Breaking Waves: Ocean News

09/27/2026 - 10:47
Airport chiefs say 2035 operations deadline unachievable as critics say new delay makes case for project ‘even more dubious’ Plans for a third runway at Heathrow are once again up in the air after the prime minister refused to say whether he backs the “contested” project which is delayed by up to four years. Over the weekend it emerged that ​Heathrow no longer expects to meet the original 2035 deadline. Instead, the airport hopes to secure planning permission by 2029 and then open the runway “within a decade”, meaning it would not be operational until 2039. Continue reading...
09/27/2026 - 09:00
Firms manipulating process to avoid emission controls and scrutiny of their projects, environmental groups warn Datacenter developers are manipulating the EPA’s air pollution permitting process to avoid emission controls and scrutiny of their projects, environmental advocates allege. Companies need federal permits to emit a range of pollutants. In their permit applications, some in big tech are avoiding “major” reviews by dividing their emissions sources into separate, multiple “minor” sources that require less regulatory oversight, the advocates say. Continue reading...
09/27/2026 - 07:00
Bears are increasingly entering places where humans live in the US, forcing wildlife workers to make tough decisions Dan Thompson, supervisor of the large carnivore section of the Wyoming game and fish department, enjoys the field work of capturing mountain lions, wolves, black bears and grizzly bears to study them. “I have always been personally intrigued with carnivores and their role throughout any ecosystem,” Thompson said. “I actually feel very fortunate to get paid to do what we do.” Continue reading...
09/27/2026 - 06:00
Two troops of chacma baboons are breaking into homes and shops but animal rights activists insist coexistence is the answer Cape Town’s city council has said it will “imminently” round up two baboon troops coming into repeated conflict with residents. The animals will be sterilised and permanently moved to a newly constructed sanctuary. The plan has been fiercely criticised by animal rights activists, who say the monkeys should remain roaming freely, and that less destructive options have not been properly considered. Cape Town’s baboon problem has been brewing since the 2000s, after the city stopped culling troops in the late 1990s after pressure from the public. But in the past two years it has reached boiling point. A 2025 census found that the population had grown by a third since 2000, from 360 baboons to 493, now living in 12 managed troops. Continue reading...
09/26/2026 - 22:27
Authorities declared a flood disaster across Bangkok after almost two days of heavy rain left homes, shops and roads waterlogged and residents wading through waist-deep water. The Thai capital recorded 300mm of rainfall over 48 hours through ⁠Saturday in some areas, flooding roads and ​leaving ​some cars ​submerged. The rain swelled the city’s network of canals, sending murky water into surrounding homes, restaurants and shops Continue reading...
09/26/2026 - 08:00
Paper raises questions about safety of food and other products as early onset breast cancer rates surge worldwide New research has identified at least 485 chemicals used in US pesticide products that are linked to breast cancer, raising questions about the safety of food and other products at a time when early onset breast cancer rates are surging worldwide. The new peer-reviewed paper, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, a top journal from the American Chemical Society, highlights what public health advocates say are a range of deficiencies in how US pesticides are regulated. The review includes active pesticide ingredients, but also hundreds of so-called “inert”, or inactive, ingredients that typically do not undergo a thorough safety review. Continue reading...
09/25/2026 - 10:52
State regulator’s record fine for DataOne facility in Vineland follows Floodlight investigation with the Guardian New Jersey regulators issued their largest-ever fine against a datacenter on Tuesday following a recent Floodlight investigation with the Guardian that found DataOne’s facility in Vineland operating at least 45 gas-powered generators without a state permit. The New Jersey department of environmental protection’s $1.07m fine against DataOne “sends a clear message that these facilities will not be constructed or operated with impunity in this state”, said the department’s commissioner, Ed Potosnak, in a press release. Continue reading...
09/25/2026 - 10:00
Powered by sun and wind, the uncrewed vehicle will collect data to help Australian scientists better understand how oceans absorb emissions Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast A small uncrewed vessel has embarked on a lap around Antarctica and may not return for months. The seven-metre craft, which looks like a large kayak in hi-vis orange, is expected to travel about 22,000km through inhospitable waters, propelled by powerful westerly winds and energy from the sun. The journey is seven times the distance between Sydney and Perth. Continue reading...
World Ocean Explorer Wins Gold Medal Serious Simulation Award from Serious Play Annual International Competition
10/26/2023 - 14:35
For Immediate Release October 19, 2023 Sedgwick, Maine USA World Ocean Explorer, a 3D virtual aquarium and educational simulation, was recently cited for excellence, winning a Gold Medal Award in the 2023 International Serious Play Awards Program. World Ocean Explorer is an innovative 3D virtual aquarium designed for educational exploration of the world’s oceans. With interactive exhibits and a lobby space, visitors can immerse themselves in realistic marine environments, including a DEEP SEA exhibit funded by Schmidt Ocean Institute, showcasing unprecedented deep-sea discoveries off Australia. Targeted at 3rd graders and beyond, this immersive experience offers a range of perspectives on the ocean environment and can be explored through guided tours or user-controlled interfaces. Visit DEEP SEA at worldoceanexplorer.org/deep-sea-aquarium.html. Serious Play Conference brings together professionals who are exploring the use of game-based learning, sharing their experience, and working together to shape the future of training and education. For more information on Serious Play Award Program visit seriousplayconf.com/international-serious-play-award-programs. World Ocean Explorer is a transformative virtual aquarium designed to deepen understanding of the world ocean and amplify connection for young people worldwide. Organized around the principles of Ocean Literacy and the Next Gen Science Standards, World Ocean Explorer brings the wonder and knowledge of ocean species and systems to students in formal and informal classrooms, absolutely free to anyone with a good Internet connection. As an advocate for the ocean through communications, World Ocean Observatory believes there is no better investment in the future of the sustainable ocean than through a new approach to educational engagement that excites, informs, and motivates students to explore the wonders of our marine world and to understand the pervasive connection and implication for our future, inherent in the protection and conservation of all aspects of our ocean world. World Ocean Explorer presents an astonishing 3-dimensional simulated aquarium visit, organized to reveal the wonders of undersea life, with layers of detailed data and information to augment the emotional connection made to the astonishing beauty and complexity of the dynamic ocean. Within each of the virtual exhibits, students visit exemplary theme-based sites with myriad opportunities to understand the larger perspectives of scientific knowledge as organized and visualized to dramatize the impact and change on ocean life as a result of natural and human-generated events. Through immersion among displays, mixed media and 3D models, the experience of an aquarium visit will be brought into classrooms or home school environments as a free, accessible, always available opportunity for teaching and learning. All of this will be available to a world audience without physical limitation or cost. World Ocean Explorer, a project of the World Ocean Observatory, receives support from the Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation, Visual Solutions Lab, the Climate Change Institute, the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, and The Fram Museum Oslo. To learn more about the current and future exhibits of World Ocean Explorer, visit worldoceanexplorer.org. media contact Trisha Badger, Managing Director, World Ocean Observatory   |   director@thew2o.net +12077011069
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