A marine heat wave has killed approximately half of Alaska’s common murre population, marking the largest recorded die-off of a single species in modern history, research has found.
The catastrophic loss points to broader changes in marine environments driven by warming ocean temperatures, which are rapidly and severely restructuring ecosystems and inhibiting the ability of such animals to thrive, according to a new study published in the journal Science.
The Northeast Pacific heat wave, known as “the Blob,” spanned the ocean ecosystem from California to the Gulf of Alaska in late 2014 to 2016. The event is considered the largest and longest known marine heat wave, with temperatures rising by 4.5 to 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit above normal levels, said Brie Drummond, coauthor of the study.
Common murres, or Uria aalge, are known for their distinctive black-and-white feathers, resembling the tuxedoed look of penguins. These predators play a critical role in regulating energy flow within the marine food web in the Northern Hemisphere.
By the end of the 2016 heat wave, Drummond and her team counted more than 62,000 common murre carcasses, which only accounted for a fraction of those lost since most dead seabirds never appear on land.
From there, biologists monitored the rate at which common murres were dying and reproducing and found no signs of the colonies returning to their previous size.
Read more at the link in our bio.
Recent initiatives suggest the construction industry is accelerating its shift towards sustainable building design through workforce reform, advanced technology, and sharper policy direction. The UK’s renewed focus on training aims to build environmental literacy across the sector, producing engineers and architects skilled in whole life carbon assessment and low carbon design. The initiative responds to a growing demand for professionals capable of evaluating embodied carbon in materials and optimising life cycle cost from concept to demolition. By embedding life cycle thinking in construction, the programme positions carbon neutral construction not as a distant aspiration but a measurable standard for every project stage.
Digital innovation is advancing rapidly. Greyparrot’s recognition on TIME’s Best Inventions list underscores the vital role of artificial intelligence in enabling a circular economy in construction. Its AI-driven waste analysis tool provides data that supports lifecycle assessment and resource efficiency in construction, improving the reuse of renewable building materials and reducing the carbon footprint of construction waste. The technology aligns with broader efforts toward circular construction strategies, ensuring that construction processes contribute to genuine emissions reduction and sustainable material specification rather than incremental efficiency gains.
European policy adjustments are influencing how large firms report their environmental performance. The streamlining of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive is reshaping accountability across the continent, reinforcing the necessity of assessing embodied carbon, net zero whole life carbon, and the environmental impact of construction projects. Large contractors are being pressed to connect disclosure with measurable outcomes through BREEAM and the forthcoming BREEAM V7 framework. These tools are helping the sector benchmark low carbon construction materials, life cycle cost analyses, and environmental product declarations (EPDs) against net zero carbon standards, extending their reach from procurement to end-of-life reuse in construction.
Technical innovation on the ground mirrors these policy trends. Passive fire protection technologies, once viewed solely through a safety lens, are now evaluated as part of sustainable building practices where resilient insulation and fire barriers enhance both energy efficiency and environmental sustainability in construction. These systems embody eco-design for buildings, supporting energy-efficient buildings that reduce operational and embodied emissions simultaneously. This link between safety and sustainability demonstrates that low-impact construction principles can coexist with practical performance and cost effectiveness.
Attention to people and purpose is reinforcing these changes. The confirmation of Prince William’s attendance at COP30 frames the climate agenda within a human context, aligning diplomatic advocacy with the technical challenge of decarbonising the built environment. For developers and design professionals pursuing sustainable architecture and green construction, the message is increasingly clear: the path to net zero carbon buildings hinges on integrated design, accurate whole life carbon assessment, and disciplined use of low embodied carbon materials. The sector’s current trajectory suggests that sustainable construction is evolving into a data-led, ethics-informed discipline where environmental accountability is as fundamental as structural integrity.
Whole Life Carbon is a platform for the entire construction industry—both in the UK and internationally. We track the latest publications, debates, and events related to whole life guidance and sustainability. If you have any enquiries or opinions to share, please do
get in touch.
