Breaking Waves: Ocean News https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-waves/index.php en ‘Borrowed time’: crop pests and food losses supercharged by climate crisis https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/borrowed-time-crop-pests-and-food-losses-supercharged-climate-crisis <p>Heating means pests breeding and spreading faster, warn scientists, with simplified current food system already vulnerable</p> <ul> <li> <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2025/dec/18/how-climate-breakdown-is-putting-the-worlds-food-in-peril-in-maps-and-charts">How climate breakdown is putting the world’s food in peril – in maps and charts</a></p> </li> </ul> <p>The destruction of food supplies by crop pests is being supercharged by the climate crisis, with losses expected to surge, an analysis has concluded.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/borrowed-time-crop-pests-and-food-losses-supercharged-climate-crisis" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Sat, 20 Dec 2025 10:00:28 +0000 admin 102207 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org This year’s Christmas could be Britain’s greenest yet, energy operator says https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/year-s-christmas-could-be-britain-s-greenest-yet-energy-operator-says <p>System operator Neso predicts lowest carbon intensity ever on Christmas Day after new wind and solar power come online</p> <p>Britain’s energy system operator has predicted that this year’s Christmas Day could be the greenest yet.</p> <p>If the weather remains mild and windy for the rest of December, the National Energy System Operator (Neso) has said it could record the lowest carbon intensity – the measure of how much carbon dioxide is released to produce electricity – recorded on the network for 25 December.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/year-s-christmas-could-be-britain-s-greenest-yet-energy-operator-says" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Sat, 20 Dec 2025 08:00:25 +0000 admin 102206 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org When is a sausage not really a sausage? Ask the meat lobby | George Monbiot https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/when-sausage-not-really-sausage-ask-meat-lobby-george-monbiot <p>European legislators may ban plant-based products from using the name to prevent ‘confusion’. Just don’t mention beef tomatoes or buffalo wings</p> <p>Most of what you eat is sausages. I mean, if we’re going to get literal about it. Sausage derives from the Latin <em>salsicus</em>, which means “seasoned with salt”. You might think of a sausage as a simple thing, but on this reading it is everything and nothing, a Borgesian meta-concept that retreats as you approach it.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/when-sausage-not-really-sausage-ask-meat-lobby-george-monbiot" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Sat, 20 Dec 2025 06:00:26 +0000 admin 102205 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Trump’s EPA wants to weaken formaldehyde protections – this is what it could mean https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/trump-s-epa-wants-weaken-formaldehyde-protections-what-it-could-mean <p>EPA proposed undoing Biden-era policy on exposure to carcinogenic toxin in latest push to weaken toxin standards</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/trump-s-epa-wants-weaken-formaldehyde-protections-what-it-could-mean" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Fri, 19 Dec 2025 13:30:01 +0000 admin 102204 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Revealed: how Toyota uses retro-style games and prizes to urge US workers to lobby politicians https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/revealed-how-toyota-uses-retro-style-games-and-prizes-urge-us-workers-lobby-politician <p>Games such as Dragon Quest used to mobilize workers to back corporate goals including relaxing environmental rules</p> <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/toyota">Toyota</a>, the world’s biggest carmaker, is using retro-style video games to rally its US workforce behind its corporate goals, including lobbying to relax environmental rules, the Guardian can reveal.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/revealed-how-toyota-uses-retro-style-games-and-prizes-urge-us-workers-lobby-politician" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Fri, 19 Dec 2025 13:00:02 +0000 admin 102203 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Food becoming more calorific but less nutritious due to rising carbon dioxide https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/food-becoming-more-calorific-less-nutritious-due-rising-carbon-dioxide <p>Researchers noticed ‘dramatic’ changes in nutrients in crops, including drop in zinc and rise in lead</p> <p>More carbon dioxide in the environment is making food more calorific but less nutritious – and also potentially more toxic, a study has found.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/food-becoming-more-calorific-less-nutritious-due-rising-carbon-dioxide" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Fri, 19 Dec 2025 10:00:05 +0000 admin 102202 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Weather tracker: Early snowfall in New York and a storm ruins Christmas lights in Spain https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/weather-tracker-early-snowfall-new-york-and-storm-ruins-christmas-lights-spain <p>Long Island receives 21cm of snow, while a tornado tears down decorations near Málaga</p> <p>Heavy snow fell in parts of New England this week. New York’s Central Park received a few centimetres of snow, while 21cm (8.5in) was dumped in parts of Long Island. This is the earliest New York has experienced snowfall since 2018.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/weather-tracker-early-snowfall-new-york-and-storm-ruins-christmas-lights-spain" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Fri, 19 Dec 2025 09:24:37 +0000 admin 102200 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org ‘I can’t think of a place more pristine’: 133,000 hectares of Chilean Patagonia preserved after local fundraising https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/i-can-t-think-place-more-pristine-133000-hectares-chilean-patagonia-preserved-after-lo <p>Exclusive: Ancient forests and turquoise rivers of the Cochamó Valley protected from logging, damming and development</p> <p>A wild valley in Chilean Patagonia has been preserved for future generations and protected from logging, damming and unbridled development after a remarkable fundraising effort by local groups, the Guardian can reveal.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/i-can-t-think-place-more-pristine-133000-hectares-chilean-patagonia-preserved-after-lo" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Fri, 19 Dec 2025 09:00:01 +0000 admin 102201 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Week in wildlife: honeymooning owls, an otter on the razz and a magical frog https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/week-wildlife-honeymooning-owls-otter-razz-and-magical-frog <p>This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world</p> <p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2025/dec/19/week-in-wildlife-honeymooning-owls-an-otter-on-the-razz-and-a-magical-frog">Continue reading...</a></p> Fri, 19 Dec 2025 08:00:54 +0000 admin 102199 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org UK’s largest proposed datacentre ‘understating planned water use’ https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/uk-s-largest-proposed-datacentre-understating-planned-water-use <p>Analysis suggests consumption at Northumberland site could be 50 times higher than US operator QTS estimates</p> <p>The UK’s largest proposed datacentre is understating the scale of its planned water use, according to an analysis.</p> <p>The first phase of construction for the hyperscale campus in Cambois in Northumberland has been given the go-ahead by the local council. The US operator QTS, which is developing the site, has promoted its “water-free” cooling system as proof of its sustainability.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/uk-s-largest-proposed-datacentre-understating-planned-water-use" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Fri, 19 Dec 2025 06:00:52 +0000 admin 102198 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org