Scientists confirm the existence of another ocean garbage patch that’s larger than Texas – “We discovered tremendous quantities of plastic”

By Katherine Lindemann 19 July 2017 (ResearchGate) –  A team of scientists has confirmed the existence of another ocean garbage patch, this time in a remote area of the South Pacific. Unlike the famous patch in the northern Pacific Ocean, which has long been one of the world’s most recognizable symbols of pollution, the new […]

UN Ocean Conference opens with calls for united action to reverse human damage

5 June 2017 (United Nations) – Opening a “game-changing” international conference on the health of the world’s oceans and seas, top United Nations officials today urged coordinated global action to protect the planet.Speaking in the UN General Assembly Hall, Secretary-General António Guterres cautioned Governments that unless they overcome short-term territorial and resource interests, the state […]

Is deep sea mining vital for a greener future, even if it destroys ecosystems? “Mining will be the greatest assault on deep-sea ecosystems ever inflicted by humans”

By Damian Carrington 4 June 2017 (The Guardian) – Mining the deep ocean floor for valuable metals is both inevitable and vital, according to the scientists, engineers, and industrialists exploring the world’s newest mining frontier. The special metals found in rich deposits there are critical for smart electronics and crucial green technologies, such as solar […]

Hawai’i experiences highest king tides in 112-year record – “Within a few decades this will be the new normal”

By Adrienne Lafrance  30 May 2017 (The Atlantic) – The water is everywhere. For the second time in a month, Hawaii’s coastlines have been swamped by epic tides. The phenomenon, known as a king tide, is actually a convergence of a few different factors: high lunar tides, rising sea levels associated with last year’s strong […]

No escaping ocean plastic: 37 million bits of litter on one of world’s remotest islands

By Kacey Deamer15 May 2017 (Live Science) – A tiny, uninhabited piece of land in the South Pacific Ocean, called Henderson Island, is considered one of the most remote islands in the world. But now, researchers say it has earned a much more worrisome new title: the world’s most polluted island. Henderson Island is so […]

24 national monuments threatened by Trump executive order

By Gregory Korte26 April 2017 WASHINGTON (USA Today) – President Trump signed an executive order Wednesday calling into question the future of more than two dozen national monuments proclaimed by the last three presidents to set aside millions of acres from development. In asking Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke for an unprecedented review of national monuments, […]

Ruins, not reefs: How global warming is fast-forwarding coral science – “Almost none of this reef has made it through 2015 and 2016. It’s the wholesale destruction of the reef.”

By Robinson Meyer11 April 2017 (The Atlantic) – At about the same moment that millions of Americans sat staring at their television or laptop or phone—watching the results from the presidential election stream in, seeing state after state called for Donald Trump—Kim Cobb was SCUBA diving near the center of the Pacific Ocean. She did […]

Climate change will lead to annual coral bleaching in the near future

5 January 2017 (United Nations) – If current trends continue and the world fails to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, nearly all of the world’s coral reefs will suffer severe bleaching – the gravest threat to one of the Earth’s most important ecosystems – on annual basis, the United Nations environment agency today reported. The finding […]

Fifth dead humpback whale since November beaches in Hawai’i

By Ted Ranosa 1 January 2017 (Tech Times) – Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) announced on Friday, Dec. 30, that access to the Ahihi-Kinau Natural Area Reserve in South Maui has been closed after a whale carcass was washed ashore in the area. The carcass is believed to be that of a […]

South Pacific sea-Level rise migrants on the move

By Henry Oritimae and Sonal Shivangani15 December 2016 SUVA, Fiji (IDN) – With sea levels rising rapidly across the South Pacific and the resulting movement of people within and across countries, the region is facing a new problem of a lack of proper migration policies to address the issue, according to experts. Inhabitants of artificial […]

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