1. Beaches

Category Archives: Beaches

One in 20 English beaches will fail new EU cleanliness tests

Posted on by

Blackpool North beach is one of the beaches in England set to fail tough new EU cleanliness standards. Photograph: CHRISTOPHER THOMOND/CHRISTOPHER THOMOND

One in 20 English beaches which currently pass standards for cleanliness will fail tougher tests which come in next year, figures show.

Almost all beaches (99.5%) in England meet the basic standards for clean bathing water, with just two spots failing to reach the mandatory grade this year: Lyme Regis Church Cliff Beach, Dorset, and Staithes, North Yorkshire.

But under tougher European standards which come into force next year, 5% of those beaches which are currently reaching the mandatory standards will be classed as poor, reducing the number achieving the required level of cleanliness to 94.5%.

More than 20 beaches are projected not to make the grade, including Blackpool North and Blackpool Central, Lancashire and Seaton and East Looe in Cornwall.

The bathing water statistics from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) showed the number of beaches which reached mandatory levels for cleanliness increased from 98.8% in 2013 to 99.5% this year in England.

In Wales all beaches tested met the mandatory level of cleanliness, in Scotland 97.5% passed bathing water tests and 95.7% of beaches in Northern Ireland made the grade.

The figures also showed that the proportion of beaches reaching existing higher guideline standards of cleanliness fell slightly in 2014.

In England, 80.7% of beaches meet the higher grade, a slight drop on 83.5% in 2013. In Wales 88.1% of bathing spots achieved the higher standards, as did 55.6% in Scotland and 69.6% in Northern Ireland - where it fell from 87% the previous year.

Water minister Dan Rogerson said: Water quality is improving and has now reached a record high, which means families across the country can make the most of what nature has to offer.

Go here to see the original:

One in 20 English beaches will fail new EU cleanliness tests

Land, sea, and air: Battleships, bombers, submarines, seaplanes and battlefields from around the world

Posted on by

From the beaches of France to the harbors of Hawaii, the fields of Britain to the docks of New York, there are countless relics of war. Take this tour of tours through battleships, tanks, aircraft and more.

Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

All over the world, in places once rife with conflict, monuments to the struggles of men remain. The relics of war. Silent ships. Now quiet battlefields. Aircraft grounded forever. These reminders are, thankfully, the closest most of us will ever get to combat.

They're awe inspiring, in their way, and for many, a source of true fascination.

In this tour of tours, you'll see the beaches of Normandy, the bridge of battleships, the missile room of a submarine and countless aircraft and tanks from WWI, II, the Cold War and beyond.

We start where so much did, on the beaches of France, Normandy, on a morning in early June. Seventy years ago, the largest seaborne invasion in history landed here, on their way to vanquish one of history's great evils.

Today, the beaches are serene, decaying structures the only sign of the previous violence.

Only 150 miles away, beneath the streets of London, Sir Winston Churchill's War Cabinet Rooms give a glimpse of what life was like for the leaders of the UK during the war.

And only a bit farther north, Bletchley Park, the secret code-breaking center that decrypted the German's messages, gaining invaluable intel and shortening the war by years. As an aside, the life of Alan Turing, the original code-breaker, is about to be the subject of a movie starring Benedict Cumberbatch.

The skies above Britain and France were the battlefield of countless skirmishes. Starting from the canvas-and-wood designs of WWI, to the iconic savors of the Battle of Britain, to the fighters and bombers of the jet age, the Royal Air Force Museum showcases hundreds of important and legendary aircraft.

See more here:

Land, sea, and air: Battleships, bombers, submarines, seaplanes and battlefields from around the world

Album of the Week: Dirty Beaches Stateless

Posted on by

INDIE

Stateless

Dirty Beaches

(Zoo Music)

Four stars out of five

As Dirty Beaches, Alex Zhang Hungtai travelled the world, his raw, unhinged rock albums painting vivid pictures of dusty Americana (the motorcycle desert gang-worthy Badlands, from 2011, and last years double opus Drifters/Love Is The Devil), life in the far reaches of Asia (the Taiwan-themed Neon Gods of Lost Youth), and music dedicated to North American cultural curiosities (the soundtrack to Water Park, an ambient film shot at West Edmonton Malls indoor recreational facility).

