Breaking Waves: Ocean News

The dark nights are here and staying in is more appealing than ever. But there’s a very real cost to not venturing out Since the clocks changed, a damp, dark blanket settles over York from about 5pm – and it’s brilliant; the perfect excuse to stay in. I love every quiet corner of home: my armchair, angled for a perfect view of bird goings-on and bleak skies outside; my marshmallowy bed; the sofa, stacked with blankets; the kitchen (I don’t cook, but it’s where snacks live). What could be nicer than sinking into the stifling embrace of multiple heated throws as a jacket potato crisps up in the oven and I succumb to a smorgasbord of good winter telly? Why would I ever move? Me and everyone else. Right? We’re sleepmaxxing and soup-making in our slippers, sparking up fairy lights and enthusiastically appropriating hygge and gezellig (Dutch for cosy). We’re sharing memes on the thrill of someone else cancelling social plans before we’re forced to and proclaiming our Jomo. It’s natural to retreat in winter: we’re animals. But it’s not just a seasonal phenomenon now, and I’m conscious I need, and maybe you also need, to get a grip and go out. Continue reading...

State park contains rock art dating back at least 3,000 years and tens of thousands of artefacts Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Rock climbers are openly discussing flouting Victoria’s voluntary bans on routes near Mount Arapiles despite a plea from the state government to respect the area’s Indigenous heritage. The area in the state’s west is regarded as among Australia’s premier rock climbing destinations. It also contains millennia-old rock art, among other significant Indigenous sites. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed Nationals ‘proud’ to formally scrap net zero target after party room meeting Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Watt says Labor doesn’t have a policy to end native forest logging Asked if he wanted native forest logging to continue (it’s not banned in the legislation, despite the significant negative environmental impact that it has), Watt dodges the question by saying the party doesn’t have a specific policy of ending native forest logging. What we have said, though, is that we will follow the recommendation from Graeme Samuel to apply national environmental standards to the regional forestry agreements that are used for native forestry, so what that means in practice is that native forestry would need to meet higher environmental standards than are currently required under the legislation. That’s a big step forward in terms of the environmental management of native forestry. But it doesn’t go as far as what the Greens party is seeking in being an all-out ban. Not in its own right. We haven’t taken the approach of saying that particular projects are altogether banned. Every project will be assessed on its merits whether it be a coal and gas project, whether it be a housing and renewable project, they have all got to demonstrate they’re not having a significant impact on one of the nine matters of national environmental significance under the act. If a coal or gas development was seeking approval, then it would need to meet the national environmental standards. It would need to avoid and minimise its environmental impacts and offset them to achieve a net gain. So they would be improvements compared to the criteria that apply to a project at the moment. If it was considered to have an unacceptable impact on the environment then it would get knocked back as would a housing development or a renewable project. We’re not trying to sort of put in particular criteria for particular sectors. What we’re trying to do is put in a balanced package for all sorts of projects, for all industries, that deliver environmental and business gains. Continue reading...

Many waterways vulnerable to breaches and closures and face mounting maintenance costs, charity says Britain’s network of canals and rivers is under strain from funding shortfalls and growing climate pressures, campaigners warn. Three-quarters of the country’s waterways face financial peril, according to the Inland Waterways Association (IWA), an independent charity advocating for Britain’s canals and rivers, as the country braces for heavier winter rainfall and intensifying summer droughts. Continue reading...