Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Love child of slug and hedgehog: fossils may shed light on early mollusc ancestors

admin — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 18:00:08 +0000

Rare specimens found in China from 514m years ago thought to be remains of proto-mollusc

From colourful, enigmatic octopuses, to oysters with their iridescent pearls, molluscs today are as beautiful as they are diverse. But it seems their ancient relatives may have resembled the love child of a slug and a hedgehog.

Soft-bodied creatures are a rarity in the fossil record as their tissues decay rapidly after death. However, researchers say they have found a rare exception in the eastern Yunnan province, in south-western China, in fossils dating to about 514m years ago.

Almost quarter of big fashion brands have no decarbonisation plan, report finds

admin — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 12:00:03 +0000

DKNY, Tom Ford and Reebok among companies to score 0% in Fashion Revolution report ranking top 250 firms

Almost a quarter of the world’s biggest fashion brands, such as Reebok, Tom Ford and DKNY, do not have a public plan for decarbonisation, a report has found.

Anger mounts over environmental cost of Google datacentre in Uruguay

admin — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 12:00:01 +0000

Protesters say recently approved tax-free datacentre will ‘provide nothing except toxic waste and greenhouse gases’

Google’s plans to build a datacentre in Uruguay have angered environmentalists, who say the project will release thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide and hazardous waste.

Barclays chief praises Wimbledon bosses for ‘resisting’ calls to drop bank’s sponsorship

admin — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 10:44:57 +0000

UK lender has faced backlash for providing services to climate polluters and defence firms with alleged links to Gaza war

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The chief executive of Barclays has praised Wimbledon organisers for “rightly resisting pressures” to drop the bank’s sponsorship, suggesting that protests over issues including its climate policies are “ultimately misguided”.

US Forest Service failing to protect old growth trees from logging, critics say

admin — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 10:00:27 +0000

Biden’s efforts to save mature trees are not getting enough Forest Service support, according to some conservationists

They are the ancient giants of America – towering trunks of sequoias or beech or ash that started to sprout in some cases before the age of the Roman empire, with the few survivors of a frenzy of settler logging now appreciated as crucial allies in an era of climate and biodiversity crises.

Sea change: How the Herring Queen brought promise and joy to a small Scottish town

admin — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 06:00:36 +0000

The annual coronation of a young girl symbolised a fishing community’s hopes. Now, as the industry declines, it has evolved to reflect the powerful role of women and the change they bring about

• Photographs by Christopher Thomond

Cornish conservation charity launches major ‘Tor to Shore’ rewilding project

admin — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 04:00:36 +0000

Cornwall Wildlife Trust initiative aims to benefit creatures from upland marsh fritillaries to seahorses in St Austell Bay

A Cornish conservation charity has launched an ambitious rewilding project intended to benefit creatures from marsh fritillary butterflies living high on the moor to long-snouted seahorses in seagrass in a bay five miles away.

Australian government ‘deeply disappointed’ by Japan’s decision to expand commercial whaling target list

admin — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 02:57:20 +0000

Japanese government confirms it will allow whalers to catch and kill up to 59 fin whales, a species conservationists consider vulnerable

Dutton praises Canada to sell nuclear plan. But does Ontario really have cheaper power? | Temperature Check

admin — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 00:00:29 +0000

Opposition leader’s argument is puzzling given Canadian provinces dominated by renewables pay less for electricity

Scientists devise method to secure Earth's biodiversity on the moon

admin — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 18:12:34 +0000

New research led proposes a plan to safeguard Earth's imperiled biodiversity by cryogenically preserving biological material on the moon. The moon's permanently shadowed craters are cold enough for cryogenic preservation without the need for electricity or liquid nitrogen.