While there have been collaborators, Dirty Beaches is essentially Hungtais sole vision, one constructed on a life that has spanned the globe: Born in Taiwan, Hungtai has also lived in Vancouver, Montreal, San Francisco, Berlin and Lisbon, among many other locales.

Stateless is a fitting conceptual farewell for Dirty Beaches, as Hungtai announced late last month that he was retiring the project and moving on to new horizons. Assisted by Italian composer Vittorio Demarin, this guitar-less, wordless body of work is an exercise in multi-layered ambient textures a far cry from his notoriously lo-fi guitar output. Brian Enos airport music, David Lynch and Stanley Kubrick film scores (especially the Gyorgy Ligeti material in 2001: A Space Odyssey), and Philip Glass (see: Koyaanisqatsi) immediately come to mind. (Perhaps fittingly, Lynch collaborator Dean Hurley handled the mix on Stateless.)

Recorded in Lisbon over the past year, Stateless conjures visions of highways seen from the vantage point of a landing plane, flickering neon signs lighting up the Shanghai skyline, waves crashing upon jagged rocks on the coast of California, and European nightclubs, stripped of their beats, filled with bodies flailing in silence.

Stateless exists, like Hungtai, in constant limbo, and as such it is the proper sendoff for an artist without borders or boundaries, standing on the edge.

See the original post here:

Album of the Week: Dirty Beaches Stateless

Mischievous dog causes flood at Northern Beaches vet

Posted on by

HEARD about the dog that wet the rug?

This one flooded the joint.

After receiving a panicked call from another business in his Northern Beaches complex, veterinarian Paul McGeown rushed to work just before 7am yesterday to find water flowing from the Northern Beaches Veterinary Hospital.

"I was in shock and awe," he said.

"Initially we thought a water main had burst. We feared the worst."

Instead, during the night an adventurous pooch had managed to get loose in the veterinary premises and knocked a laundry tap that opened the floodgates.

Mr McGeown asked for the escapee's name to be withheld because it was a first offence and due to the unusual circumstances.

"He's such a sweet dog. We can't believe he got out," he said.

Despite being surrounded by unpredictable pooches on a daily basis, Mr McGeown said this was "one of the strangest" incidents he had seen in his working life.

"We've had plumbers and electricians here all morning," he said.

Read more:

Mischievous dog causes flood at Northern Beaches vet

Litter by the tonne spoils beaches and kills wildlife

Posted on by

RESIDENTS are being urged to have some pride.

The region is messy, we have lazy residents who dump their rubbish on our beaches, in our gutters and on our streets.

The ramifications are often worse than the ignorant litter bug may realise.

Founding chairwoman of Eco Barge Libby Edge said her organisation had picked up more than 130 tonnes of litter from around the region.

"I think the public needs to be aware that their rubbish drains into the marine ecosystems, causing extensive damage," she said.

The upcoming wet season would only compound the problem of street rubbish washing into waterways.

"Mackay has a dumping issue. People have good access to beaches but they think it's okay to leave their rubbish," Ms Edge said.

"It's about respecting the beautiful place we live. It's a sad issue."

Peter Goussard, who contributed the picture below left, said he noticed the mess on Sunday morning at East Point Beach.

"It's such a nice beach and it looked like a rubbish tip," Mr Goussard said.

Go here to see the original:

Litter by the tonne spoils beaches and kills wildlife

Sea turtle nesting on Boca's beaches: 'It's been much better'

Posted on by

The total number of turtles that came ashore to nest on Boca Raton's beaches fell off this year after two record-breaking years in a row.

