Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Swift bricks to be installed on all new buildings in Scotland as MSPs back law

admin — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 11:22:14 +0000

Rest of UK has resisted calls to make builders install bricks that provide nesting for swifts and other endangered birds

Swift bricks will be installed in all new buildings in Scotland after the Scottish parliament voted in favour of a law to help endangered cavity-nesting birds.

The Scottish government and MSPs across the parties backed an amendment by Scottish Green Mark Ruskell to make swift bricks mandatory for all new dwellings “where reasonably practical and appropriate”.

Pregnant, 19 and facing down a mutiny: how did Mary Ann Patten steer her way into seafaring lore?

admin — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 11:00:38 +0000

Finding herself in charge of her sick husband’s clipper, a self-taught working-class teenager overcame storms, icebergs and a disloyal first mate to get her ship to safety

No one knows exactly what Mary Ann Patten said in September 1856 when she convinced a crew on the verge of mutiny to accept her command as captain. What is known is that Patten, who was 19 and pregnant, was a force to be reckoned with.

Filming a Frosty Fruit in 48C heat. Spoiler alert: the camera couldn't handle it – video

admin — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 06:41:04 +0000

How long does it take for a Frosty Fruit to melt in a heatwave? Guardian Australia sacrificed three ice blocks in Melbourne, Sydney and Ouyen, where the temperature hit 48C on Tuesday. It was the fifth day in a row that temperatures have exceeded 40C, with four more forecast to follow

Explainer: What happens to the human body in 49C heat? Australians are finding out

‘My Tesla has become ordinary’: Turkey catches up with EU in electric car sales

admin — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 05:00:04 +0000

Popularity of EVs in country is part of global trend of emerging markets spurning fossil fuel cars at surprising speeds

When Berke Astarcıoğlu bought a BMW i3 in 2016, he was one of just 44 people in a country of 80 million to buy a battery electric vehicle (BEV) that year. By the time he bought a Tesla in 2023, BEVs were no longer a complete oddity in Turkey, making up 7% of new car sales.

The UK government didn't want you to see this report on ecosystem collapse. I'm not surprised | George Monbiot

admin — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 16:52:06 +0000

It took an FOI request to bring this national security assessment to light. For ‘doomsayers’ like us, it is the ultimate vindication

I know it’s almost impossible to turn your eyes away from the Trump show, but that’s the point. His antics, ever-grosser and more preposterous, are designed to keep him in our minds, to crowd out other issues. His insatiable craving for attention is a global-threat multiplier. You can’t help wondering whether there’s anything he wouldn’t do to dominate the headlines.

Through the heatwave haze, the hypocrisy of Australia’s fossil fuel policy shines bright | Clean Air

admin — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 14:00:45 +0000

The heatwave in Melbourne and Adelaide this week is likely to become the norm. We should prepare now

Want to get this in your inbox when it publishes? Sign up for the Clear Air Australia newsletter here

Europe’s supermarket shelves packed with ‘misleading’ claims about recycled plastic packaging

admin — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 13:48:58 +0000

Manufacturers use method that labels plastic as ‘circular’ and climate-friendly, despite being mostly fossil-based

Europe’s supermarket shelves are packed with brands billing their plastic packaging as sustainable, but often only a fraction of the materials are truly recovered from waste, with the rest made from petroleum.

Brands using plastic packaging – from Kraft’s Heinz Beanz to Mondelēz’s Philadelphia – use materials made by the plastic manufacturing arm of the oil company Saudi Aramco.

‘Abdication’: Trump takes US out of Paris climate agreement for a second time

admin — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 12:30:43 +0000

Experts are watching for how other countries will react as the ‘real economy’ shifts to cheaper, cleaner energy

The United States has officially exited the Paris climate agreement for the second time, cementing Donald Trump’s renewed break with the primary global venue to address global heating.

Storm Chandra: flooding and travel disruption hit UK as police warn against travel in parts of Devon – as it happened

admin — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 07:44:49 +0000

Weather warnings, including ‘danger to life’ flood threat in Devon, are in place across much of the UK with major travel disruption expected

Tell us: how have you been affected by Storm Chandra?

Some of the rainfall totals in the south-west of England for the last 24 hours has almost totalled the average for the entire month, BBC News reports.

Here is a list of some notable rainfalls:

100mm (3.9in) White Barrow (South Dartmoor)

The Fukushima towns frozen in time: nature has thrived since the nuclear disaster but what happens if humans return?

admin — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 07:00:09 +0000

Fifteen years after a tsunami caused the Fukushima nuclear accident, only bears, raccoons and boar are seen on the streets. But the authorities and some locals want people to move back

Norio Kimura pauses to gaze through the dirt-flecked window of Kumamachi primary school in Fukushima. Inside, there are still textbooks lying on the desks, pencil cases are strewn across the floor; empty bento boxes that were never taken home.