Unified command was formed to look in to the origin of the sheen, which did not seem to be expanding since it was first detected
Authorities in southern California are investigating a 2.5-mile (4km) long oil sheen that emerged off the coast of Huntington Beach on Thursday evening.
The sheen doesn’t appear to be a crude oil spill – it could be the result of natural seepage – and federal and state teams have deployed to the area to determine the source.
Continue reading...Adelaide region expected to be worst affected with average temperatures forecast to be up by 10C
Southern parts of Australia are expected to suffer a short heatwave starting on Friday and lasting until next Tuesday. The Adelaide region will be worst affected, with highs of about 36C anticipated in the city on Friday, which is 10C above the seasonal norm.
Daytime maximums are then set to remain above 35C until Tuesday, while minimum temperatures are not forecast to drop below 25C. This will be the longest March run of high temperatures in Adelaide in four years, with only one March day above 35C being recorded over this period.
Continue reading...North Melbourne’s Alastair Clarkson free to coach in round one after avoiding suspension for outburst in weekend’s trial match. This blog is now closed
Scooter rider dies in crash in Sydney
A scooter rider has died following a crash at North Ryde in Sydney this morning.
We are yet to see her beautiful eyes open, however, she has shown some really positive signs that she may be hearing her loved ones.
Continue reading...Electric carmaker concerned at ‘overblown’ claims that Albanese government’s plan to import environmentally cleaner cars would increase ute prices
Electric car brand Polestar has become the second company to quit Australia’s main auto industry lobby group over frustrations at its campaign against the Albanese government’s plan to import environmentally cleaner cars.
On Friday – a day after Tesla announced it would cease being a member of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) over the group’s opposition to the government’s proposed vehicle efficiency standard – Polestar Australia’s managing director, Samantha Johnson, wrote to FCAI CEO Tony Weber advising him the Volvo-owned brand was also cancelling its membership.
Continue reading...Minns government fulfils $13m election commitment following long-running community campaign to protect the area
Almost five hectares of parklands has been added to the Wolli Creek regional national park – “a patch of green ribbon” which runs through dense suburbs in Sydney’s south – in the past year.
The Minns government added the additional 4.7 hectares after a $13m election commitment to complete the park, which borders Wolli Creek and was first promised by the Carr government in 1998.
Continue reading...Exclusive: firm points to risk of asbestos contamination from other sources as it seeks to have prevention order thrown out
The landscaping materials company at the centre of the New South Wales asbestos crisis will point to the risks of contamination outside its facilities and the “unjustified impact” on its business when it argues to have an order preventing it making mulch products quashed.
Greenlife and the NSW Environment Protection Authority are expected to appear before the state’s land and environment court for a directions hearing on Friday.
Continue reading...Bangkok customs officers arrest six after finding 87 animals, including lizards, birds, a monkey and snakes
Thai customs officials have arrested six Indian nationals for attempting to smuggle dozens of wild animals, including a red panda and cotton-top tamarin monkey, out of the country.
Officers found 87 animals, including monitor lizards, birds and snakes, packaged inside the suspects’ checked luggage at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport. They were trying to fly to Mumbai.
Continue reading...Bird – one of the 10 rarest in the US – caused the fountain display at the Bellagio hotel and casino to be switched off
A rare yellow-billed loon – a bird more common to the high Arctic tundra in the summer that strays south of Canadian border in only small numbers – has caused a fountain display in Las Vegas, Nevada, to be switched off.
The yellow-billed loon, with a similarly haunting call to the smaller, more abundant common loon, was spotted in the fountains of the Bellagio hotel and casino, causing hotel management to call off the propulsive displays of water.
Continue reading...Scientists confirm cetacean’s presence but cite impact of climate change which has made North-west Passage ice-free in summer
Scientists have confirmed the presence of a whale off New England that went extinct in the Atlantic Ocean two centuries ago – an exciting discovery, but one they said that illustrates the impact of climate change on sea life.
Researchers with the New England Aquarium in Boston found the gray whale while flying 30 miles south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, on 1 March. The whale, which can weigh 60,000 pounds (27,215kg), typically lives in the northern Pacific Ocean.
Continue reading...Focus turns to criminal investigation after NSW Environment Protection Authority completes its trawl through the supply chain
Mulch contaminated with asbestos has been found at 75 sites across greater Sydney, with the New South Wales environmental watchdog turning focus to its criminal investigation following the completion of contact tracing.
The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) will on Thursday announce it has finished tracking mulch through the complex supply chain after asbestos was first discovered by a parent in mulch at a park in the inner west more than two months ago.
