St. Paul is Working Toward an Indigenous-led Conservation Plan For Its Marine Ecosystem

Everyone around St. Paul knows Zinaida Melovidov as Grandma Zee. She grew up working in the community’s blubbering shop, back when the local economy revolved around the commercial fur seal harvest. Even then, she said, people worried about what would happen if the island’s seals, birds and other marine life disappeared. “My mom and dad used to talk about this years ago,” she said. “I didn't understand. Now I know. No more seals, no more food, no more birds.”

The Business Case For Saving Coral Reefs

A growing body of research shows the nation’s coral reefs protect $1.8 billion in economic assets each year and should be protected for our sake and their own. Days after hurricanes Irma and Maria tore through Puerto Rico in 2017, Ernesto Diaz formed a team to survey what the Category 5 storms had done to his home. Touring coastal areas, Diaz, then an assistant secretary with the commonwealth’s Department of Natural & Environmental Resources, saw rooftops poking out from floodwaters, forests stripped bare, and windows and doors floating by.

Manatee Rescued From Greenville Canal Returns to Wild

The manatee rescued from a Tar River canal last fall is healthy and back in the wilds of Florida’s Gulf Coast waters. The 9-foot female is the first documented case of a successful manatee rescue in North Carolina.

The manatee, aptly nicknamed Pamlico, was released on Thursday at a popular “warm up station” in Apollo Beach on Florida’s Tampa Bay after being medically cleared by SeaWorld Orlando and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Is Climate Change Increasing the Risk of Disasters?

From deadly wildfires in California to devastating floods in North Carolina, disasters have wreaked havoc across the US over the past year, the world’s hottest on record. They shook millions of lives1 and caused billions of dollars in damage.2 As the climate crisis intensifies, there is no question that the intensity and frequency of extreme weather—often resulting in disasters—is increasing. According to the IPCC’s most recent report on climate adaptation, disasters fueled by the climate crisis are already worse than scientists originally predicted.

The Environmental Impact of Fast Fashion, Explained

Fast fashion has a significant environmental impact. According to the UN Environment Programme, the industry is the second-biggest consumer of water and is responsible for about 10% of global carbon emissions – more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. Unfortunately, the industry’s problems are often overlooked by consumers. The term fast fashion has become more prominent in conversations surrounding fashion, sustainability, and environmental consciousness.

Scientists Turn to Artificial Intelligence to Assess the Warming Effect of Reduced Pollution

A global reduction in sulfur pollution from shipping that has inadvertently contributed to recent warming of the Earth is providing insights into the challenge of evaluating  one of two major proposed solar geoengineering approaches, marine cloud brightening.

In 2020, the International Maritime Organization imposed a sharp reduction in the level of sulfur in ship fuel to reduce emissions of sulfate aerosols and sulfur dioxide.

Circular Currents: Stemming the Plastic Tide in the Arctic

Once considered remote and pristine, the Arctic is now succumbing to a tide of plastic. In Norway, a monumental effort is underway to curb its spread. It’s early November on Flakstad Beach and 25 miles an hour winds are whipping plumes of spindrift off enormous Arctic waves. Powerful gusts carry flurries of hail that sting like bullets and the sky is the color of shifting shades of steel. It’s an elemental spectacle that is quite normal here in Norway’s remote Lofoten Islands, given their location inside the Arctic Circle. Nature at its wildest.

Biden Permanently Bans Offshore Drilling in 625 Million Acres of Ocean, Making a Trump Reversal Difficult

President Joe Biden on Monday announced an executive action that will permanently ban future offshore oil and gas development in parts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in a way that could be especially difficult for the incoming Trump administration to undo.

Biden’s executive action will ban new oil and gas leasing across 625 million acres of US ocean.

Record Ocean Warming in 2024 is a Warning For Our Planet

The ocean, which covers 70% of Earth’s surface, is reaching unprecedented high temperatures – not just at the surface but throughout the upper 2,000 meters (6,561 feet).

A new study led by Lijing Cheng, a professor in the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, brings this alarming fact into sharp focus. “The broken records in the ocean have become a broken record,” said Professor Cheng, who led a research team of 54 scientists from seven countries.

$7.8M Award Aims to Revolutionize Renewable Energy for Ocean Monitoring Devices

Environmental science and technology Professor Stephanie Lansing is heading up a large, collaborative effort that aims to overcome the need for batteries and ship- or shore-based power cables by using microorganisms in ocean water and specialized bacteria to create a marine-based microbial fuel cell that can produce outputs of up to 10 watts consistently for a year or more.

Accelerator Opens To Increase Tribal Capacity for Engaging in Offshore Wind Energy

Offshore wind energy, which generates electricity from wind blowing across the sea, is growing on a global and national scale. As of May 31, 2024, there were 174 megawatts of U.S. offshore wind power in operation and approximately 25,116 megawatts under development, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL’s) Offshore Wind Market Report: 2024 Edition.

Small Ocean Creatures Could Help Fight Climate Change, According to Dartmouth Researchers

In 2016, Dartmouth professor Mukul Sharma was thinking that bringing down carbon emissions fast enough to meet international goals sounded impossible.

It was the year after the Paris Agreement was signed – an international treaty on climate change that aims to hold the global average temperature increase to less than 2 degrees Celsius.

What is “aquaculture” and How Can it Save Our Oceans?

Pollution, climate change, and over-fishing have all played a role in the dramatic decline of marine life in our oceans, contributing to food scarcity and poverty in coastal communities across the globe that rely on fishing for food and their local economy. And while organizations like Heal the Bay work to address the causes of the decline, we also have another tool in our toolbelt. Aquaculture is the controlled growing of aquatic organisms and can be used for sustainable food production, habitat restoration, and species conservation.

Genome Sequencing May be Key to Effective Fishery Stock Management, US Research Finds

The study, titled “How Fish Population Genomics Can Promote Sustainable Fisheries: A Road Map” and published in the Annual Review of Animal Biosciences, detailed how fish genomics – a laboratory procedure that determines the DNA sequence of a fish’s genome – reveals critical data, such as spawning conditions and migratory behaviors, to researchers.

17 Sustainable Fishing Practices

Sustainable fishing refers to practices that maintain healthy fish populations and preserve marine ecosystems for future generations. With the growing challenges posed by overfishing and unsustainable methods, the need for responsible fishing practices has never been greater. This blog focuses on actionable, environmentally friendly fishing methods that can help protect our oceans while supporting the livelihoods of those who depend on them.

Sustainable fishing is crucial for maintaining the delicate balance of marine ecosystems.

The Fishing Industry’s Role in Protecting the Marine Environment

The fishing industry plays a crucial role in global food security and economic stability – a role that’s highlighted by the fact that around 61.8 million people worldwide are employed in the sector. Therefore, we must do all we can to maintain the long-term viability of the marine environment. Oceans cover around 71% of the earth’s surface and are home to some of the planet’s most biologically diverse ecosystems. They provide food and employment while contributing to oxygen production and climate regulation.

Ocean Night: Launching Plastic Odyssey in the U.S. to Stop Ocean Plastic Pollution

Join Plastic Odyssey on February 6 at 9Zero in San Francisco for an exceptional Ocean Night, a special event celebrating the launch of their nonprofit organization in the U.S. as the Plastic Odyssey Fund and support their mission to stop ocean plastic pollution. Don’t miss this opportunity to join the Ocean community—navigators, nonprofits, blue economy startups, climate innovators, and VCs—as they unite to protect the oceans and chart a course toward a plastic-free future.