Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Inglorious Twelfth? Calls for grouse season to be banned to prevent wildfires and peatland damage

admin — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 12:19:57 +0000

As London restaurants say wild birds are smaller and fewer this year, experts say countryside should not be ‘playground for bloodsports’

Every year on 12 August, fans of traditional British cuisine flock to plush restaurants in Mayfair to dine on grouse served with bread sauce and game chips.

But those hoping to find the small wild birds, sourced from the UK’s moorlands, may be disappointed. Wildfires have been raging on moors across the UK, burning habitats and incinerating wildlife after record-breaking heat has turned the landscape into a tinderbox.

Humpbacks return to Rio: the whales are back from the brink of extinction – but will tourism help or hinder?

admin — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 12:00:28 +0000

The gigantic aquatic acrobats are exciting Brazil’s tourists as numbers recover from whaling. But some marine biologists question how booming tourism and conservation can coexist

The anticipation is palpable onboard the Boaventura II as the yacht sets off from Rio de Janeiro at sunrise. Once beyond the Cagarras Islands, rocky outcrops just three miles off Ipanema beach, the group gathers at the bow and starts scanning the horizon.

Heat, algae and AI: proposed datacenter could damage Everglades, experts warn

admin — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 11:30:27 +0000

Plans for hyperscale datacenter in Palm Beach county prompt concerns over water and electricity demands

Halting the march of the armyworm: fungus discovery offers hope to African farmers

admin — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 11:00:27 +0000

South African scientist’s breakthrough research shows soil fungus could be used in fight against devastating crop pest

Hearing about fields full of dead caterpillars enveloped in a mysterious white substance intrigued the South African scientist Letodi Luki Mathulwe. Something was killing off the African armyworm – one of the most devastating pests for farmers in east and southern Africa.

The white substance was a naturally occurring fungus and it was wiping out the caterpillar, which gained its name from its march-like advance through fields of crops.

Drone footage shows rare bird’s-eye view of stingrays off New York coast

admin — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 10:00:27 +0000

With wing spans up to 3ft, the shy cownose ray species typically arrive in Long Island waters in the warmer months

Drone footage of dozens of stingrays in the ocean off New York has captivated beachgoers and marine enthusiasts, offering a rare bird’s-eye view of a species that scientists say has visited the area for decades.

I was enjoying growing vegetables. Then the climate crisis raised its ugly head | Bim Adewunmi

admin — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 10:00:26 +0000

My child and I were bonding over our hit-and-miss approach to reaping crops. But with heatwaves pushing more of Britain into drought, it’s starting to feel like a luxury we can’t afford

Just 20 of 6,600 Defra staff working on climate adaptation amid drought and wildfires

admin — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 09:36:34 +0000

Exclusive: England ‘desperately unprepared’ for effects of crisis including water shortages and heatwaves

UK heatwave live – latest updates

Just 20 staff are working on climate adaptation within a key government department tasked with protecting the environment and maintaining food security, a freedom of information request has revealed.

Andy Burnham to chair emergency Cobra meeting amid extreme heat

admin — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 05:55:32 +0000

PM touts ban on disposable barbecues as areas hit by wildfires – but some Labour MPs will be hoping for more ambitious ideas to tackle crisis

All-British chocolate bar made by scientists using Reading-grown cocoa

admin — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 05:00:19 +0000

Master’s student made first bar with 100% UK ingredients since 1932 to highlight effect of climate crisis on cocoa plants

The late queen was the only person in history to have ever eaten a chocolate bar made with 100% British ingredients, after she was given one as a six-year-old in 1932 by the confectioner Rowntree’s.

The bar was created from a glasshouse-grown cocoa plant, at Rowntree’s headquarters in York.

Massive bailout for Australia’s largest aluminium smelter to be announced by PM and NSW premier

admin — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 04:29:45 +0000

Rio Tinto said in December it may cease operations at the Tomago aluminium smelter at the end of its current electricity supply contract

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