Breaking Waves: Ocean News

US lawmakers fight Trump cuts to $386m ocean monitoring program: ‘supreme stupidity’

admin — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 14:48:20 +0000

Lisa Murkowski, a Republican senator, joins Democrats in bid to stop dismantling of Ocean Observatories Initiative

US politics live – latest updates

‘At first, the idea does sound crazy’: meet the scientists trying to refreeze the Arctic

admin — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 14:00:01 +0000

Sea ice is melting fast, worsening the climate crisis, but a bold attempt to rethicken it is showing early signs of success

“This would have been a wild dream a year ago,” says Andrea Ceccolini, standing on Arctic sea ice just a 4-mile snowmobile ride from the Inuit town of Cambridge Bay, northern Canada. To his left are sky blue ponds of meltwater created in the last few days by a sun that no longer sets in the high north summer. To his right, the sea ice is still a brilliant white, the light dusting of snow on top continuing to sparkle.

Dartmoor pony cull proposal prompts urgent call for livestock rule change

admin — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 13:36:55 +0000

Exclusive: Sources say Defra’s policy on livestock fails to distinguish between ponies and sheep

Natural England and MPs are urging the government to change its livestock rules to stop ponies on Dartmoor from being culled.

Semi-wild ponies have roamed Dartmoor for more than 4,000 years and have become uniquely suited to the boggy landscape, providing a charming sight for those who visit the national park.

Retail giants join UK government drive to boost ‘plug-in’ balcony solar panels

admin — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 13:07:07 +0000

Asda, Amazon and B&Q among retailers in talks to sell devices that feed into household sockets and can cut electricity bills by 30%

Spanish homes save €10 a month via renewables expansion

Bosses of some of Britain’s biggest retailers are discussing plans with the government to start selling plug-in solar panels as part of a drive to encourage more UK homes to generate their own electricity.

Thames Water nationalisation moves closer as government objects to rescue deal

admin — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 10:54:29 +0000

Environment secretary raises concerns that customers would face ‘undue burden’ from £10bn plan

BoM forecasts strong El Niño and warns climate change could amplify effects on Australia

admin — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 07:20:26 +0000

El Niño events linked with extreme weather around the world – and can increase risk of bushfires in Australia and coral bleaching on Great Barrier Reef

Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates

Spanish households save €10 a month thanks to renewables expansion, report finds

admin — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 07:00:47 +0000

Thinktank says decoupling electricity from gas prices has also helped shield Spain from hikes caused by Iran war

Spanish households save €10 a month on electricity bills because of wind turbines and solar panels installed in the last five years, a report has found.

The bat that weighs the same as a teaspoon of salt – and the biologist who rediscovered it

admin — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 06:00:48 +0000

The short-tailed roundleaf bat was feared extinct until scientist Iroro Tanshi found one in Afi sanctuary in Nigeria, and set out to protect the only confirmed roosting colony

AI could help win ‘race against extinction’ of vital plants, say botanists

admin — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 06:00:48 +0000

Tech is helping to identify and save new specimens and could open ‘genomic goldmine’ of fungi data

The rise of AI and digitisation could be a turning point in the “race against extinction” faced by botanists trying to identify and save vital plants before they vanish, according to a major report from Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Half of world’s children exposed to at least three climate hazards, Unicef says

admin — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 05:00:46 +0000

Almost every child, including those from high-income countries, is now exposed to at least one hazard

Half of the world’s children are exposed to at least three overlapping climate hazards threatening their health, education and survival, according to a Unicef report.

Globally, children face increasing threats from heatwaves, storms, floods and droughts as the climate crisis worsens, with more than one billion facing at least three of these at once.