Oceans

By Daisy Dunne The scale of bleaching has been rising steadily in the last four decades, a study author told Carbon Brief, with the global proportion of coral being hit by bleaching per year rising from 8 percent in the 1980s to 31 percent in 2016. The findings indicate that “coral reefs as we know […]

President Trump has launched the most sweeping industrial assault in history on our oceans, marine life, coasts and all they support, proposing to expose nearly all U.S. waters to the risk of another BP oil spill–style disaster. In a move that would put every American coastal community at risk, Trump proposed Thursday to hand over […]

In late April, President Trump issued an executive order promoting oil and gas drilling off America’s coasts—and Thursday, in response, U.S. Department of the Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke plans to unveil a five-year leasing plan that opens our oceans to dangerous development. Zinke’s plan is intended to replace the five-year plan President Obama issued weeks […]

By Amy McDermott If you think 2017 was a garbage fire, we can’t stop you. But the world wasn’t the only thing in flames. You know what else was on fire this year? Fish discovery. Last year, we brought you six of our favorite fish discovered in 2016. This year, we’re upping the ante. Meet […]

By Douglas McCauley and Paul DeSalles (The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.) 1. U.S. Drops Out of Paris In our 2015 ocean top 10 list, we celebrated the adoption of the Paris agreement as a monumental achievement for slowing the warming, acidification and deoxygenation of our global oceans. In 2017, […]

Protecting the natural environment may seem overwhelming with increased natural disasters, melting sea ice, and threatened wildlife. But your choices can truly go a long way for your community and your health. Here are ten ways to be a better steward in 2018 and help others do the same! 1. Reduce the Carbon Footprint of […]

By Allison Guy Centuries ago, naturalists believed that the animals of the sea mirrored the animals of the land. Elephants were matched by sea-elephants, chickens by sea-chickens. The clergy even got paired with sea-bishops and sea-monks. In 2017, land and sea mirrored each other in a less literal way. As humanity reeled from hurricanes, wildfires, […]

By Julia Conley Scientists and environmental protection advocates are warning that a coming plastics boom could lead to a permanent state of pollution on the planet—and denouncing the fossil fuel industry for driving an increase in plastics production amid all that’s known about the material polluting the world’s oceans. “We could be locking in decades […]