Hey Pod,
Some of you might have spotted that Baleen snuck into your inboxes a day early last week… OOPS! Turns out touch screens and sunshine beaming in through the window aren’t a good combination. Let’s see if I can get it right this week (and if you’re reading this on Sunday, I was foiled again…)
This week’s hot take
Here in the UK, all talk was of the budget this week. But what do Sunak’s new proposals mean for the environment? Rebecca Newsom, Head of Politics for Greenpeace UK, said:
"For all the talk of a green recovery, this Budget suggests the Chancellor has failed to clock the urgency of the climate emergency. A National Infrastructure Bank and Green Bonds could be steps forward, but without a guarantee they will provide sustained investment to decarbonise buildings, transport and industry, they are unlikely to do much to advance climate action. Meanwhile the government’s shambolic handling of the Green Homes Grant and ambitions for the City on ‘high quality’ offsetting are both steps in the opposite direction, leaving the UK with weakened authority on the world stage ahead of November’s climate conference. Successive budgets that approach the climate and nature emergency in a half-hearted manner have left us running out of time and credibility."
Have a question for the experts next week? Don’t be shy… ask a question in the comments.
🌊 Ocean 🌊
Sea no grass: 90% of the UK’s seagrass meadows have been lost and only 8,500 hectares are left (Guardian)
Chatty sea flap flaps: Researchers at MMF have found a manta ray’s cephalic lobes may be used in communication (Forbes)
World first: researchers have estimated there could be half a TRILLION corals in the Pacific Ocean and they have concerns over the impact of warming oceans on these species (Guardian)
Cuttlefish control: Did you ever take part in the marshmallow test as a kid? A new study has tried this with cuttlefish (not with actual marshmallows, obv) to see how much self-control they have (Science Focus)
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Soft robot: Scientists have created a robot which can withstand the pressures of the deepest parts of the ocean and is still able to function (New Scientist)
Seal you later: A seal trapped in plastic litter in Felixtowe, Suffolk, was thankfully rescued and released back into the see unharmed (ITV)
Plastic pathway: How do scientists predict the route of plastic waste entering the ocean (and, so, know where to focus cleanup efforts)? (The Conversation)
Solomon Islands: Scientists have identified a widespread coral bleaching event on reefs previously thought to be less reactive to climate stress (WCS)
Diving deep: Adventurer Richard Garriott has returned from a mission to the Mariana Trench, becoming the 14th person alive to do so (Scuba Diver)
Dolphins & drones: Could this drone save the rarest marine dolphin? (CNN)
Ocean Photography Awards: This year’s winning photos are pretty epic - check them out! (Medium)
Kill quota: Norway has a 2021 whaling quota of 1,200+ whales (One Green Planet)
Octogenarian snapper: biologists have found an 81-year-old snapper off the coast of Australia, suggesting reef fish could live much longer than we thought (Hakai)
As always, if you’re enjoying Baleen why not share it with your network:
Dolphin shows to disappear Down Under: New South Wales, Australia, has announced the end to commercial breeding or importation of captive dolphins (WDC)
Singing out of tun-a: The EU has been criticised for not doing enough to address the overfishing of yellowfin tuna in the Indian Ocean (Guardian)
New report: makes the case to stop illegal fishing in the US (Oceana)
Glow in the dark shark: Scientists have discovered a deep sea species which is now the largest-known luminous vertebrate (National Geographic)
Camera traps: have revealed secret breeding caves Mediterranean monk seals – believed to be the world's rarest seals – in northern Cyprus (Live Science)
Why should we give seals PhDs? Spoiler: they’ve been helping researchers collect data on Antarctic glaciers! (Earther)
The Deep Dive
Another podcast recommendation this week: why not check out How to Save a Planet’s episode on seaweed farming and climate change?
Thanks for reading and see you next week!
Melissa
Baleen is provided completely free each week to help you keep on top of the latest marine conservation news - if you find it useful, say thanks by buying me a coffee
📢 I have some availability for writing commissions and comms consultancy so, if you’d like to work together, do get in touch to chat about how I can help you 🤓