Peers say ‘woeful’ record on prosecutions has led to a ‘low-risk, high-reward’ criminal culture
Organised crime groups in the UK are making millions every year from illegally dumping and burning rubbish, peers have told ministers, after an inquiry found a lack of enforcement made it a “low-risk, high-reward” criminal enterprise.
“Criminality is endemic in the waste sector,” a Lords committee told the government on Tuesday, after it found at least 38m tonnes of waste was illegally managed every year, “leading to serious environmental, economic and social consequences”.
Continue reading...
Breaking Waves: Ocean News
10/27/2025 - 19:01
10/27/2025 - 19:01
Exclusive: ‘Devastating consequences’ now inevitable but emissions cuts still vital, says António Guterres in sole interview before Cop30
I am the first Indigenous journalist to exclusively interview António Guterres. How many others will listen?
Humanity has failed to limit global heating to 1.5C and must change course immediately, the secretary general of the UN has warned.
In his only interview before next month’s Cop30 climate summit, António Guterres acknowledged it is now “inevitable” that humanity will overshoot the target in the Paris climate agreement, with “devastating consequences” for the world.
Continue reading...
10/27/2025 - 13:09
One energy industry source says they expected an annual budget as high as £2bn to meet UK’s green energy targets
The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, has set aside £1.1bn a year for offshore wind power developers investing in new projects in a funding round seen by some in the industry as too small to meet the UK’s green electricity targets.
The government’s energy department said today it had budgeted £900m to pay developers of fixed wind turbines at sea and £180m for floating platforms.
Continue reading...
10/27/2025 - 09:52
Climate crisis drives near-total collapse of staghorn and elkhorn corals that formed backbone to state’s reefs
Two of the most important coral species that made up Florida’s reef are now functionally extinct after a withering ocean heatwave caused catastrophic losses, scientists have found.
The near-total collapse of the corals that once formed the backbone of reefs in Florida and the Caribbean means they can no longer play their previously crucial role in building and sustaining reef ecosystems that host a variety of marine life.
Continue reading...
10/27/2025 - 09:00
Do I really need to replace my telephone every two years? Could my next laptop be recycled rather than brand new?
I have an urgent desire to shed myself of goods and chattels.
The acquisitions of a fortunate life have accumulated like an overflowing email inbox and simply must be dealt with while I am alive, and not left to my children to wrangle when they’ll (hopefully, long down the track) be grieving.
Continue reading...
10/27/2025 - 07:32
Extinction rates are not spiraling upward as many believe, according to a large-scale study analyzing 500 years of data. Researchers found that species losses peaked about a century ago and have decreased since, with different drivers shaping past and present threats. Whereas invasive species once caused most island extinctions, habitat destruction now looms largest on continents.
10/27/2025 - 05:00
Study of Met Office data one of first to show how nocturnal insects affected by factors such as light pollution
Scientists have used Met Office radar data to track the trillions of insects flying above the UK for the first time, revealing a concerning decline in nocturnal species.
The team repurposed data from the UK’s network of 15 weather surveillance radars, which scan the sky hundreds of times a day.
Continue reading...
10/27/2025 - 03:29
New ‘national interest’ provision revealed as extracts of legislation circulated to stakeholders before bill introduced to parliament later this week
Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter here
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
The environment minister would be able to approve projects at odds with nature laws if it was deemed in the “national interest” under the Albanese government’s planned overhaul of the environmental protection regime.
The proposed new provision was revealed in extracts of the legislation that were circulated to stakeholders on Monday, before its introduction to federal parliament later this week.
Sign up to get climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as a free newsletter
Continue reading...
10/27/2025 - 01:27
Incident follows several crocodile sightings around Cape Tribulation as breeding season begins and risks of aggression increase
Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
A 14-year-old boy has been hospitalised after he was attacked by a crocodile while fishing at a beach in far north Queensland, authorities said.
He sustained wounds to his leg and torso on Saturday afternoon at Myall beach, Cape Tribulation, a small coastal community 140km north of Cairns, a Queensland ambulance service spokesperson said.
Continue reading...
10/26/2025 - 23:55
Governor of one prefecture says he is considering asking the military for help to tackle increasing attacks amid thousands-strong bear population
Knowing what to do in the event of a close encounter with a bear was once a concern only for hikers and foragers in Japan. Now, however, people in populated areas are being urged to learn how to protect themselves following a spate of attacks, as the animals leave their natural habitats in search of food.
Bear encounters are generating almost daily headlines. In the past week in Akita prefecture, the animals attacked a jogger and a walker in built-up areas, while another terrorised four people before holing up inside a nearby house. None of the victims was seriously injured.
Continue reading...
