Breaking Waves: Ocean News

05/20/2024 - 10:48
Vulnerable birds deviating from migratory routes by up to 155 miles, which could affect breeding Eagles that have migratory routes through Ukraine have shifted their flight paths to avoid areas affected by the conflict, researchers have found. GPS data has revealed that greater spotted eagles not only made large detours after the invasion began, but also curtailed pitstops to rest and refuel, or avoided making them altogether. Continue reading...
05/20/2024 - 10:20
Butler is among several writers refusing to appear at the literary festival over sponsor Baillie Gifford’s alleged involvement in ‘technology and arms in Israel’ Labour MP Dawn Butler and author Grace Blakeley are among those who have withdrawn from scheduled appearances at Hay festival over its sponsorship by investment management firm Baillie Gifford. Butler said in a video posted to X that she was withdrawing from the literary festival because Baillie Gifford is “involved directly or indirectly in technology and arms in Israel”. Continue reading...
05/20/2024 - 09:34
Scientists say discovery may be linked to decades-long decline in sperm counts in men around the world Microplastics have been found in human testicles, with researchers saying the discovery might be linked to declining sperm counts in men. The scientists tested 23 human testes, as well as 47 testes from pet dogs. They found microplastic pollution in every sample. Continue reading...
05/20/2024 - 09:00
Design created with no concrete and completely sustainable materials is first to win new environmental prize A garden built with “humble” terracotta made into 3D-printed bricks has won the first green medal at Chelsea flower show for being the most environmentally sustainable design. This year’s show, held in the Royal hospital gardens in south-west London, has a strong environmental theme. At the press day on Monday, Dame Judi Dench was presented with a seedling taken from the Sycamore Gap tree unlawfully felled in Northumberland. Continue reading...
05/20/2024 - 09:00
Read more from the DIY Climate Changers, a new series on everyday people’s creative solutions to the climate crisis Jim Gregory, 59, loves to cycle. More than a decade before the work-from-home revolution, the Iowa business owner was grappling with a conundrum now faced by many: how to stay active while spending so much of his day at the computer. Jim wondered if he could combine the joy of cycling with a desire to reduce his energy consumption. Thus was born the PedalPC, a machine built from a repurposed bicycle trailer that generates enough electricity to run his computer, printer, phone chargers and home wifi. Continue reading...
05/20/2024 - 08:08
More than 216,000 fish died in 2022-2023, when England recorded a 54% increase in sewage spills Mass deaths of fish in England’s rivers have increased almost tenfold since 2020, with fears sewage pollution is exterminating life in the country’s waterways. Environment Agency (EA) data from the past four years shows an alarming rise in the number of fish deaths linked to sewage pollution, with figures escalating from 26,690 in 2020-2021 to 216,135 in 2023-2024. Continue reading...
05/20/2024 - 07:00
Sensing election-year traction, coalition of 20 environmental groups also demand entrenchment of pause in gas-export licences Joe Biden’s administration is coming under renewed pressure to escalate its curbs on the US’s booming trade in fossil fuels by halting new deepwater oil-export facilities, as well as entrenching its pause in gas-export licences. A coalition of 20 environmental groups, sensing election-year traction with Biden as he seeks a second term as US president, has written to officials demanding a freeze on deepwater oil-export facilities, similar to the move announced by the Biden administration earlier this year when it paused new licenses for liquified natural gas (or LNG) exports. Continue reading...
05/20/2024 - 07:00
The FDA is developing front-of-package labels that corporations may have to start printing as early as 2027 Ultra-processed foods are ultra bad for you. Here’s what to know Step into a grocery store in France and you’re liable to see a green, yellow or red score on the front of most packaged foods: a green “A” for the healthiest, a red “E” for the least nutritious. Zip across the globe to Chile, and that traffic light-like label becomes a stop sign, warning consumers when a food contains a high amount of sugar, salt, saturated fats or calories. Today, more than a dozen countries require that companies print nutritional labels on the front of food packages – a move that’s come as the rate of diet-related diseases, like hypertension, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and obesity, increases worldwide. Continue reading...
05/20/2024 - 07:00
From maltodextrin to guar gum, these additives are found in 73% of the US food supply – and are linked to health impacts The US food industry has long buried the truth about their products. Is that coming to an end? If you’ve glanced at a nutrition label lately, you may have found yourself stumbling trying to pronounce ingredients like carboxymethyl cellulose or butylated hydroxyltoluene. In the United States, 73% of the food supply is what researchers would today call “ultra-processed” (think chips, sodas, microwave dinners, packaged bread and fast food) – and products are often packed full of those difficult-to-say ingredients. Ultra-processed foods (or UPFs) are commonly composed of two types of ingredients: industrial food substances and cosmetic additives. While industrial food substances are highly processed versions of ingredients that might otherwise occur in food (proteins, carbohydrates, sugars and oils, for example), cosmetic additives are included to improve the appearance or taste of foods. Continue reading...
05/20/2024 - 07:00
A growing number of grocery-store foods, from fruit-flavored yogurts to packaged bread, are being tied to health concerns What are those weird ingredients in our favorite packaged foods? Shopping for yogurt, bread and granola bars might feel like a healthy decision. The dairy seems like a calcium-boosting choice for kids, the whole-grain bread looks better than the white bread, and granola bars appear so much better for you than chips or gummy bears – and in many ways, they are. But a growing number of grocery-store foods – even ones that appear healthy – are what scientists today call “ultra-processed”: fruit-flavored yogurts packed full of sugars, flavorings and thickeners like guar and carob bean gum; or packaged bread, with ingredients like soy lecithin and monoglycerides slipped in alongside the flour and water. Continue reading...