Breaking Waves: Ocean News

04/24/2024 - 23:00
Illnesses such as dengue and malaria to reach unaffected parts of northern Europe, America, Asia and Australia, conference to hear Mosquito-borne diseases are spreading across the globe, and particularly in Europe, due to climate breakdown, an expert has said. The insects spread illnesses such as malaria and dengue fever, the prevalences of which have hugely increased over the past 80 years as global heating has given them the warmer, more humid conditions they thrive in. Continue reading...
04/24/2024 - 23:00
npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 25 April 2024; doi:10.1038/s44183-024-00047-9 Whole-ocean network design and implementation pathway for Arctic marine conservation
04/24/2024 - 15:22
Proliferation of hubs for online shopping disproportionately sited in low-income neighborhoods or communities of color Hundreds of mega-warehouses have been built in Illinois for online shopping in recent years and the rise in delivery trucks is polluting neighborhoods already burdened with poor air quality, a new study says. Two million people in Illinois live within a half-mile of large warehouses, which are disproportionately located in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. Continue reading...
04/24/2024 - 15:02
Researchers found that forests with higher trait diversity not only adapt better to climate change but may also thrive. The study unveiled how tree functional trait diversity plays a pivotal role in mitigating climate warming. In the face of environmental stress, these diverse trees have been shown to maintain higher productivity levels, in contrast to monoculture forests.
04/24/2024 - 13:00
Study confirms Philip Morris International, Danone, Nestlé, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola are worst offenders Fewer than 60 multinationals are responsible for more than half of the world’s plastic pollution, with five responsible for a quarter of that, based on the findings of a piece of research published on Wednesday. The researchers concluded that for every percentage increase in plastic produced, there was an equivalent increase in plastic pollution in the environment. Continue reading...
04/24/2024 - 12:00
Sugarcane biodiversity disappeared as big plantations dominated the sugar trade in Hawaii, but now old varieties are making a comeback Noa Kekuewa Lincoln remembers when he first encountered unique Hawaiian sugarcane varieties in 2004. The fresh stalks, bursting with color, might have sprouted from Willy Wonka’s imagination, not the soil. Lincoln, a kanaka maoli (Native Hawaiian) expert in Indigenous cropping systems and an assistant professor at the University of Hawaii, said: “I grew up seeing grayish-green cane fields. But these canes are fluorescent pink, bright apple-green striped. They looked like huge cartoon candy canes. They almost don’t look real!” Continue reading...
04/24/2024 - 11:24
Campaigners fear growth duty will hamper water regulator’s ability to crack down on companies in poor financial state The Conservatives have pushed through a duty on the water regulator to prioritise growth, which experts have said will incentivise water companies to value their bottom lines over reducing sewage pollution. Campaigners fear this move will weaken Ofwat’s ability to crack down on water companies as it may force the regulator to consider a company’s financial situation and the impact on its growth if the firm is heavily fined for polluting. Continue reading...
04/24/2024 - 09:00
The divestment movement has a long history among US student activists, including in the overlapping movements of today Student protesters are demanding universities divest from Israel. What does that mean? Cameron Jones first learned about fossil fuel divestment as a 15-year-old climate organizer. When he enrolled at Columbia University in 2022, he joined the campus’s chapter of the youth-led climate justice group the Sunrise Movement and began pushing the school in New York to sever financial ties with coal, oil and gas companies. “The time for institutions like Columbia to be in the pocket of fossil fuel corporations has passed,” Jones wrote in an October 2023 op-ed in the student newspaper directed toward the Columbia president, Minouche Shafik. Continue reading...
04/24/2024 - 08:49
Newberry county sheriff’s office reassures people siren-like roar is male cicadas singing to attract mates after a decade dormant Emerging cicadas are so loud in one South Carolina county that residents are calling the sheriff’s office asking why they can hear sirens or a loud roar. The Newberry county sheriff’s office sent out a message on Facebook on Tuesday letting people know that the whining sound is just the male cicadas singing to attract mates after more than a decade dormant. Continue reading...
04/24/2024 - 08:23
Gas and coal accounted for just 2.4% of power generation for an hour last week, data shows, amid ‘zero-carbon grid’ plans The share of Great Britain’s electricity generated by burning fossil fuels plummeted to unprecedented lows this month, ahead of plans to begin running a “zero-carbon grid” for short periods from next year. Electricity generated by burning gas and coal fell to a record low of just 2.4% for an hour at lunchtime on Monday 15 April, according to an analysis of data from National Grid’s electricity system operator (ESO). Continue reading...