Breaking Waves: Ocean News

US to pay almost $1bn to French energy company to kill wind project plan

admin — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 18:25:40 +0000

Trump administration announces deal with TotalEnergies to redirect investment in wind to oil and gas instead

As a fuel crisis triggered by the war in Iran drives up global fossil fuel prices, the Trump administration has announced it will pay French energy major TotalEnergies $1bn to kill plans to construct wind farms off the US east coast.

Shooting restricted for six British wild birds to halt population decline

admin — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 15:00:53 +0000

Woodcocks and pochard, pintail and goldeneye ducks among threatened species protected by proposals

Hunters will be banned from shooting a rare and beautiful duck under new proposals to halt the decline of six British wild birds.

The new rules would restrict the shooting of species including the distinctive woodcock, and the striking pintail, goldeneye and pochard ducks, all of which are classed as under threat and have seen their populations fall sharply in recent years.

Europe’s ‘staggering’ clean power gains undermined by failure to phase out fuel-burning machines

admin — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 15:00:53 +0000

The EU’s reluctance to replace petrol cars and gas boilers keep it hooked on foreign fuels, say industry groups

Europe has made “staggering progress” in producing clean power but neglected efforts to phase out fuel-burning machines, the head of an industry group said as the global oil crisis deepens.

Adrian Hiel, director of the Electrification Alliance, said the EU has “radically transformed” its power supply and must now focus on getting “more electricity into the stuff we use every day”.

Hawaii assesses damage left by worst flooding in more than 20 years

admin — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 14:03:26 +0000

People evacuated on Oahu and Maui as rains lifted houses and cars, swept through stores and left streets mud-clogged

Australia’s generation Alpha faces $185k bill over lifetime without urgent action on climate crisis, report finds

admin — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 14:00:52 +0000

Global heating consistent with current projections would cost average millennial $130,000 and $165,000 for gen Z, according to Deloitte modelling

Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates

‘There’s biological treasure here’: Chile’s endemic seals gain protection with new marine park

admin — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 12:00:49 +0000

Sixty years after the discovery of a colony of Juan Fernández fur seals, previously thought to be extinct, a landmark agreement extends ‘no take’ zone around the wildlife-rich archipelago

Six decades ago, pioneering oceanographer and conservationist Sylvia Earle made a bittersweet discovery while diving off Chile’s oceanic islands with the US National Science Foundation vessel, the Anton Bruun. She found the remains of a baby fur seal, one of the world’s most isolated aquatic mammals.

Secrets of the karst: new species found in Cambodia’s limestone caves – in pictures

admin — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 11:01:47 +0000

A survey has revealed the vast array of wildlife – some never seen before – living within the south-east Asian country’s karst ecosystems. The work was led by international wildlife conservation charity Fauna & Flora in collaboration with Cambodia’s environment ministry and field experts

I discovered three new geckos in Cambodia’s limestone caves – and that’s not all we found

Far more countries face critical food insecurity if world heats up by 2C, analysis shows

admin — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 11:00:48 +0000

Exclusive: Food systems of low-income nations projected to deteriorate seven times as fast as those of wealthy ones

The number of countries falling into critical food insecurity could almost triple to 24 if global temperatures increase by 2C, research has shown.

Analysis by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) shows the climate crisis will disproportionately affect food systems in poorer nations, widening the gap between the most and least vulnerable countries.

Predatory feral ferrets removed from an island for the first time ever

admin — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 08:00:45 +0000

Rathlin Island in Northern Ireland is ferret-free after £4.5m five-year partnership led by RSPB NI

Predatory feral ferrets have been removed from an island for the first time ever, in a boost for Northern Ireland’s largest seabird colony.

Rathlin Island is ferret-free after a £4.5m five-year partnership led by RSPB NI involving islanders, charities, volunteers and a red labrador called Woody.

Earth being ‘pushed beyond its limits’ as energy imbalance reaches record high

admin — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 04:00:39 +0000

State of the Climate report finds Earth’s energy has moved dangerously out of balance, with oceans absorbing vast majority of trapped heat

Our home planet is struggling with a record energy imbalance, which is warming oceans to unprecedented levels, making weather more extreme and threatening health and food supplies, the World Meteorological Organization has warned.