Breaking Waves: Ocean News

The Guardian view on waste: the festive season is a good time to think about rubbish | Editorial

admin — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 18:49:27 +0000

Weak regulation is to blame for disastrous failures in relation to pollution. But there are solutions if people get behind them

Ofgem approves early investment in three UK electricity ‘superhighways’

admin — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 18:03:52 +0000

Green light intended to limit amount consumers pay for windfarms to turn off during periods of high generation

Three major UK electricity “superhighways” could move ahead sooner than expected to help limit the amount that households pay for windfarms to turn off during periods of high power generation.

Current grid bottlenecks mean there is not enough capacity to transport the abundance of electricity generated in periods of strong winds to areas where energy demand is highest.

US judge strikes down Trump order blocking wind energy projects

admin — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 15:16:57 +0000

Federal judge declared January executive order unlawful, ruling in favor of a coalition of state attorneys general

A federal judge on Monday struck down Donald Trump’s executive order blocking wind energy projects, saying the effort to halt virtually all leasing of windfarms on federal lands and waters was “arbitrary and capricious” and violated US law.

Australia’s energy grid must triple capacity by 2050 with major increase to wind and solar, Aemo says

admin — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 13:01:03 +0000

Market operator says capital cost of infrastructure under optimal path would be $128bn in today’s dollars, but price of delay is even higher

‘Food and fossil fuel production causing $5bn of environmental damage an hour’

admin — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 09:00:04 +0000

UN GEO report says ending this harm key to global transformation required ‘before collapse becomes inevitable’

The unsustainable production of food and fossil fuels causes $5bn (£3.8bn) of environmental damage per hour, according to a major UN report.

Ending this harm was a key part of the global transformation of governance, economics and finance required “before collapse becomes inevitable”, the experts said.

UK households bin 168m Christmas lights and ‘fast tech’ items a year

admin — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 08:00:02 +0000

Consumers spent £1.7bn on festive lighting last year and much of it is treated as disposable

UK households have thrown away an estimated 168m light-up Christmas items and other “fast-tech” gifts over the past year, a study suggests.

The research by the non-profit group Material Focus found about £1.7bn was spent last year on Christmas lighting, including 39m sets of fairy lights.

Caribbean reefs have lost 48% of hard coral since 1980, study finds

admin — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 06:00:01 +0000

‘Destructive’ marine heatwaves driving loss of microalgae that feed coral, says Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network

Caribbean reefs have half as much hard coral now as they did in 1980, a study has found.

It’s the world’s rarest ape. Now a billion-dollar dig for gold threatens its future

admin — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 05:00:01 +0000

Tapanuli orangutans survive only in Indonesia’s Sumatran rainforest where a mine expansion will cut through their home. Yet the mining company says the alternative will be worse

Drinking water contaminated with Pfas probably increases risk of infant mortality, study finds

admin — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 20:00:47 +0000

Study of 11,000 births in New Hampshire shows residents’ reproductive outcomes near contaminated sites

Drinking water contaminated with Pfas chemicals probably increases the risk of infant mortality and other harm to newborns, a new peer-reviewed study of 11,000 births in New Hampshire finds.

The first-of-its-kind University of Arizona research found drinking well water down gradient from a Pfas-contaminated site was tied to an increase in infant mortality of 191%, pre-term birth of 20%, and low-weight birth of 43%.

The Guardian view on solar geoengineering: Africa has a point about this risky technology | Editorial

admin — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 18:08:03 +0000

Sun-dimming risks putting the planet’s thermostat under Donald Trump’s control. Better to adopt the precautionary principle with high-stakes science