocean cleanup.

About 630,000 people took part in the International Coastal Cleanup in 2025, removing almost 13.9m pieces of rubbish from more than 15,000 miles of coastline and waterways.

‘You can taste the ash’: surviving in America’s wildfire smoke capital

admin — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 12:00:11 +0000

A magical corner of Oregon has the highest US rate of wildfire smoke deaths. How do residents live with the haze – and grief?

Driving into the county, you can’t miss the sign.

“IT’S THE CLIMATE”.

Groups sue Trump’s EPA over fast-track approval of toxic datacenter chemicals

admin — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 11:00:12 +0000

Exposure to two compounds approved can result in ‘sudden death’ and range of other serious health risks, lawsuit warns

The Trump administration has approved two new datacenter chemicals to which exposure can result in “sudden death” and a range of other serious health risks, like cancer, eye corrosion, neurological damage and reproductive harm, a new lawsuit warns.

‘Major casualties’ feared after flash floods along Nepal-Tibet border

admin — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 10:45:44 +0000

Hundreds missing and at least 22 people dead after floods sweep away houses, roads, bridges and power projects

Hundreds are missing and at least 22 people have died after torrential floods ⁠hit the Himalayan border areas of ⁠Nepal and in Tibet in China.

Houses, roads, bridges and power projects were swept away ⁠in Nepal while officials in Tibet said they feared “major casualties” with some missing in the county of Gyirong after a mudslide hit a land crossing between the neighbours.

‘132F’: meet the man calling out NYC’s infernally hot subway stations

admin — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 10:00:41 +0000

Jack Klein takes heat readings, gives fans to overheated passengers and lugs big jugs of water into the stations

On a recent August day in the subterranean furnace of New York City’s subway, one bearded, curly haired man was studying his phone for different reasons than the other wilting passengers – to track the soaring temperatures and ponder how underground train stations can cool down in an era of climate crisis.

‘National scandal’: extreme heat linked to 40,000 deaths in England between 1988 and 2025

admin — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 09:47:00 +0000

ONS data shows rising toll of climate crisis, with officials warning this summer on track to set further records

More than 40,000 extra people died on the hottest days in England between 1988 and 2025 than would be expected in normal temperatures, according to data published by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday.

Heatwaves show UK must do more to promote cycling and walking, campaigners say

admin — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 07:00:37 +0000

Civil society groups argue climate crisis means transport sector needs to urgently reduce its carbon emissions

Dozens of civil society groups have demanded the UK government do more to promote cycling and walking, after this summer’s extreme heat exposed the desperate need to decarbonise transport.

This summer’s heatwaves and wildfires were “immediate, real-world manifestations of the climate emergency”, the groups said, making reform of transport – responsible for more carbon emissions than any other sector in the UK – an urgent priority.

Call to ban marmot hunting in France as campaigners say they are ‘killed for fun’

admin — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 04:00:35 +0000

Protests and petitions planned amid growing concerns over impact of climate crisis on numbers of Alpine rodent

Animal rights campaigners are gearing up for protests and petitions aimed at persuading the French government to ban the hunting of Alpine marmots.

Open season on the rodents, members of the squirrel and groundhog family, begins in September, a few weeks before they go into a long winter hibernation.

Mood-boosting benefits of birdsong drowned out by traffic noise, study finds

admin — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 04:00:34 +0000

Even low levels of traffic noise can negate the benefits of listening to natural sounds, researchers say

Hearing the trill or whistle of a bird while going about daily life is well known to boost people’s mood. But a new study suggests the psychological benefits of hearing birdsong are being threatened by traffic noise.

Fears for ‘gregarious’ local celebrity Sammy the elephant seal in Victorian bird flu hotspot

admin — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 03:31:54 +0000

Seals and sea lions often communicate by touch and share spaces with wild birds, placing them at risk of infection from H5N1 virus

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