Breaking Waves: Ocean News

‘Your body is completely drained’: US workers toil in heatwaves with no protections

admin — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 15:00:43 +0000

Though 2,300 people in the US died from heat-related illness in 2023, workers await robust protection laws

On 23 June, Shae Parker had to leave her shift early at a gas station in Columbia, South Carolina, to go to the emergency room due to heat exhaustion; she wasn’t paid for missing the rest of her shift. The air conditioning at her work has been on the fritz for weeks, she said, and her station heats up easily as the sun beams through its large windows.

Ofgem to encourage flexible use of cheap off-peak energy

admin — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 12:31:38 +0000

Regulator for Great Britain also appoints Elexon to lead local flexibility markets

Business live – latest updates

Ofgem is pushing ahead with plans to make it easier for British homeowners to reap the benefits of using electric car chargers and heat pumps at non-peak times, as the grid becomes more reliant on wind and solar power.

Costly climate ‘solutions’ look like more pollution in Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley’

admin — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 10:00:17 +0000

Corporations and politicians are pushing carbon capture despite big questions over its value as residents in the southern ‘petrostate’ fear the worst

It was a muggy morning in late April when a handful of local residents and grassroots organizers huddled in a church parking lot to strategize, before knocking on doors with information about the latest environmental threat facing St Rose, a predominantly Black community in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley”.

‘Warning sign to us all’ as UK butterfly numbers hit record low

admin — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 09:31:22 +0000

Conservation charity raises alarm over climate crisis after wet spring and summer dampen mating chances

Butterfly numbers are the lowest on record in the UK after a wet spring and summer dampened their chances of mating.

Butterfly Conservation, which runs the Big Butterfly Count, sounded the alarm after this year’s count revealed the worst numbers since it began 14 years ago.

Inside the battle for top job that will decide the future of deep-sea mining

admin — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 09:00:14 +0000

Marking a pivotal moment for the fate of the barely known ecosystems on the ocean floor, 168 nations will decide this week who will head the International Seabed Authority

Campaign groups call on Home Office to stop ‘steady erosion’ of protest rights

admin — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 05:00:16 +0000

Civil society organisations demand home secretary protects the ‘safety valve’ of democracy

Environmental groups are among 92 civil society organisations who have warned Yvette Cooper against “the steady erosion of the right to protest” in the UK, and called on her to reverse the previous government’s crackdown on peaceful protest.

Number of plastic bags found on UK beaches down 80% since charge introduced

admin — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 23:01:06 +0000

Hailing the success of carrier bag laws, the Marine Conservation Society urges nations to push forward with plans for other single-use items

The number of plastic bags washed up on UK beaches has fallen by 80% over a decade, since a mandatory fee was imposed on shoppers who opt to pick up single-use carrier bags at the checkout.

According to the Marine Conservation Society’s (MCS) annual litter survey, volunteers found an average of one plastic bag every 100 metres of coastline surveyed last year, compared to an average of five carrier bags every 100 metres in 2014.

Second Trump term could boost toxic ‘forever chemicals’, experts warn

admin — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 11:00:53 +0000

Ex-president’s allies and Project 2025 propose restrictions to EPA’s ability to protect public from toxins like PFAS

A second Donald Trump presidency would represent a serious threat to dealing with the toxic impact of PFAS “forever chemicals”, as well as other toxins, and could be a danger to the health of millions of Americans, experts and environmental campaigners warn.

Era of rapidly intensifying hurricanes throws evacuation plans into disarray

admin — Sat, 27 Jul 2024 12:00:25 +0000

Residents face tough choices on whether to shelter in place or flee – ‘There’s risks associated with each’, experts say

A ‘catastrophic’ start to wildfire season in Oregon sparks alarm

admin — Sat, 27 Jul 2024 11:00:24 +0000

State’s wildfires have already torched more than 1m acres, and experts say heat, dryness and lightning are to blame

Oregon’s wildfire season is off to an explosive start with more than 1m acres (405,000 hectares) charred in less than a month, as experts warn that extreme heat and unusual lightning strikes are creating “catastrophic conditions” for fires to ignite and spread.