Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Fewer than 10 of these orchids remain in the wild. Victoria was about to burn them into extinction

admin — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 07:51:47 +0000

Critically endangered flowers get stay of execution after local environmental group threatens legal action against Victorian government

Environment summit taking place in Sydney while greater glider habitat is logged is ‘bullshit’, advocates say

admin — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 07:48:05 +0000

Harvesting in Bulga state forest, inland from Port Macquarie, is just 400km from global nature-positive summit the government is hosting

UK may approve bee-killing pesticide despite election promise to ban it

admin — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 07:37:13 +0000

Exclusive: Environment groups urge government to stick to its promises and refuse pesticide application

UK ministers are considering allowing the use of a bee-killing pesticide next year despite promising during the election to ban it.

Neonicotinoids are banned in the EU because they are toxic to bees but have been authorised for use every year in the UK since 2021.

Water companies in England and Wales told to pay £158m penalty to customers

admin — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 07:22:06 +0000

Ofwat says firms must lower bills next year after poor performance on issues such as sewage spills and leaks

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Water companies in England and Wales will have to return nearly £158m to customers through lower bills next year after falling further behind on key targets including sewage spills and leaks.

Britons urged to dig out unwanted electricals to tackle copper shortage

admin — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 05:01:22 +0000

Items such as cables and old tech could contain £266m worth of metal vital for decarbonisation drive, study finds

Scientists have called for people to go “urban mining” after a study revealed that old cables, phone chargers and other unused electrical goods thrown away or stored in cupboards or drawers could stave off a looming shortage of copper.

Tiny parasitic wasp helps save one of world’s rarest birds from extinction

admin — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 05:00:22 +0000

Wasps released on Nightingale Island have protected Wilkins’ bunting by halting spread of mould-causing insects

A tiny parasitic wasp has given a lifeline to one of the world’s rarest bird species by killing off an invasive insect that was threatening its survival.

The Wilkins’ bunting lives on Nightingale Island, part of the Tristan da Cunha group; the world’s most remote inhabited archipelago. It eats the fruit of the Phylica arborea, the island’s only native tree.

Deforestation ‘roaring back’ despite 140-country vow to end destruction

admin — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 04:01:21 +0000

Demand for beef, soy, palm oil and nickel hindering efforts to halt demolition by 2030, global report finds

The destruction of global forests increased in 2023, and is higher than when 140 countries promised three years ago to halt deforestation by the end of the decade, an analysis shows.

The rising demolition of the forests puts ambitions to halt the climate crisis and stem the huge worldwide losses of wildlife even further from reach, the researchers warn.

Lab-grown meat could be sold in UK in next few years, says food regulator

admin — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 04:00:21 +0000

Food Standards Agency says applications for cultivated steak, chicken and foie gras have already been submitted

Cell-cultivated meat could be on sale in the UK within a few years, the food regulator has said, with applications for lab-grown steak, beef, chicken and foie gras already submitted, while another 15 applications are expected in the next two years.

Curious koala survives close call at Sydney train station

admin — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 02:00:47 +0000

Marsupial caught on camera at Casula in city’s south-west, where urban development threatens wildlife

Winter blackouts risk in Great Britain ‘lowest in four years’ despite end of coal

admin — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 23:01:15 +0000

Energy system operator expects winter power supplies to outstrip demand by almost 9% this year

The risk of winter blackouts in Great Britain has tumbled to its lowest in four years even after the shutdown of the UK’s last coal plant, thanks to investments in low-carbon electricity sources.