Volunteers are helping save baby sea turtles as the endangered species’ favourite nesting spots come under pressure from development, poaching and tourists
Photographs by Thilina Kaluthotage
It’s a sweltering night on the western coast of Sri Lanka, and on Mount Lavinia beach there’s an unusual flurry of activity. Several young people in orange hi-vis vests are squatting in a circle, digging in the sand in the semi-darkness.
The team of volunteers is patrolling a popular tourist beach on the outskirts of Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital, scouting for turtle nesting sites. Finding the nests can involve a bit of detective work.
Turtle volunteers at a nesting site on Colombo’s Mount Lavinia beach. ‘Sometimes we dig holes on the beach to look for the eggs’
Continue reading...
Breaking Waves: Ocean News
08/08/2024 - 08:00
08/08/2024 - 07:29
UN says a global ‘backlash’ against climate action is being stoked by fossil fuel companies
Fossil fuel companies are running “a massive mis- and disinformation campaign” so that countries will slow down the adoption of renewable energy and the speed with which they “transition away” from a carbon-intensive economy, the UN has said.
Selwin Hart, the assistant secretary general of the UN, said that talk of a global “backlash” against climate action was being stoked by the fossil fuel industry, in an effort to persuade world leaders to delay emissions-cutting policies. The perception among many political observers of a rejection of climate policies was a result of this campaign, rather than reflecting the reality of what people think, he added.
Continue reading...
08/08/2024 - 05:55
A year after the fire some try to rebuild life in the city known as the ‘ninth Hawaiian island’ – as temperatures top 117F
Remedios Ramos moved into her newly built, sand-colored Las Vegas home during a blistering week in July, when temperatures topped 117F. Inside her air-conditioned living room, a shiny grandfather clock, its price tag still attached, chimed every half hour. “I like it here,” Ramos said, glancing around at her pristine surroundings: brand new reclining chairs, a glossy dining set, a television still in its box.
“But,” she sighed, scrunching her face, “I like it better back home, in Hawaii.”
Continue reading...
08/08/2024 - 01:00
A new study is mapping the secrets to the remarkably steady flight of kestrels, which could inform future drone designs and help achieve steadier flight in fixed wing aircraft. Scientists later hope to adapt the data so it can be applied to larger aircraft
Continue reading...
08/07/2024 - 23:00
Much of Italy’s beachfront is in the hands of family-run concessions who operate exclusive clubs or charge big money for umbrellas and loungers. But a new ruling is rallying activists on both sides
Photographs by Roberto Salomone
“Most Italians don’t know they have the right to go to the beach for free,” says Manuela Salvi, planting her umbrella in the sand of a private beach club in Gaeta, a small seaside town in central Italy. “They are used to paying to go to the seaside. And if we don’t make our voices heard, the institutions will think we’re fine with it.”
Behind her, another 30 people are preparing to do the same. They are all members of Mare Libero (Free Sea), the association that since 2019 has swarmed beaches with protesters in an effort to reclaim the space. They want to make Italy’s beaches free to access or at least allocated to beach operators through a transparent bidding process.
Continue reading...
08/07/2024 - 23:00
First phase of trial starts this month and includes rice and pasta
Ocado is testing offering everyday products such as pasta, rice and washing liquid in refillable packaging in a first by an online supermarket.
The scheme will trial a reusable vessel that can take food or laundry products with no extra costs for customers.
Continue reading...
08/07/2024 - 17:01
Experts say booming demand for holidays afloat mean ocean liners’ burden on the environment is growing
The huge passenger vessels sometimes known as “cruisezillas” are getting bigger than ever, according to new research which has found that the world’s biggest cruise ships have doubled in size since 2000.
If the industry’s growth does not slow, the biggest ships in 2050 will be eight times larger, in terms of tonnage, than the Titanic – the largest ship on the seas before it sank a century ago, according to the campaign group Transport & Environment (T&E). The group also found that the number of cruise ships has risen 20-fold since 1970.
Continue reading...
08/07/2024 - 13:08
Study shows average platform has four times the level of pollution exposure deemed safe by EPA
New York City subway riders are breathing in hazardous air, with Black and Hispanic commuters exposed to higher levels of pollution, a new study shows.
New York University researchers found that the average subway platform had four times the particulate pollution (PM2.5) exposure standard deemed safe over a 24-hour period by the Environmental Protection Agency, and nine times the exposure guideline set by the World Health Organization.
Continue reading...
08/07/2024 - 13:00
Even those who are concerned about climate crisis were influenced by false claims, showing how ‘insidious’ repetition is, researcher says
Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast
Repeating false and sceptical claims about climate science makes them seem more credible – including to people who accept the science and are alarmed by the climate crisis – new research has found.
The study’s lead author, Mary Jiang, from the Australian National University, said: “The findings show how powerful and insidious repetition is and how it can influence people’s assessment of truth.”
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup
Continue reading...
08/07/2024 - 13:00
Only 40% of birds survive collisions with windows, researchers say, suggesting that mortality rates are far higher than previously thought
Less than half of stunned or injured birds survive a collision with a window, research has found, pushing up estimates that more than 1 billion birds may die each year from flying into buildings in the US.
In a new study published on Wednesday in Plos One, researchers examined how many birds recovered in rehabilitative care after a building collision. Older estimates had assumed that most stunned birds would recover, but researchers found about 60% died, meaning the number killed by building strikes may be far higher than previously thought.
Continue reading...