From last year's high of 1,178 turtles along Boca's 5 miles of beach, this year saw 949 turtles come ashore to lay eggs, according to Gumbo Limbo Nature Center's turtle conservation program.

But it was a particularly good season for leatherback turtles, which are among the most critically endangered of Florida's sea turtles. During the past 28 years, only three other years have brought more leatherbacks to nest on Boca's beaches than this year, Gumbo Limbo counts show.

Those are the final sea turtle numbers that Gumbo Limbo Nature Center submitted this week to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which is collecting numbers statewide. The commission has been tallying sea turtle nesting numbers along Florida's 800 miles of beaches since 1979.

Turtles come ashore in Boca in numbers that make it one of the most densely nested of any urban area along the Florida coastline, said Kirt Rusenko, a marine conservationist who heads Gumbo Limbo's turtle program. Only North Palm Beach attracts more, he said.

"They (number of nests) go up and down turtles nest every two to three years, so there's some variation year over year," Rusenko said. "We're just happy over the last few years since 2010, it's been much better, generally going up."

Overall, nesting appears to be on the upswing for the ancient reptiles that have roamed the Earth more than a 100 million years.

Sea turtles must survive a hazardous trek before they breed. It takes some species about 30 years from hatching before they make a rare appearance onshore to lay eggs

Pollution, boat strikes and fishing nets all contribute to some long odds. A turtle egg has a one in 1,000 to 5,000 chance of surviving to breed, according to officials at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center.

Anne Meylan, a senior turtle research scientist and coordinator for the statewide beach survey, said that it's hard to say what factors are contributing to the general, upward trend in Florida's turtle nests.

Link:

Sea turtle nesting on Boca's beaches: 'It's been much better'

Best Cambodian Beaches | Victory Beach Sihanuk Ville | New beach Kampong som # 2 – Video

Posted on by


Best Cambodian Beaches | Victory Beach Sihanuk Ville | New beach Kampong som # 2
cambodia beaches cambodia beaches and nightlife cambodia beaches tripadvisor cambodia beaches and islands cambodia beaches lonely planet cambodia beaches map cambodia beach resorts ...

By: Amazing Videos

See original here:

Best Cambodian Beaches | Victory Beach Sihanuk Ville | New beach Kampong som # 2 - Video

Best Cambodian Beaches | Victory Beach Sihanuk Ville | New beach Kampong some 3 – Video

Posted on by


Best Cambodian Beaches | Victory Beach Sihanuk Ville | New beach Kampong some 3
cambodia beaches cambodia beaches and nightlife cambodia beaches tripadvisor cambodia beaches and islands cambodia beaches lonely planet cambodia beaches map cambodia beach resorts ...

By: Amazing Videos

Read more:

Best Cambodian Beaches | Victory Beach Sihanuk Ville | New beach Kampong some 3 - Video

Best Cambodian Beaches | Victory Beach Sihanuk Ville | New Beach, Kampong Som # 1 – Video

Posted on by


Best Cambodian Beaches | Victory Beach Sihanuk Ville | New Beach, Kampong Som # 1
cambodia beaches cambodia beaches and nightlife cambodia beaches tripadvisor cambodia beaches and islands cambodia beaches lonely planet cambodia beaches map cambodia beach resorts ...

By: Amazing Videos

Visit link:

Best Cambodian Beaches | Victory Beach Sihanuk Ville | New Beach, Kampong Som # 1 - Video

Increasing numbers of sea turtles are laying eggs on Japans beaches

Posted on by

Increasing numbers of marine turtles are laying eggs on Japanese beaches, the Environment Ministry said in a new report.

It shows a general rise since 2008 in egg-laying by three species green, loggerhead and hawksbill turtles all of which are listed as endangered. The figures were compiled by the Sea Turtle Association of Japan.

The associations head, Yoshimasa Matsuzawa, said the rise may be due to protections introduced in the 1970s. Those measures, he said, may have led to a decrease in the illegal poaching of eggs and helped to boost egg production by mature adults.

