Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Plants produce more nectar when they ‘hear’ bees buzzing, scientists find

admin — Wed, 21 May 2025 14:00:30 +0000

Researchers suggest buzzing noises could be used as environmentally friendly way to enhance crop pollination

Plants can “hear” bees buzzing and serve up more nectar when they are nearby, scientists have found.

The research suggests that plants are a more active partner than previously thought in their symbiotic relationship with pollinators. The behaviour could be a survival strategy that favours giving nectar and sugar to bees over so-called nectar robbers that do not offer plants any reproductive benefits.

Victoria, UK’s oldest polar bear, put down after health problems

admin — Wed, 21 May 2025 11:49:33 +0000

Twenty-eight-year-old bear, who had been at Highland Wildlife Park since 2015, is euthanised on vets’ advice

The UK’s oldest polar bear, and the first in the country to give birth to a cub in 25 years, has been put down because of age-related health problems.

Godfather of climate science decries Trump plan to shut Nasa lab above Seinfeld diner: ‘It’s crazy’

admin — Wed, 21 May 2025 11:30:25 +0000

Over breakfast at Tom’s Restaurant, right below the historic Giss lab, James Hansen calls Doge’s decision a ‘big mistake’

Perched above the New York City diner made famous by the TV show Seinfeld, Tom’s Restaurant, a small research laboratory became, improbably, crucial to humanity’s understanding of our changing climate and of the universe itself.

Now, it is being shut down by Donald Trump’s administration.

Blow to UK’s 2030 clean energy targets as SSE cuts spending on renewables

admin — Wed, 21 May 2025 10:58:04 +0000

Developer shrinks five-year investment plans by £3bn blaming policy and planning delays

One of the UK’s biggest energy developers will cut its planned spending on new renewables projects in a blow to the government’s 2030 clean power targets.

SSE warned that it would be unlikely to meet its own renewable energy goals for the end of the decade after shrinking its five-year spending plans by £3bn to £17.5bn.

Wild camping on Dartmoor is legal, supreme court rules

admin — Wed, 21 May 2025 09:23:15 +0000

Case came to supreme court after court of appeal determined the term ‘open-air recreation’ included camping

Wild camping will be allowed on Dartmoor after the supreme court ruled that a multimillionaire landowner was wrong to ban it on his land.

Dartmoor was – until the legal action – the only place in England where wild camping without the permission of the landowner was enshrined in law. In Scotland, people have enjoyed this right since 2003.

Demand for copper to dramatically outstrip supply within decade

admin — Wed, 21 May 2025 05:00:19 +0000

International Energy Agency says it is ‘time to sound alarm’ over future shortages of metal needed for low-carbon transition

Demand for copper, needed for the transition to a low-carbon world, will outstrip supply within the next decade, according to the global energy watchdog.

Supplies of the metal, a key component of every form of electrical energy system at present, will fall 30% short of the amount required by 2035 if nothing is done, analysis by the International Energy Agency predicts.

Plantwatch: Why dandelions should be left to grow in spring

admin — Wed, 21 May 2025 05:00:18 +0000

These simple flowers, which bloom earlier than many others, are a rich source of nectar and pollen for insects

Fires drove record loss of world’s forests last year, ‘frightening’ data shows

admin — Wed, 21 May 2025 04:01:16 +0000

Burning, worsened by global heating, overtook farming and logging as biggest cause of destruction of tropical forests

The destruction of the world’s forests reached the highest level ever recorded in 2024, driven by a surge in fires caused by global heating, according to “frightening” new data.

The opportunity for climate action through climate-smart Marine Spatial Planning

admin — Wed, 21 May 2025 04:00:00 +0000

npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 21 May 2025; doi:10.1038/s44183-025-00129-2

The opportunity for climate action through climate-smart Marine Spatial Planning

NSW floods: almost 50,000 people isolated by record flooding on mid-north coast

admin — Wed, 21 May 2025 00:25:09 +0000

Residents describe anxious waits for rescue as unprecedented level of flooding strikes the Manning river