Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Humpback whale tangled in 800kg of fishing equipment rescued off Gippsland coast

admin — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 03:21:38 +0000

Rescue operation run by specialised whale disentanglement crews cut off ropes and buoys to let it to swim freely again

Rescue team cuts 800kg of tangled ropes and buoy from humpback whale off Gippsland coast – video

admin — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 03:20:40 +0000

The full-size adult whale was first spotted a week earlier with approximately 200 metres of rope and fishing buoys wrapped around it. In a multi-agency operation, rescuers were able to free the animal of 800kg ropes and buoys. However, because of how the rope was wrapped around the whale and safety concerns for rescuers, the crew were not able to disentangle all of the rope. Ellen Dwyer, an incident controller in the rescue team, says they are 'pleased' they have been able to 'successfully remove a significant amount of weight and rope from the whale'

‘Weird and cool’: bilby genome sequence could help to save the species

admin — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 02:56:15 +0000

Bilbies have the biggest genome of any marsupial, which could be down to how it evolved its incredible sense of smell

Toxic PFAS absorbed through skin at levels higher than previously thought

admin — Sun, 30 Jun 2024 13:00:24 +0000

Absorption through skin could be ‘significant source of exposure’ to toxic forever chemicals, study shows

New research “for the first time proves” toxic PFAS forever chemicals are absorbed through human skin, and at levels much higher than previously thought.

UK haulage industry calls for investment in electric truck infrastructure

admin — Sun, 30 Jun 2024 12:41:16 +0000

There are just 300 electric HGVs in the 500,000-strong lorry fleet – and only one public charging point, says RHA

The road haulage industry is calling on the new government to urgently tackle investment in infrastructure for electric trucks, after pointing out there is just one public charging point for HGVs in the whole of the UK.

Takeup of electric cars is soaring, with about 1.1m fully battery-powered cars on British roads and about 63,000 charging units in 33,000 locations, according to Zapmap data.

‘It’s not beautiful, but you can still eat it’: climate crisis leads to more wonky vegetables in Netherlands

admin — Sat, 29 Jun 2024 17:00:06 +0000

Crowdfunding scheme salvages ‘imperfect’ fruit and veg following the country’s wettest autumn, winter and spring on record

When 31-year-old Dutch farmer Bastiaan Blok dug up his latest crop, the weather had taken a disastrous toll. His onions – 117,000 kilos of them – were the size of shallots.

Tory deputy chair dismissed sewage crisis as ‘political football’

admin — Sat, 29 Jun 2024 09:00:49 +0000

Angela Richardson accuses campaigners against polluted water of putting Conservative MPs in danger

The Conservative party deputy chair Angela Richardson called the sewage crisis a “political football” and claimed opposition parties and activists had put Tory MPs in physical danger by campaigning on the issue.

Caroline Lucas: Labour must pursue social justice while tackling climate crisis

admin — Sat, 29 Jun 2024 07:00:46 +0000

Outgoing Green MP calls for combined strategy to ensure net zero will not be done ‘on the backs of the poor’

Labour must combine tackling the climate crisis with pursuing social justice, if elected, to show that achieving net zero will not be done “on the backs of the poor”, the UK’s outgoing Green party MP has warned.

Caroline Lucas, who has held the seat of Brighton Pavilion since 2010, said: “The biggest priority is to demonstrate that is not the case. We have to make sure that this is a strategy and a policy that is the opposite of being done on the backs of the poor.”

Britain embraces pond life as aquatic garden plant sales boom

admin — Sat, 29 Jun 2024 06:00:49 +0000

RHS reports 35% surge in orders, while garden designers note pond trend at Hampton Court Palace flower show

A pond boom is happening in Britain’s gardens as people try to halt wildlife loss by digging water sources for amphibians and other aquatic life.

Data from the Royal Horticultural Society shows a marked increase in sales of pond greenery; their online store had a 35% increase in sales of pond plants for 2023 compared with 2022.

From swimwear to toys: how to go plastic-free for a day at the beach

admin — Sat, 29 Jun 2024 06:00:43 +0000

Lycra, neoprene, polystyrene and other potential pollutants have become near-ubiquitous but there are alternatives – if you know where to look