President’s pledge to ban commercial fishing around Kiribati nation slow to materialize

By Tanya Dimitrova, special to mongabay.com 23 September 2013 (mongabay.com) – In 2010 President Anote Tong of Kiribati made a historic pledge, committing to protect the waters around his island nation in a massive marine protected area. He said the gesture represented Kiribati’s contribution to protecting the environment and he urged industrial countries to do […]

Ocean acidification drives Oregon oyster hatchery to Hawaii – ‘I don’t care if you think it’s the fault of humans or not. If you want to keep your head in the sand, that’s up to you. But the rest of us need to get it together.’

By Craig Welch12 September 2013 HILO, Hawaii (Seattle Times) – It appears at the end of a palm tree-lined drive, not far from piles of hardened black lava: the newest addition to the Northwest’s famed oyster industry. Half an ocean from Seattle, on a green patch of island below a tropical volcano, a Washington state […]

Volcanic vents show how ocean acidification threatens marine life

By Craig Welch15 September 2013 NORMANBY ISLAND, Papua New Guinea (Seattle Times) — Katharina Fabricius plunged from a dive boat into the Pacific Ocean of tomorrow. She kicked through blue water until she spotted a ceramic tile attached to the bottom of a reef. A year earlier, the ecologist from the Australian Institute of Marine […]

Molasses spill in Honolulu Harbor poses calamity for marine life – ‘There’s nothing you can do to clean up molasses’

By Matt Pearce13 September 2013 (Los Angeles Times) – Fish began dying en masse in the waters around Honolulu after hundreds of thousands of gallons of molasses spilled into Honolulu Harbor early this week, and there’s nothing officials can do to clean it up. Thousands of fish have died from the sugary sludge. Crabs lay […]

Massive molasses spill devastates Honolulu marine life – ‘Everything down there is dead’

By Mark Memmott12 September 2013 (NPR) – “Everything down there is dead.” That’s one stunning quote from Hawaii News Now’s latest report about the devastating damage that’s been done to the marine life off Honolulu’s Sand Island by 233,000 gallons of molasses that were spilled into Honolulu harbor on Monday. Gary Gill, deputy director of […]

New Zealand has warmest winter on record in 2013

Average temperature over winter in South Pacific nation was highest since record-keeping began in 1909 Wellington, 3 September 2013 (AP) – Winter lacked an Antarctic chill this year in New Zealand, to record effect. Scientists said on Tuesday that the South Pacific nation had its warmest winter since record-keeping began more than a century ago. […]

Solomon Islands Prime Minister: ‘It is high time to move into resettlement’ as sea level rises

By Solomon Star3 July 2013 (Fiji Times) – People of Malaita Outer Islands (MOI) says it is time for them to move into resettlement before sea level rise could become a huge threat for them. This was highlighted during the three days visit of the Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo to the low-lying atolls over […]

Hawaii trade winds have dropped 28 percent since 1970s – Maui had driest April on record in 2013

By AUDREY McAVOY 3 June 2013 HONOLULU (Associated Press) – Part of what makes living in Hawaii so pleasant is the gentle breeze. Arriving from the northeast, it’s light enough that it is barely noticeable but strong enough to chase away the humidity. It’s a natural draw to the outdoors. It is not uncommon to […]

Photo gallery: Kiribati enters the end game against climate change

By Mike Bowers and Bernard Lagan for the Global Mail 16 April 2013 (guardian.co.uk) – The waves are slowly seeping over the islands of the Pacific nation, which is at the frontline of the climate change-induced rise in sea levels striking low-lying nations all over the world Kiribati enters the end game against climate change […]

New Zealand deforestation intentions soar with low carbon prices

By Brian Fallow  15 AprIL 2013 (New Zealand) – Deforestation intentions have soared as the emissions trading scheme, at least at current rock-bottom prices, is no longer seen as a barrier to switching to other land uses. A survey of large forest owners (with over 10,000 hectares) by Professor Bruce Manley of Canterbury University has […]

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