They partied on the beach. And then left 20,000 pounds of trash on it.
Partygoers attending a “Floatopia” event spent the day drinking and bobbing in the Virginia Beach surf. And then they left behind tons of trash.
Demand for sand: the largest mining industry no one talks about
The world’s largest and perhaps most destructive mining industry is rarely discussed. Approximately 85 percent of all material mined from the earth is a simple and widely available resource: sand. Because it is so cheap and readily available, it is mined by everyone from guy with a shovel, to multi-million dollar machine operations.
Live fast, die young: Study shows tiny fishes fuel coral reefs
Scientists have long sought to understand how coral reefs support such an abundance of fish life despite their location in nutrient-poor waters. According to a new study, an unlikely group fuels these communities: tiny, mostly bottom-dwelling creatures called ‘cryptobenthic’ reef fishes.
Bird chick clip on BBC One’s Drowning in Plastic documentary leaved viewers in tears
However hard this is to watch, we must face up to it.
Against the grain: anger grows at spike in ‘sand graffiti’ by tourists in Japan
Local authorities in Japan have drawn a line in the sand amid anger over a rise in graffiti by foreign tourists disfiguring its pristine coastal dunes.
Most parents want kids to learn about climate change, but most schools don’t teach it
A new study paints a glaring divide between what parents want their kids to learn in school and what’s actually being taught. According to a new poll conducted by NPR and Ipsos, more than 80 percent of parents are in favor of teaching of climate change in school.
Beach cleanups are missing millions of pieces of plastic
In the last decade, beach cleanups have grown into a global phenomenon, with volunteers gathering at regular intervals for the Sisyphean task of cleaning up plastic trash. Now, a new research suggests that beach cleanups can inadvertently mask the full scale of plastic pollution, much of which lies below the sand’s surface.
Glint of the Irrawaddy Delta
The Irrawaddy is the largest river in Burma (Myanmar) and the country’s most important transportation artery.
Dozens of gray whales are dying on the West Coast. What’s killing them?
At least 53 dead or dying gray whales have washed up on West Coast beaches this spring, a death rate that’s only been seen once before. The great mammals are starving to death and scientists have theories as to why but so far no full explanation. The number of deaths is likely much higher because it’s estimated that only 10% of dead whales actually end up on shore.