Breaking Waves: Ocean News

The only way that Britain’s energy bills can come down is if we are no longer reliant on fossil fuels. Today marks a big step towards that goal Offshore windfarm contracts to fuel 12m homes in Great Britain after record auction In the 18 months since I became energy secretary, the government has made a simple argument: that if we want to bring down energy bills for good, Britain needs to get off the rollercoaster of fossil fuels and instead build up clean homegrown power that we control. We know that bills rocketed when Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine because in the international fossil fuel markets, Britain is a price-taker, not a price-maker. Renewables and nuclear, on the other hand, offer a chance for Britain to stand on our own two feet in the world – making and setting the price of our own energy. Ed Miliband is the secretary of state for energy security and net zero and the Labour MP for Doncaster North Continue reading...

Data leads scientists to declare 2015 Paris agreement to keep global heating below 1.5C ‘dead in the water’ Last year was the third hottest on record, scientists have said, with mounting fossil fuel pollution behind “exceptional” temperatures. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said 2025 had continued a three-year streak of “extraordinary global temperatures” during which surface air temperatures averaged 1.48C above preindustrial levels. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Some scientists say many detections are most likely error, with one high-profile study called a ‘joke’ High-profile studies reporting the presence of microplastics throughout the human body have been thrown into doubt by scientists who say the discoveries are probably the result of contamination and false positives. One chemist called the concerns “a bombshell”. Studies claiming to have revealed micro and nanoplastics in the brain, testes, placentas, arteries and elsewhere were reported by media across the world, including the Guardian. There is no doubt that plastic pollution of the natural world is ubiquitous, and present in the food and drink we consume and the air we breathe. But the health damage potentially caused by microplastics and the chemicals they contain is unclear, and an explosion of research has taken off in this area in recent years. Continue reading...

If enacted, Utah and Oklahoma measures would restrict litigation against oil companies over role in climate crisis US lawmakers in two red states are attempting to shield the fossil fuel industry from climate liability. In Oklahoma, a newly introduced bill would bar most civil lawsuits against oil companies over their role in the climate crisis, unless plaintiffs allege violations of specific environmental or labor laws. A similar proposal in Utah would block lawsuits over climate-warming emissions, unless a court finds the defendant violated a statute or permit. Continue reading...