Continue reading...Report links rise in birds trapped for human consumption to cuts in anti-poaching resources in area of British military base
More than 400,000 songbirds were trapped and killed in Cyprus last autumn as part of a recent increase in wildlife crime, according to a new report.
Organised crime networks use decoys and speakers playing birdsong to lure these small birds – including garden favourites such as robins and sparrows – to land in bushes or orchards, where they catch them with “mist” nets or branches covered in glue. They are then sold via the hidden market to restaurants to be eaten as a local dish called “ambelopoulia”, which consists of pickled or boiled songbirds.
Continue reading...Leaking fuel and thousands of tonnes of fertiliser could harm marine ecosystems and affect coastal fishing communities
The sinking of a bulk carrier off the coast of Yemen after a Houthi missile attack poses grave environmental risks as thousands of tonnes of fertiliser threaten to spill into the Red Sea, officials and experts have warned.
Leaking fuel and the chemical pollutant could harm marine life, including coral reefs, and affect coastal communities that rely on fishing for their livelihoods, they said.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Electric car company says Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries is running a ‘concerted public campaign’ by suggesting plan would push up price of popular cars
Tesla has launched a scathing attack on Australia’s main auto industry lobby group, accusing it of attempting to delay climate action by repeatedly making “plainly false” claims to the public about an Albanese government clean car policy.
In a submission to the government about the design of a vehicle efficiency standard, Tesla sharply criticised the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), an organisation in which it holds a board seat and is an active member.
Continue reading...Britain spent about £26bn in three years on low-carbon measures, less than Italy, Germany, France and Spain, Greenpeace finds
The UK spends less on low-carbon energy policy than any other major European economy, analysis has shown, despite evidence that such spending could lower household bills and increase economic growth more than the tax cuts the government has planned.
Spending on low-carbon measures for the three years from April 2020 to the end of April 2023 was about $33.3bn (£26.2bn) in total for the UK, the lowest out of the top five European economies, according to an analysis by Greenpeace of data from the International Energy Agency.
Continue reading...Homeowners in wealthy towns watching anxiously in face of heavy storms that have caused flash floods and coastal erosion
The torrents of water coming from the sky are having ripple effects on the cliffs that hold up some of California’s most expensive real estate. In the first two months of the year, nearly 18in of rain has fallen in the southern California area, about 8in above normal to date – and more is on the way this week.
The California governor, Gavin Newsom, declared a state of emergency in eight counties covering more than 20 million people, and flash-flood warnings were issued for parts of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.
Continue reading...Four-metre shark euthanised after becoming beached on shore at Kingscliff on Tweed Coast
A great white shark washed up on to a beach on the New South Wales north coast, shocking locals and attracting a crowd of beachgoers.
The 4m shark was seen swimming close to shore near Kingscliff beach on the Tweed Coast on Monday morning, with lifeguards tracking its progress until it was beached.
Continue reading...Parts of the structure are younger than expected while an east wind blows the whole thing across the desert, researchers find
They are impressive, mysterious structures that loom out of deserts on the Earth and are also found on Mars and on Saturn’s biggest moon, Titan.
Experts from universities including Aberystwyth in Wales have now pinpointed the age of a star dune in a remote area of Morocco and uncovered details about its formation and how it moves across the desert.
Continue reading...The tree will be exhibited at the Sill in Hexham, close to where it once stood
The largest section of the Sycamore Gap tree unlawfully cut down last December is to go on public display, Northumberland national park has announced.
The tree, which stood in a dip next to Hadrian’s Wall, will be exhibited at the Sill, a tourist attraction in Hexham, not far from where it once stood.
Continue reading...US ski industry is losing billions as average season has become five to seven days shorter in past half century
If you have been enjoying lushly covered mountains by skiing or snowboarding this winter then such an experience could soon become a receding memory, with a new study finding that an era of reliably bountiful snow has already passed due to the climate crisis.
The US ski industry has lost more than $5bn over the past two decades due to human-caused global heating, the new research has calculated, due to the increasingly sparse nature of snowfall on mountain ranges. Previous studies have shown that in many locations precipitation is now coming in the form of rain, rather than snow, due to warming temperatures.
Continue reading...Attack on juvenile is thought to be first known time a lone orca has hunted down a great white
It is a smash and grab that has stunned scientists: in less than two minutes, a killer whale attacked and consumed a great white shark before swimming off with the victim’s liver in its mouth.
Experts say the event off the coast of Mossel Bay in South Africa offers new insights into the predatory behaviour of orcas.
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