Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Cocaine pollution in rivers and lakes may disrupt behaviour of salmon, study finds

admin — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:00:59 +0000

Fish swam further and dispersed more widely after exposure to environmental levels of drug and main metabolite

Traces of cocaine that pollute rivers and lakes may accumulate in the brains of salmon and disrupt their behaviour, according to researchers who warn of unknown consequences for fish populations.

Juvenile Atlantic salmon that were artificially exposed to the drug and its main breakdown product swam further and dispersed more widely across a lake, suggesting the substances can affect where the fish go, what they eat and how vulnerable they are to predators.

Water NSW criticised for ‘appalling’ decision after hundreds of turtles left to die in wetlands

admin — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:00:59 +0000

River ecologist says ‘classic bureaucratic tangle’ led to government agency stopping flows to Gwydir wetlands region in March

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Democrats urged to link clean energy to affordability as Iran war hikes up prices

admin — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 14:00:58 +0000

Climate leaders say Democrats need to extol clean energy as a way to cut costs for Americans as war roils oil markets

Democrats should get louder in championing clean energy’s affordability and resilience from global shocks, according to some of the party’s leading voices on the climate.

Electric car sales soar 51% in mainland Europe as Iran war drives up fuel prices

admin — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 11:25:07 +0000

Data shows 224,000 new EVs were registered in March, with Norway leading way in terms of switching

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Sales of electric cars soared 51% in continental Europe last month, amid a rise in petrol and diesel costs driven by the Iran war.

Burning wood for power worse for climate than gas equivalent, report finds

admin — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 09:00:08 +0000

Research casts doubt on plans by UK government to offer subsidies for carbon capture attached to the power source

Burning wood for power generation can be worse for the climate than burning gas, even when the resulting carbon dioxide emissions are captured and stored, new research has shown.

The findings cast doubt on plans by several governments, including the UK, to offer subsidies or other financial support for carbon capture attached to wood-burning power.

Fuel eating microbes, chemicals and fire: the race to discover new ways to contain Arctic oil spills

admin — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 08:00:05 +0000

As the rising number of vessels in the icy waters increases the risk of environmental disaster, scientists are scrambling to find potential solutions

Woman who won legal case over greenhouse emissions awarded top environmental prize

admin — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 07:30:05 +0000

Sarah Finch is among six recipients of the Goldman Environmental prize, awarded to honour grassroots activists around the world

The woman whose campaigning set a legal precedent in the UK that stopped thousands of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions has been awarded one of the world’s most prestigious environmental prizes alongside five other women from around the globe.

Won’t somebody save these hundreds of turtles condemned to death? | First Dog on the Moon

admin — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 06:47:52 +0000

There is a whole dam full of water right there but the turtles can’t have it

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‘The Moon and The Zoo’: Simon Armitage poem celebrates 200 years of ZSL

admin — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 04:01:01 +0000

Zoological Society of London commissions poet laureate for animation to mark its 200th anniversary

Over its two centuries, acclaimed writers and artists have found inspiration at London zoo, from Edwin Landseer’s Trafalgar Square lions, to AA Milne’s naming “Winnie” after resident bear Winnipeg, and Sylvia Plath’s poem Zoo Keeper’s Wife.

Plath’s husband, Ted Hughes, who would become poet laureate, worked at the zoo briefly as a dish washer, an experience said to have helped fuel his inspiration for The Thought-Fox.

Ed Miliband to double down on net zero with measures to combat Iran energy shock

admin — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 04:00:02 +0000

As fossil fuel prices soar ‘the era of clean energy security must come of age’, energy secretary will say

Ed Miliband will double down on Labour’s commitment to net zero in the face of the Middle East conflict this week, insisting that as fossil fuel prices soar “the era of clean energy security must come of age”.

The energy secretary is set to announce a package of new policies in a speech on Tuesday in response to an expected energy crisis prompted by Donald Trump’s war with Iran.