Raising Awareness of Plastic Waste
Most people are familiar with the concept of a carbon footprint. Many may also know there is such a thing as a water footprint. But whoever heard of a plastic footprint? Well, soon, more and more people will have. The Plastic Disclosure Project aims to “push the thinking about plastic pollution far beyond beach cleanups with an attempt to change the awareness and behavior of big users of plastic”…
Bali Struggles With the Dark Side of Success
Bali may still be the Island of the Gods and the Island of a Thousand Temples, but it is certainly no longer the island of pristine beaches. Construction cranes on beaches, damaged coral, and floating trash in the turquoise waters off Bali and on its sandy beaches, are unfortunate signs of just how successful the Indonesian resort island has been leading to coastal over-exploitation and pollution.
The Plastic Bag Wars
The world consumes 1 million plastic shopping bags every minute, and the industry is fighting hard to keep it that way…
Reaching The Gap Between Scientists And Policy Makers
Dr. Sylvia Earle, world-renowned oceanographer, joined a team of scientists and government officials, on a week-long expedition “the Mission Blue expedition” to the Swan Islands and Mesoamerican Reef to raise global awareness of the critical importance of the Mesoamerican Reef and surrounding areas.
Banning plastic grocery bags just got easier in California
“This is a great day for the Pacific Ocean,” as the California Supreme Court made it easier today for cities to prohibit stores from distributing plastic grocery bags.
Death by Plastic: Is Ocean Plastic Garbage Killing Whales?
From the coasts of California to Adriatic, Tasmania or Normandy, millions of tonnes of plastic debris dumped each year in the world’s oceans, could pose a lethal threat to whales, according to a scientific assessment to be presented at the International Whaling Commission this week. Ingestion of plastic refuse is emerging as a serious cause of disability and death for the large ocean-dwelling mammals.
Plastic Found in Nine Percent of North Pacific Garbage Patch Fishes
The first scientific results from the 2009 SEAPLEX voyage, offer a stark view of human pollution and its infiltration. It is estimated that fish in the intermediate ocean depths of the North Pacific, ingest plastic at a rate of roughly 12,000 to 24,000 tons per year…
The Speed of Change: Oceans in Distress, An International Report
Sponsored by the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO), the 27 participants from 18 organisations in 6 countries produced a grave assessment of current threats, and a stark conclusion about future risks to marine and human life if the current trajectory of damage continues: that the world’s ocean is at high risk of entering a phase of extinction of marine species unprecedented in human history.
The Mediterranean and Climate Change’s Impacts
One of the most serious threats to life in the Mediterranean region, and indeed every part of the global ocean, is climate change. Climate change is already having an impact on the marine environment and this is likely to escalate swiftly, increasing seawater temperatures and coastal erosion, altering salinity and currents and causing serious declines in biodiversity.