Oceans

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    Zinke Recommends Opening Up Pacific National Monuments to Commercial Fishing

    Zinke Recommends Opening Up Pacific National Monuments to Commercial Fishing

    The Trump administration is considering cutting protections for two national monuments lying south of Hawaii in the central Pacific. The decision, scientists warn, will threaten reefs across the Pacific. The move, according to a memo from Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke obtained by the Washington Post in September, would “allow commercial fishing” in the Pacific Remote […]

    2017 Ranks Among 3 Warmest Years on Record

    2017 Ranks Among 3 Warmest Years on Record

    By Alex Kirby For all of us, as 2017 proves to be one of the three warmest years on record, climate change presents a greater risk of sickness or death than it did four decades ago, the United Nations says. And for some of the world’s poorest people, the consequences of unpredictable weather caused by […]

    Tyson Foods Linked to Largest Toxic Dead Zone in U.S. History

    Tyson Foods Linked to Largest Toxic Dead Zone in U.S. History

    By Shana Gallagher What comes to mind when you think of Tyson Foods? A chicken nugget? A big red logo? How about the largest toxic dead zone in U.S. history? It turns out the meat industry—and corporate giants like Tyson Foods—are directly linked to this environmental catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico, and many others. […]

    Whales, Sea Turtles Threatened by Trump Administration Proposal

    Whales, Sea Turtles Threatened by Trump Administration Proposal

    The Trump administration proposed a rule Tuesday to federalize regulation of drift gillnets used to catch swordfish on the West Coast. The rule would end California’s right to prevent the deadly entanglements of sea turtles, whales and dolphins in these underwater, mile-long nets. The Obama administration last year proposed a rule that would shut down […]

    Greenpeace Launches Campaign to Create ‘Largest Protected Area on Earth’

    Greenpeace Launches Campaign to Create ‘Largest Protected Area on Earth’

    Greenpeace has launched a global campaign for an Antarctic sanctuary, covering 1.8 million square kilometers (approximately .7 million square miles) of ocean, to protect whales, penguins and other wildlife. Following a failure to agree on strong marine protection in the East Antarctic, Greenpeace has called for governments to show “greater vision and ambition” in the […]

    Chile Bans Plastic Bags in 100+ Coastal Areas

    Chile Bans Plastic Bags in 100+ Coastal Areas

    Chilean President Michelle Bachelet signed a bill Wednesday that prohibits the sale of single-use plastic bags in 102 coastal villages and towns in a bid to stop the build-up of ocean plastic and to “[take] care of our marine ecosystems.” An estimated eight million tons of plastic trash gets dumped into our oceans each year, […]