Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Even in the foothills of the Italian Alps, cycling can be a practical alternative to driving, and more enjoyable, too Living car-free in a big city is fairly common these days. Yes, it can mean some adaptation, but when so many things are on your doorstep it’s not such a big challenge. So how about car-free life in a remote Italian mountain village, with barely any public transport? We have been living in rural Italy without a car for more than five years now. Even though we have always loved bicycles, the decision to sell our car wasn’t a particularly considered one. Continue reading...

Researchers point to contaminated water after ‘forever chemicals’ found in all but one of 23 sampled beers What are Pfas? Everything you need to know All but one of 23 beers sampled for toxic Pfas “forever chemicals” contained the compounds, new research finds, raising safety questions about one of the world’s most popular beverages. The researchers checked craft beer from multiple states, major domestic brands, and several international labels. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Climate cost of war is more than than the combined 2023 emissions of Costa Rica and Estonia, study finds How the US became the biggest military emitter and stopped everyone finding out Revealed: Nato rearmament could increase emissions by 200m tonnes a year The carbon footprint of the first 15 months of Israel’s war on Gaza will be greater than the annual planet-warming emissions of a hundred individual countries, exacerbating the global climate emergency on top of the huge civilian death toll, new research reveals. A study shared exclusively with the Guardian found the long-term climate cost of destroying, clearing and rebuilding Gaza could top 31m tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e). This is more than the combined 2023 annual greenhouse gases emitted by Costa Rica and Estonia, yet there is no obligation for states to report military emissions to the UN climate body. Over 99% of the almost 1.89m tCO2e estimated to have been generated between the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack and the temporary ceasefire in January 2025 is attributed to Israel’s aerial bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza. Almost 30% of greenhouse gases generated in that period came from the US sending 50,000 tonnes of weapons and other military supplies to Israel, mostly on cargo planes and ships from stockpiles in Europe. Another 20% is attributed to Israeli aircraft reconnaissance and bombing missions, tanks and fuel from other military vehicles, as well as CO2 generated by manufacturing and exploding the bombs and artillery. Solar had generated as much as a quarter of Gaza’s electricity, representing one of the world’s highest shares, but most panels, and the territory’s only power plant, have been damaged or destroyed. Gaza’s limited access to electricity now mostly relies on diesel-guzzling generators that emitted just over 130,000 tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, or 7% of the total conflict emissions. More than 40% of the total emissions were generated by the estimated 70,000 aid trucks Israel allowed into the Gaza Strip – which the UN has condemned as grossly insufficient to meet the basic humanitarian needs of 2.2m displaced and starving Palestinians. Continue reading...

Industrial pollution has degraded the rock art and will continue to do so until emissions at Murujuga are reduced to zero, experts argue Australia news live: latest politics updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast On Thursday, the new environment minister, Murray Watt, approved an extension for the North West Shelf liquefied natural gas project. The gas plant at Karratha, Western Australia, will run until 2070. This expansion – and the pollution it will release – has led to a recommendation by the International Council on Monuments and Sites to defer Unesco’s decision on the world heritage listing of the nearby Murujuga rock art. Continue reading...