Algae proliferation costs are ‘in the billions’ – ‘By fertilizing the planet, we end up fertilizing everything’

11 August 2013 (NPR) – Algae blooms are green or red or brown, slimy, smelly and you don’t want it coming soon to a waterfront near you. Most of us don’t give a lot of thought to algae until the furry-like monstrosity is spreading over beaches, rivers, lakes and bays, but gigantic algae blooms have […]

Wiping out species decreases resilience to climate change

24 October 2012 (PhysOrg) – It is tragic whenever any species is lost. Now it appears that the impact of species loss is far-reaching, much more than previously thought. The symbiotic relationships that develop in the environment as a result of high biodiversity make ecosystems more resilient to change. The loss of a species can […]

Ocean geoengineering scheme condemned by scientists – ‘The consequences of tampering with nature at this scale are not predictable’

By Rhian Waller of NG Explorers18 October 2012 (National Geographic) – Unbeknownst to most scientists until a few days ago, two hundred thousand pounds of iron sulphate were dumped into North Pacific Ocean in July, with the aim to trigger a large plankton bloom. This experiment was conducted by the Haida Salmon Restoration Corporation, under […]

Oceans face ‘increased extinctions and extinction risks caused by human factors’

Contact: Jenny Lappin, CoECRS, +61 417 741 638 Jan King, UQ Communications Manager, +61 (0)7 3365 1120 Professor John Pandolfi, CoECRS and UQ, +61 7 3365 3050 or (m) +61 400 982 301 Life in the world’s oceans faces far greater change and risk of large-scale extinctions than at any previous time in human history, […]

Graph of the Day: Area of Mid-Summer Bottom Water Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico, 1985-2012

Record drought across the United States in 2012 followed a year of record flooding in the Mid-West in 2011, producing two very different areas of hypoxia, or oxygen deficient water, on the Louisiana continental shelf. The 2012 area of low oxygen, commonly known as the ‘Dead Zone,’ measured 7,480 square kilometers (= 2,889 square miles) […]

Gulf of Mexico dead zone smallest ever measured, due to drought in corn belt

By KELLY SLIVKA2 August 2012 In yet another display of the inexorable interdependence of Earth’s ecosystems, a bad summer for Midwestern farmland has turned out to be a good one for life in the Gulf of Mexico. Researchers from the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium have found that this summer’s hypoxic zone in the Gulf of […]

Guy McPherson: We’re Done

By Guy McPherson22 June 2012 British economist John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) is well known for his views on monetary policy. The printing-press approach he forwarded is widely used today, especially as the world-wide Ponzi scheme nears its end. My favorite line from Keynes: “In the long run, we’re all dead.” As I pointed out in […]

Web of marine life disintegrating under human onslaught

NEW YORK, New York, 22 May 2012 (ENS) – Oceans cover about 72 percent of Earth’s surface area and there are an estimated 250,000 marine species. “Yet, despite its importance, marine biodiversity has not fared well at human hands,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today in his message to mark the International Day for Biological […]

Climate change could reduce economic value of oceans by $2 trillion per year

21 March 2012 (SEI) – A global, integrated approach is urgently needed to protect the oceans from converging threats. A new study coordinated by SEI shows climate change alone could reduce the economic value of key ocean services by up to 2 trillion USD a year by 2100, and urges world leaders to make the […]

Video: World Bank forms partnership to rescue troubled oceans

SINGAPORE, 24 February 2012 (ENS) – The World Bank today announced the Global Partnership for Oceans, gathering governments, scientists, advocacy organizations, the private sector, and international public institutions to confront the increasingly urgent issues of over-fishing, marine degradation, and habitat loss. “Oceans are the lifeblood of our world,” said World Bank Group President Robert Zoellick, […]

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