Maldives to battle rising seas by building fortress islands – PHYS.ORG

Rising sea levels threaten to swamp the Maldives and the Indian Ocean archipelago is already out of drinking water, but the new president says he has scrapped plans to relocate citizens. Instead, President Mohamed Muizzu promises the low-lying nation will beat back the waves through ambitious land reclamation and building islands higher—policies, however, that environmental and rights groups warn could even exacerbate flooding risks…
Satellite Image Shows Construction of World’s First Floating City – Newsweek

A floating city, considered the world’s first, is starting to take shape in the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean…Satellite imagery provided exclusively to Newsweek by Maxar Technologies shows the state of construction of the Maldives Floating City, a development of modular floating platforms that is scheduled to be completed in 2027….
Why Time Is Running Out Across the Maldives’ Lovely Little Islands – the New York Times

Global tourism brought a modern economy to the country’s thousand islands. For many Maldivians, the teeming capital beckons…
New islands are being built at sea – but they won’t help millions made homeless by sea-level rise – the Conversation

Dubai’s famous Palm Jumeirah is not the only man-made island to have emerged from the sea this century. Over the past 20 years, many islands have been built to accommodate both tourists and well-heeled residents – especially in the Arabian Gulf states and China..
The more plastic companies make, the more they pollute – Grist Magazine

A new study, drawing on five years of data collected across 84 countries, proves what seems self-evident…
A Healthy Coral Reef Is a Symphony – Reasons to be Cheerful Magazine

In the growing field of “ecoacoustics,” scientists use the ocean’s natural sounds to monitor the health of marine ecosystems — and even restore them…
The world dumps 2,000 truckloads of plastic into the ocean each day. Here’s where a lot of it ends up – CNN

The western coast of Java in Indonesia is popular with surfers for its world-famous breaks. There’s a majestic underwater world to explore, too. But it’s impossible to surf or snorkel without running into plastic water bottles, single-use cups and food wrappers. The garbage sometimes forms islands in the sea, and much of it washes ashore, accumulating as mountains on the beach…
The Gulf Coast is home to one of the last healthy coral reefs. It’s surrounded by oil – Grist Magazine

While the Gulf of Mexico is a region known for oil, it’s also home to something far less expected. Nestled among offshore oil platforms, about 150 miles from Houston, is one of the healthiest coral reefs in the world: the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary….
A streak of record global heat nears one-year mark – the Washington Post

Hurricanes are more frequently escalating quickly, and the places they destroy may be those disadvantaged by racist housing policy…