Breaking Waves: Ocean News

UK bumblebee numbers fell to lowest on record in 2024, shows data

admin — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 05:00:30 +0000

Bumblebees declined by almost a quarter compared with the 2010-2023 average, according to conservation charity

Figures show 2024 was the worst year for bumblebees in the UK since records began.

Bumblebee numbers declined by almost a quarter compared with the 2010-2023 average, according to data from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. The researchers said the drop was probably due to the cold and wet conditions in the UK last spring.

Sussex to launch UK’s first climate justice undergraduate degree

admin — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 00:01:20 +0000

University announces new BA, after survey found most 14- to 18-year-olds want more rigorous climate change education

The University of Sussex will introduce what it says is the UK’s first undergraduate degree focused on climate justice.

The BA course, called “climate justice, sustainability and development”, will begin in 2026. The university says it will equip students with a blend of expertise in climate politics, activism and environmental human rights.

Total collapse of vital Atlantic currents unlikely this century, study finds

admin — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 16:00:11 +0000

Climate scientists caution, however, that even weakened currents would cause profound harm to humanity

Vital Atlantic Ocean currents are unlikely to completely collapse this century, according to a study, but scientists say a severe weakening remains probable and would still have disastrous impacts on billions of people.

The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (Amoc) is a system of currents that plays a crucial role in the global climate. The climate crisis is weakening the complex system, but determining if and when it will collapse is difficult.

What I have learned in my filthy, bloody, sisyphean quest to tame my garden | Adrian Chiles

admin — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 15:29:36 +0000

It’s chaos as small jobs become big jobs, tools disappear and distractions lead to furious frustration. Then you spot spring’s first flower ...

There were never any climate havens: floods in the midwest, hurricanes in Appalachia

admin — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 13:00:34 +0000

Analysts and investors have long trumpeted ‘climate-proof’ US communities, but recent disasters show the need for a different way of thinking

US climate research agency braces for ‘efficiency’ cuts: ‘They will gut the work’

admin — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 12:00:35 +0000

Workers at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fear crackdown will have global fallout

The Trump administration has set its sights on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), the US’s pre-eminent climate research agency, with significant cuts and a political crackdown on climate science. As Trump takes aim at the agency, the impact is likely to be felt across the US and around the world.

Trump may rue firing experts when environmental rollbacks land in court

admin — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 11:00:35 +0000

Advocacy groups are better prepared than the first term for legal challenges – but will the administration obey rulings?

Amid spending freezes and policy rollbacks from Donald Trump, environmental advocacy groups are gearing up for a long series of legal showdowns with the administration.

The US is destroying climate progress. Here’s a strategy to win over the right | Erin Burns

admin — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 11:00:34 +0000

It’s time to rethink how climate action succeeds. The key is to acknowledge that it’s never the sole force driving political decisions

BP blames ‘misplaced’ faith in green transition for its renewed focus on fossil fuels

admin — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 10:27:27 +0000

CEO Murray Auchincloss says ‘fundamental reset’ will mean cut of more than £4bn to low-carbon investment plan

BP has abandoned its green ambitions in favour of ramping up fossil fuel production as its boss claimed that optimism over the pace of the green transition had been “misplaced”.

In a major strategy shift, the energy company will increase its investment in oil and gas to $10bn (£7.9bn) a year while slashing more than $5bn from its previous green investment plan.

‘Losing hope with every day that passes’: torment of the ships’ crews abandoned at sea

admin — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 06:00:05 +0000

Thousands of seafarers are left on board their vessels in foreign waters, unpaid, with scant supplies – and no way of getting home

When Vihaan* set off from his home in Tamil Nadu, south India, to work on a vessel crossing the Bay of Bengal into neighbouring Bangladesh, he told his family he would be gone a few months. After delivering his cargo of stone to Bangladesh’s Kutubdia Island, the marine engineer was due to head home in March 2024 to disembark at Thoothukudi port, India.