Oceans

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    SeaWorld, American Express, Fast Food Chains to Curb Single-Use Plastics

    SeaWorld, American Express, Fast Food Chains to Curb Single-Use Plastics

    Momentum is building in the war against single-use plastics. In the past week, a slew of major companies—including SeaWorld parks, American Express, cruise company Royal Caribbean, IKEA, A&W Canada and Burger King UK—have pledged to eliminate items such as plastic drinking straws, stirrers, lids and bags in efforts to protect our oceans and their inhabitants. […]

    Plastic Shreds, Rubber Bands and Balloon Pieces Found in Thai Turtle

    Plastic Shreds, Rubber Bands and Balloon Pieces Found in Thai Turtle

    Plastic waste is being blamed for the death of a green turtle found on the eastern province of Chanthaburi in Thailand. The turtle washed up on the beach on June 4, Weerapong Laovechprasit, a veterinarian at the Eastern Marine and Coastal Resource Research and Development Centre told AFP. X-rays on the reptile revealed a blockage […]

    On World Oceans Day, Attenborough Shares Serious But Hopeful Message

    On World Oceans Day, Attenborough Shares Serious But Hopeful Message

    Sir David Attenborough—who showed “heartbreaking” examples of the effects of plastic pollution on marine life in his Blue Planet II series—spoke with Sky News ahead of World Oceans Day about humanity’s responsibility to save our struggling seas. “We’ve become aware of what we’ve done to the world and the responsibility we have for looking after […]

    Mediterranean at Risk of Becoming a ‘Sea of Plastic,’ WWF Warns

    Mediterranean at Risk of Becoming a ‘Sea of Plastic,’ WWF Warns

    The Mediterranean Sea is turning into a dangerous plastic trap, with record levels of pollution from microplastics threatening marine species and human health, according to a new World Wildlife Fund (WWF) report released Friday. Coinciding with World Oceans Day, the WWF report “Out of the Plastic Trap: Saving the Mediterranean From Plastic Pollution” raises the […]

    High Seas Fishing as Economically Unsustainable as It Is Ecologically

    High Seas Fishing as Economically Unsustainable as It Is Ecologically

    By Carly Nairn Five countries are responsible for the majority of fishing in the high seas—international waters that are not under one country’s jurisdiction. All five depend on enormous subsidies to keep high seas fishing economically sustainable, concludes a study released Wednesday in the journal Science Advances. Overfishing in the high seas is already ecologically […]

    IKEA to Phase Out Single-Use Plastics by 2020

    IKEA to Phase Out Single-Use Plastics by 2020

    Swedish furniture giant IKEA announced a slew of commitments to encourage sustainable living, including a pledge to remove all single-use plastics from its product range globally and from its restaurants by 2020. The plastics ban will apply to its 363 stores worldwide, owner Inter IKEA said Thursday. IKEA joins a growing list of major retailers […]

    Microplastics May Heat Marine Turtle Nests and Produce More Females

    Microplastics May Heat Marine Turtle Nests and Produce More Females

    By Mariana Fuentes Have you ever considered that small pieces of plastic less than 5 millimeters long, or smaller than a pencil eraser head, called microplastics, can affect large marine vertebrates like sea turtles? My research team first discovered this disturbing fact when we started to quantify the amount and type of microplastic at loggerhead […]