Plastic — once seen as a marvel of modern science with uses from packaging to textiles — is now a scourge polluting our waterways, exposing us to PFAS “forever chemicals” and making its way into our bloodstreams in the form of microplastics. Plastic production doubled worldwide in the 20 years prior to 2019, according to […]
By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes and Olivia Rosane This year marks the 54th year of Earth Day! What better way to celebrate than to explore opportunities to join others in helping combat the climate crisis and make our planet cleaner, greener and more sustainable? Here are a few suggestions to get you started. 1. Square Up […]
The planet is currently experiencing its fourth global coral bleaching event on record, affecting most of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). It is the second mass bleaching in the past decade, NOAA scientists said in a press release. Across the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Ocean basins, heat stress at levels high enough to cause bleaching […]
In a series of 40 action-based initiatives, the European Union is investing $3.71 billion to advance ocean sustainability and conservation in 2024, the bloc’s environment commissioner said. The announcement was made at the Our Ocean Conference in Greece and is the largest pledge by the EU since the conference began a decade ago, a press […]
Studies have recently detected microplastics in human lungs and blood, and previous research shows humans ingest and inhale many microplastics even at home. In 2020, scientists uncovered microplastics in human organs for the first time. Now, researchers are making sense of how microplastics that are ingested can make their way from the gut to other […]
A new study led by scientists from the University of Exeter has found that the risk of seabed creatures being exposed to plastics depends on how they feed and interact with their environment, rather than simply reflecting pollution levels in their local area. All ocean plastic ends up sinking to the seafloor, a richly biodiverse […]
Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis has announced plans to invest 780 million euros (about $829 million) for marine conservation and pollution cleanup. The country will pursue 21 marine conservation initiatives with the money. As reported by Reuters, some of the initiatives will include the development of two marine parks: one will be located in […]
The Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) has released video footage showing that the southern portion of the Great Barrier Reef is suffering from deep-sea coral bleaching, reported The Guardian. The footage shows that the bleaching extends at least as far down as 59.1 feet — the deepest reported during this mass bleaching event, a press […]
The impacts of climate change on marine life, from rising sea surface temperatures to ocean acidification, have long been studied, but new research is shedding light on the extent of these effects both currently and in the future. Scientists developed a method that fully considers the consequences of warming oceans and acidification on fish and […]