Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Sea life needs protection, and the UK’s current system of marine management isn’t up to it Up to 90% of the ocean floor around Britain is covered with sand and gravel, derived from the erosion of shell and rocks. Other, more unusual habitats include maerl beds, seagrass meadows and kelp forests. These biodiverse landscapes are home to 330 species of fish, as well as seals, seahorses and thousands of lesser‑known species – which share them with the offshore energy, fishing and shipping industries. Heightened awareness of pollution from sewage and plastics means that the public knows more about marine conservation than it used to. For his 99th birthday this year, the broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough made a film, Ocean, in which he described the seas as the planet’s “greatest life support system”, and urged people to get behind efforts to protect and renew marine nature. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Government rules out using taxpayer funds to buy off competing bid as Pacific leaders urge Turkey to step aside as an ‘act of good faith’ Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The Albanese government is privately downplaying expectations of winning the bid to host next year’s UN climate conference as rival Turkey refuses to withdraw two months out from the decision date. The government has ruled out using taxpayer funds to effectively buy off the Turkish bid but experts believe it will need to make other offers if it wants to break the impasse. Continue reading...

The corporate-financed backlash to calls for global climate progress has been greatly empowered by the Trump administration. It’s never been more critical to challenge the misinformation that could turn a crisis into a catastrophe Support the Guardian’s independent, fact-based journalism today A little over a decade ago I published a book, This Changes Everything, which explored the reality of the climate crisis as a confrontation between capitalism and the planet. For a few years after the book came out, it seemed like we might just win a breakthrough. A cascade of large and militant mobilisations pressed the case for keeping warming below 1.5C as global calls for a green new deal grew louder and louder. Countries across the world announced long-term plans to reduce emissions and to hit net-zero targets; so did some of the largest corporations on the planet. And then … well, we all know what happened. A corporate-financed backlash on all fronts. In the first 100 days of Trump’s second term, his administration took more than 140 actions to roll back environmental rules and push for greater use of fossil fuels. He signed executive orders to ease restrictions on their extraction and export, filled his cabinet with oil industry supporters, gutted federal agencies on the forefront of the climate crisis, and cancelled life-saving environmental justice projects. Join George Monbiot and special guests on 16 September for a special climate assembly to discuss the growing and dramatic political and corporate threats to the planet. Book tickets – in person or livestream Continue reading...

Devastating twister packs gusts of up to 168mph, injuring 89 people and leaving trail of destruction Japan has experienced the strongest tornado in its recorded history after a devastating twister tore through Shizuoka prefecture. Classified as a JEF3, level 3 out of 5 on Japan’s tornado intensity scale, the tornado packed wind gusts of up to 168mph last Friday, injuring 89 people and leaving a trail of destruction. The hardest hit areas included Makinohara and Yoshida, where vehicles were overturned and more than 1,200 structures were damaged. Since records began in 1961, Japan has experienced 13 level 3 tornadoes, but none have reached level 4. Continue reading...