Amateur conservationist and social media influencer Theerasak ‘Pop’ Saksritawee has a rare bond with Thailand’s critically endangered dugongs. With dugong fatalities increasing, Pop works alongside scientists at Phuket Marine Biological Centre to track the mammals with his drone and restore their disappearing seagrass habitat. Translating complex science for thousands online, Pop raises an urgent alarm about climate change, pollution and habitat loss — before Thailand’s dugongs vanish forever
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
01/20/2026 - 05:58
Amateur conservationist and social media influencer Theerasak 'Pop' Saksritawee has a rare bond with Thailand’s critically endangered dugongs. With dugong fatalities increasing, Pop works alongside scientists at Phuket Marine Biological Centre to track the mammals with his drone and restore their disappearing seagrass habitat. Translating complex science for thousands online, Pop raises an urgent alarm about climate change, pollution and habitat loss — before Thailand’s dugongs vanish forever
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01/20/2026 - 05:00
Prosecution over death of Quinto Inuma Alvarado seen as test of ability to curb attacks on environmental defenders
Five men are due to go on trial on Tuesday over the killing of an Amazonian Indigenous leader, in a legal case that could test whether Peru can hold perpetrators accountable for violence linked to illegal logging and drug trafficking in one of the world’s most dangerous regions for environmental defenders.
The Kichwa tribal leader Quinto Inuma Alvarado was killed on 29 November 2023, after repeatedly denouncing illegal activity within his community’s territory.
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01/20/2026 - 00:01
Changing temperatures may be behind change in behaviour, which experts fear threatens three species’ survival
Penguins in Antarctica have radically shifted their breeding season, apparently as a response to climate change, research has found.
Dramatic shifts in behaviour were revealed by a decade-long study led by Penguin Watch at the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University, with some penguins’ breeding period moving forward by more than three weeks.
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01/19/2026 - 19:51
Major disturbance in the Earth’s magnetic field may make northern lights visible far more south than usual
The aurora could be visible across Canada and much of the northern tier of US states on Monday night, and possibly even further south, following a major disturbance in the Earth’s magnetic field, a forecast shows.
The forecast, from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s space weather prediction center, comes amid intense geomagnetic and solar radiation storms, said Shawn Dahl, service coordinator at the center.
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01/19/2026 - 18:46
Life of Eraring power station in Lake Macquarie extended to April 2029, Origin Energy says
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Australia’s largest coal-fired power plant, Eraring in New South Wales, will stay open for an additional two years until 2029, amid concerns about the national energy grid’s ability to satisfy demand.
The operator of the plant in Lake Macquarie, Origin Energy, had previously agreed a deal with the state government to delay Eraring’s closure from 2025 to August 2027. While the state environment minister said the new extension would contribute to NSW’s emissions reductions, climate advocates described it as a “disaster”.
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01/19/2026 - 17:30
Exclusive: Campaigners claim changes will let companies ‘off the hook’, as government prepares to unveil new white paper for water industry
Water companies could be let off fines for polluting the environment under changes announced in the government’s new white paper.
The environment secretary, Emma Reynolds, hailed the changes as “once-in-a-generation reforms” featuring “tough oversight, real accountability and no more excuses”.
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01/19/2026 - 09:00
Trust had $254m invested in companies such as Chevron, BP and Shell in 2024, a nine-year record, analysis shows
The Gates Foundation Trust holds hundreds of millions of dollars in fossil fuel extractors despite Bill Gates’ claims of divestment made in 2019.
End-of-year filings reveal that in 2024 the trust invested $254m in companies that extract fossil fuels such as Chevron, BP and Shell. This was a nine-year record and up 21% from 2016, Guardian analysis found. Adjusting for inflation, it was the highest amount since 2019.
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01/19/2026 - 05:00
Study links rapid growth of ocean macroalgae to global heating and nutrient pollution
Scientists have warned of a potential “regime shift” in the oceans, as the rapid growth of huge mats of seaweed appears to be driven by global heating and excessive enrichment of waters from farming runoff and other pollutants.
Over the past two decades, seaweed blooms have expanded by a staggering 13.4% a year in the tropical Atlantic and western Pacific, with the most dramatic increases occurring after 2008, according to researchers at the University of South Florida.
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01/19/2026 - 04:00
Experts call for tighter regulation as GPS tracking reveals how people’s behaviour affects the lives of some of the world’s largest birds
Many people look up to admire the silhouette of raptors, some of the planet’s largest birds, soaring through seemingly empty skies. But increasingly, research shows us that this fascination runs both ways. From high above, these birds are watching us too.
Thanks to the development of tiny GPS tracking devices attached to their bodies, researchers are getting millions of data points on the day-to-day lives of these apex predators of the skies, giving us greater insight into where they hunt and rest, and how they die.
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