Plastic bag bans are spreading. But are they truly effective?
“The unprecedented plastic waste tide plaguing our oceans and shores, can become as limited as our chosen relationship with plastics, which involves a dramatic behavioral change on our part…”Captions and Photograph: © SAF — Coastal Care Excerpts; Often described as the world’s number one consumer product, as well as the most ubiquitous, shopping bags are […]
Historic floods reveal how salt marshes can protect us
By digging into major historic records of flood disasters, a research team reveals that the value of nature for flood defense has actually been evident for hundreds of years.
A supertanker full of crude oil decaying amid Yemen’s civil war could blow up
Yemen’s raging civil war has created a ticking time bomb just off the country’s Red Sea coast. The FSO Safer, a 45-year-old supertanker loaded with more than 1 million barrels of crude oil has been caught between the warring sides and left to decay.
Surfing is biomechanically perfect
Nowadays, among all the activities available to modern humans, surfing is among the best for body and soul. Here are some reasons why.
Deadlocked: economics versus the environment at New Zealand’s NZ$1bn sand mining project
Trans-Tasman Resources has been involved in a protracted legal battle over a proposed sand mining project off the New Zealand coast, which would see 50 million tonnes of sediment lifted and processed a year to mine for iron ore beneath the waves.
Illegal sand mining a deadly beat for India’s journalists
The recent killing of a reporter in India’s Uttar Pradesh state has exposed the dangers for journalists covering illegal sand mining and construction in the country. The sand mining industry is laden with corruption, and this puts journalists who cover the topic at an increased danger.
We need to adapt fast to erosion and rising sea levels to manage coastal risks
The impact of rising sea levels and coastal erosion will see shorelines retreat steadily and provide major challenges for planning authorities, according to a new research.
Why so hot so early in the summer?
Alarmingly, though, the summer solstice this year saw one rather unexpected region hit an all-time high: Verkhoyansk, Russia—north of the Arctic Circle—recorded a temperature of 100.4°F, the hottest it’s been there since 1885.
Historic Michigan tribal burial ground threatened by coastal erosion
In June of 1662, hundreds of Native Americans from the Iroquois nation were killed on the shore of Lake Superior by local Chippewa defending their land. Now, 357 years later, the burial site of local natives killed in that battle is being threatened by an eroding shoreline fueled by the rising water levels of Lake Superior.