Breaking Waves: Ocean News

11/20/2024 - 01:35
Jacinta Allan says project will be able to power more than 51,000 homes and include 119MW solar facility and 100MW two-hour battery Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The Victorian government will spend $370m to build a massive solar and battery farm able to power more than 50,000 homes, which it says will be the first state government-owned energy project since the electricity grid was privatised in the 1990s. Jacinta Allan announced the new project in Horsham, in Victoria’s west, which is the second investment made by the government-owned State Electricity Commission. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...
11/20/2024 - 00:00
Targeting of substations connected to three working nuclear plants risks nuclear catastrophe in Europe, says Greenpeace Russia-Ukraine war live: latest news updates Ukraine’s power network is at “heightened risk of catastrophic failure” after Russia’s missile and drone attack on Sunday, Greenpeace has warned, raising fears about the safety of the country’s three operational nuclear power stations. The strikes by Moscow were aimed at electricity substations “critical to the operation of Ukraine’s nuclear plants” and there is a possibility that the reactors could lose power and become unsafe, according to a briefing note prepared for the Guardian. Continue reading...
11/19/2024 - 22:13
Strongest atmospheric river seen by California, Washington and Oregon this season knocks out power and downs trees California and Pacific north-west brace for an atmospheric river – but what is it? What was expected to be one of the strongest storms in the north-west US in decades arrived on Tuesday evening, knocking out power and downing trees across the region. The Weather Prediction Center issued excessive rainfall risks beginning on Tuesday and lasting through Friday as the strongest atmospheric river – a large plume of moisture – that California and the Pacific north-west has seen this season bears down on the region. The storm system is considered a “ bomb cyclone”, which occurs when a cyclone intensifies rapidly. Continue reading...
11/19/2024 - 21:07
From my perspective as a 12-year-old, it’s devastating that the protest is getting such a negative reaction from the NSW government Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast All year, I have been looking forward to the People’s Blockade of the Newcastle coal port. I’ve been so excited to see the colourful array of kayaks and get to swim and paddle in the harbour with my friends to make our voices heard, and let the government know that we need to do everything we can right now to stop the climate crisis. I know that Rising Tide has been working incredibly hard to make the blockade a fun and safe experience for everyone, but it feels like instead of listening to our concern about the climate crisis, the state government is doing everything they can to try to stop our “protestival” from going ahead. Continue reading...
11/19/2024 - 19:50
Australia and Turkey are both lobbying to host Cop31, the world's annual United Nations climate change negotiations planned for 2026. The climate change minister, Chris Bowen, said Australia wants to co-host Cop31 'in partnership with our Pacific family'. Bowen also announced a $50m contribution to loss and damage caused by the climate crisis. Paris agreement is working, Australian minister tells Cop29, but much deeper cuts needed by 2035 Chris Bowen makes last-minute diplomatic stop in Turkey as Australia ramps up bid to host Cop31 Continue reading...
11/19/2024 - 19:24
Powerful storm is predicted to be strongest region has seen this season, causing ‘life-threatening’ conditions A set of powerful storms that could rank among the strongest in decades will slam British Columbia, thepacific north-west, and northern California this week, with torrents of rain, inches of snow in high altitudes and damaging winds. The region is bracing for widespread power outages and flash flooding, with extreme rainfall that could linger until the weekend. After a relatively mild autumn, these rains are part of a familiar pattern caused by atmospheric rivers – strong storm systems that can bring both relief and ruin. Continue reading...
11/19/2024 - 19:01
Without action on climate crisis, far greater numbers will also experience floods, wildfires and droughts, according to report Eight times as many children around the world will be exposed to extreme heatwaves in the 2050s, and three times as many will face river floods compared with the 2000s if current trends continue, according to the UN. Nearly twice as many children are also expected to face wildfires, with many more living through droughts and tropical cyclones, according to the annual state of the world’s children report. Continue reading...
11/19/2024 - 14:46
Endangered whale measuring 47ft washes up in Anchorage as scientists seek explanation for animal’s death An endangered fin whale that washed up near a coastal trail in Alaska’s largest city has attracted curious onlookers while biologists seek answers as to what caused the animal’s death. The carcass found over the weekend near Anchorage was 47ft (14.3 meters) long – comparable to the width of a college basketball court – and is believed to be that of a female. Barbara Mahoney, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration biologist examining the whale, told the Anchorage Daily News the whale was probaby one to three years old. Continue reading...
11/13/2024 - 00:00
npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 13 November 2024; doi:10.1038/s44183-024-00093-3 The Dubai Ocean Declaration is the latest international call to expand ocean observation worldwide. We argue that there needs to be a committed effort to establish governance systems to guide data collection designed around equity, to ensure ocean data collection contributes to sustainable development. Ocean science has historically been led by the Global North, neglecting the priorities and leadership of the Global South, and limiting the relevance of ocean science for global sustainability.
World Ocean Explorer Wins Gold Medal Serious Simulation Award from Serious Play Annual International Competition
10/26/2023 - 14:35
For Immediate Release October 19, 2023 Sedgwick, Maine USA World Ocean Explorer, a 3D virtual aquarium and educational simulation, was recently cited for excellence, winning a Gold Medal Award in the 2023 International Serious Play Awards Program. World Ocean Explorer is an innovative 3D virtual aquarium designed for educational exploration of the world’s oceans. With interactive exhibits and a lobby space, visitors can immerse themselves in realistic marine environments, including a DEEP SEA exhibit funded by Schmidt Ocean Institute, showcasing unprecedented deep-sea discoveries off Australia. Targeted at 3rd graders and beyond, this immersive experience offers a range of perspectives on the ocean environment and can be explored through guided tours or user-controlled interfaces. Visit DEEP SEA at worldoceanexplorer.org/deep-sea-aquarium.html. Serious Play Conference brings together professionals who are exploring the use of game-based learning, sharing their experience, and working together to shape the future of training and education. For more information on Serious Play Award Program visit seriousplayconf.com/international-serious-play-award-programs. World Ocean Explorer is a transformative virtual aquarium designed to deepen understanding of the world ocean and amplify connection for young people worldwide. Organized around the principles of Ocean Literacy and the Next Gen Science Standards, World Ocean Explorer brings the wonder and knowledge of ocean species and systems to students in formal and informal classrooms, absolutely free to anyone with a good Internet connection. As an advocate for the ocean through communications, World Ocean Observatory believes there is no better investment in the future of the sustainable ocean than through a new approach to educational engagement that excites, informs, and motivates students to explore the wonders of our marine world and to understand the pervasive connection and implication for our future, inherent in the protection and conservation of all aspects of our ocean world. World Ocean Explorer presents an astonishing 3-dimensional simulated aquarium visit, organized to reveal the wonders of undersea life, with layers of detailed data and information to augment the emotional connection made to the astonishing beauty and complexity of the dynamic ocean. Within each of the virtual exhibits, students visit exemplary theme-based sites with myriad opportunities to understand the larger perspectives of scientific knowledge as organized and visualized to dramatize the impact and change on ocean life as a result of natural and human-generated events. Through immersion among displays, mixed media and 3D models, the experience of an aquarium visit will be brought into classrooms or home school environments as a free, accessible, always available opportunity for teaching and learning. All of this will be available to a world audience without physical limitation or cost. World Ocean Explorer, a project of the World Ocean Observatory, receives support from the Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation, Visual Solutions Lab, the Climate Change Institute, the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, and The Fram Museum Oslo. To learn more about the current and future exhibits of World Ocean Explorer, visit worldoceanexplorer.org. media contact Trisha Badger, Managing Director, World Ocean Observatory   |   director@thew2o.net +12077011069
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