However, there has been a rise in eggs being eaten by raccoons and boars. The association has launched efforts to protect egg-laying grounds.

The association organized surveys with the help of volunteers of 41 known egg beaches across the country between fiscal 2004 and fiscal 2012.

The report said egg production has been increasing for all the three species, most markedly among loggerhead turtles: It records a 2.7-fold rise from 3,562 instances of egg-laying in 2004 to 9,661 in 2012.

Egg production by green turtles has been rising since 2010, while nine eggs of hawksbill turtles were confirmed in 2011, an increase compared to recent years.

Sea turtles take 30 to 40 years to mature. They lay eggs every two to four years.

More here:

Increasing numbers of sea turtles are laying eggs on Japans beaches

Beaches strewn with debris

Posted on by

Mother Nature was not kind to Jean Klock Park in Benton Harbor and Tiscornia Beach in St. Joseph during Friday's storm that swept across the Midwest.

"It's the worst I've seen (at Jean Klock Park) in the 10 years I've been here," said Bob McFeeter, who is in charge of maintaining the park through his position as director of development at Evergreen Development Company in Benton Harbor.

An online service is needed to view this article in its entirety. You need an online service to view this article in its entirety.

Or, use your linked account:

Need an account? Create one now.

Or, use your linked account:

kAm$EC6H? 2=@?8 E96 D9@C6 2E y62? z=@4< !2C< 2C6 E:C6D[ 2 >6E2= 32CC6=[ H@@56? A2==6ED 2?5 =2556CD[ =2C86 A=2DE:4 3:?D 2?5 =@ED @7 EC66 ECF?

kAm|4u66E6C D2:5 {]t] q2C36C r@?DECF4E:@? 😕 q6?E@? w2C3@C H:== 368:? 4=62?:?8 FA E96 >6DD E9:D H66<]k^Am

kAmQ(6 H:== 5@ @FC 36DE E@ 4=62C E9:D >2E6C:2= 367@C6 H:?E6C[Q 96 D2:5]k^Am

kAm|4u66E6C D2:5 :7 E96 563C:D 😀 ?@E 4=62C65 D@@?[ :E H:== 36 3FC:65 😕 D2?5 3J DAC:?8 2?5 H:== 36 6G6? 92C56C E@ 4=62? FA]k^Am

Link:

Beaches strewn with debris

WA government allowed 'tonnes of shark bait to float onto beach'

Posted on by

Heavy equipment was brought in to shift the carcass. Photo: Cortlan Bennett

The WA government has been accused of letting "20 tonnes of shark bait drift onto one of Perth's most popular beaches" in a stinging attack by the opposition.

Labor spokesman for Fisheries Dave Kelly said the government failed to act earlier to deal with the carcass of a humpback whale that drifted in waters off Perth before it washed up on Scarborough Beach on Monday.

Whale carcass removal from Scarborough Beach Photo: Ingrid Cowan

Mr Kelly directed his criticism to Colin Barnett as the Premier had "taken on shark mitigation as a responsibility."

Advertisement

"While some of the things we've seen at Scarborough beach have been quite comical over the last couple of days and it certainly has been an interesting spectacle, there is actually a quite serious side of what's happens at Scarborough beach, we've effectively had 20 tonnes of shark bait allowed to drift onto one of Perth's most popular beaches," he said.

Mr Kelly added that this was not the first time a whale carcass has floated in metropolitan waters before becoming beached so the government "could not say it was an unexpected occurrence."

"In October last year a shark carcass washed onto Whitfords Beach, the minister at the time, Troy Buswell said it would have made more sense to tow the carcass offshore and that he would speak to his Commonwealth colleagues to make sure that whatever Commonwealth exemptions needed to be in place, they would be in place in the future," he said.

"Twelve months later it appears as if nothing has happened."

Original post:

WA government allowed 'tonnes of shark bait to float onto beach'


  1. Beaches