Breaking Waves: Ocean News https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-waves/index.php en Misleading UK adverts for ’very low emission’ wood-burning stoves banned https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/misleading-uk-adverts-very-low-emission-wood-burning-stoves-banned <p>ASA action won approval of clean air campaigners, who said some ‘seriously misleading myths’ had been debunked</p> <p>Adverts claiming that wood-burning stoves are “very low emissions” have been banned by the Advertising Standards Agency for being misleading and not substantiated.</p> <p>The claims were made on the website of the Stove Industry Association, which represents the makers and sellers of stoves in the UK. Campaigners against air pollution said they were glad the ASA had debunked some “seriously misleading myths”.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/misleading-uk-adverts-very-low-emission-wood-burning-stoves-banned" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 06 Nov 2025 13:02:52 +0000 admin 101765 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Scientists criticize ‘straw man’ arguments in Bill Gates climate memo https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/scientists-criticize-straw-man-arguments-bill-gates-climate-memo <p>Tech billionaire relying on ‘false binary’ with call to focus less on emissions and more on aid for poor, experts say</p> <p>A <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/28/bill-gates-climate-crisis-pivot">new memo</a> on the climate crisis from Bill Gates relies on “straw man” arguments about the threat to humanity and “false dichotomies” between spending on climate or aid for the poor, some climate scientists say.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/scientists-criticize-straw-man-arguments-bill-gates-climate-memo" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 06 Nov 2025 13:00:02 +0000 admin 101764 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Flooded UK coalmines could provide low-carbon cheap heat ‘for generations’ https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/flooded-uk-coalmines-could-provide-low-carbon-cheap-heat-generations <p>Report says proven technology could benefit thousands in poor quality housing and help UK meet carbon reduction targets</p> <p>Flooded disused coalmines could be a significant source of energy and provide cheap heat to thousands of homes, a new report argues.</p> <p>Mine water geothermal heat (MWGH) systems use the water in flooded coalmines, which is warmed by natural processes, to supply low-carbon heat. Heat exchangers and pumps recover the heat, which is distributed via district heating networks to homes and buildings, providing low-cost, long-term, stable energy.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/flooded-uk-coalmines-could-provide-low-carbon-cheap-heat-generations" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 06 Nov 2025 12:00:56 +0000 admin 101763 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org ‘New reality’: Hurricane Melissa strength multiplied by climate crisis, study says https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/new-reality-hurricane-melissa-strength-multiplied-climate-crisis-study-says <p>Winds of Melissa’s strength are now five times more frequent due to the climate crisis, research says</p> <p>Every aspect of Hurricane Melissa, the most powerful storm ever to hit Jamaica, was worsened by the climate crisis, a team of scientists has found.</p> <p>Melissa caused widespread devastation when it crunched into Jamaica as a category five hurricane on October 28, with winds up up to 185mph.</p> <p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/06/hurricane-melissa-storm-strength-climate-crisis">Continue reading...</a></p> Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:00:07 +0000 admin 101762 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Pollution from Ineos’s Antwerp plastic plant ‘could cause more deaths than jobs created’ https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/pollution-ineos-s-antwerp-plastic-plant-could-cause-more-deaths-jobs-created <p>Lawyers challenge €4bn Project One development, saying emissions and health impacts vastly underestimated</p> <p>The deaths from pollution caused by Europe’s biggest plastic plant, which is being built in Antwerp, will outstrip the number of permanent jobs it will create, lawyers will argue in a court challenge issued on Thursday.</p> <p>In documents submitted to the court, research suggests the air pollution from Ineos’s €4bn petrochemical plant would cause 410 deaths once operational, compared with the 300 permanent jobs the company says will be created.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/pollution-ineos-s-antwerp-plastic-plant-could-cause-more-deaths-jobs-created" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 06 Nov 2025 07:00:47 +0000 admin 101761 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org ‘There is no money’: As carbon markets collapse, what happens to the forests they promised to protect? https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/there-no-money-carbon-markets-collapse-what-happens-forests-they-promised-protect <p>After it was found most offsets did not represent real carbon reductions, the money dried up. But successful schemes such as Kasigau in Kenya now face a stark future</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/there-no-money-carbon-markets-collapse-what-happens-forests-they-promised-protect" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 06 Nov 2025 06:00:47 +0000 admin 101760 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org The era of fine speeches and good intentions is over. Brazil’s Cop30 will be about action | Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/era-fine-speeches-and-good-intentions-over-brazil-s-cop30-will-be-about-action-luiz-ci <p>This is our message to world leaders: make this the ‘Cop of truth’, before people lose faith</p> <ul> <li> <p>Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is the president of Brazil</p> </li> </ul> <p>Today, in the Brazilian Amazon, the Belém summit opens ahead of the 30th United Nations climate change conference (Cop30). I have convened world leaders in the days leading up to the conference so that we can all commit to acting with the urgency the climate crisis demands.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/era-fine-speeches-and-good-intentions-over-brazil-s-cop30-will-be-about-action-luiz-ci" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 06 Nov 2025 05:00:48 +0000 admin 101759 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Watch November's 'beaver' supermoon rising over Sydney's Bondi beach – video https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/watch-novembers-beaver-supermoon-rising-over-sydneys-bondi-beach-video <p>This stunning timelapse shows the 'biggest' supermoon of 2025 lighting up the sky over Sydney on Wednesday evening, shining brightly as it rose above Bondi beach. The moon is considered a supermoon when it is closer to the Earth than usual, making it look much larger. The drama is partly due to something called the moon illusion, which makes the moon appear larger when it is close to the horizon and we have other objects to gauge it against</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/watch-novembers-beaver-supermoon-rising-over-sydneys-bondi-beach-video" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Thu, 06 Nov 2025 00:20:12 +0000 admin 101758 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Trump nominates ex-New Mexico lawmaker to oversee public lands https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/trump-nominates-ex-new-mexico-lawmaker-oversee-public-lands <p>President names Steve Pearce to lead agency that manages a quarter-billion acres, about 10% of land in US</p> <p>Donald Trump nominated a former lawmaker from New Mexico on Wednesday to oversee the management of vast public lands that are playing a central role in Republican attempts to ramp up fossil fuel production.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/trump-nominates-ex-new-mexico-lawmaker-oversee-public-lands" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Wed, 05 Nov 2025 23:30:36 +0000 admin 101757 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org Still a chance to return to 1.5C climate goal, researchers say https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/still-chance-return-15c-climate-goal-researchers-say <p>Report calls for scaling-up of renewable energy and electrification of key sectors to limit peak of global heating</p> <p>There is still a chance for the world to avoid the worst ravages of climate breakdown and return to the goal of 1.5C if governments take concerted action on greenhouse gas emissions, a new assessment argues.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org/breaking-wave/still-chance-return-15c-climate-goal-researchers-say" target="_blank">read more</a></p> Wed, 05 Nov 2025 23:00:37 +0000 admin 101756 at https://www.worldoceanobservatory.org