ocean

The Many Hazards of Toxic Algae Outbreaks

The Many Hazards of Toxic Algae Outbreaks

By Sarah Graddy and Robert Coleman This summer, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) is tracking outbreaks of potentially toxic algae across the U.S. We have been startled to find that these outbreaks are erupting everywhere: from the East Coast to the West Coast, from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. Though outbreaks of […]

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    What You Can Do to Make Your Clothing Ocean Safe

    What You Can Do to Make Your Clothing Ocean Safe

    As Fashion Week kicks off in New York City Thursday, it’s a good time to think about the impact that our clothing has on the environment. In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to the problem of microplastics, which enter rivers and oceans, accumulate toxins and work their way up the marine food chain […]

    Corporate Food Brands Drive the Massive Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico

    Corporate Food Brands Drive the Massive Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico

    By Reynard Loki Whole Foods bills itself as “America’s healthiest grocery store,” but what it’s doing to the environment is anything but healthy. According to a new report, the chain is helping to drive one of the nation’s worst human-made environmental disasters: the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico. By not requiring environmental safeguards […]

    California Moves to Ban Fishing Nets Blamed for Killing Numerous Species

    California Moves to Ban Fishing Nets Blamed for Killing Numerous Species

    The California State Assembly unanimously approved a bill on Thursday that phases out the use drift gillnets in the state by January 2023. The controversial fishing gear, which can stretch a mile long and suspend 100 feet underwater, is used by fishers to target sharks and swordfish, but the nets inadvertently entangle and kill scores […]

    Warm Waters Under Arctic Ice a ‘Ticking Time Bomb’

    Warm Waters Under Arctic Ice a ‘Ticking Time Bomb’

    Scientists warn that a warm layer of salty ocean water accumulating 50 meters beneath the Arctic‘s Canadian Basin could potentially melt the region’s sea-ice pack for much of the year if it reaches the surface. The findings were published Thursday in the journal Science Advances by researchers from Yale University and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. […]

    Florida Manatee: 10% of Population Could Be Wiped Out This Year

    Florida Manatee: 10% of Population Could Be Wiped Out This Year

    2018 has not been a good year for Florida’s iconic manatees. A total of 540 sea cows have died in the last eight months, surpassing last year’s total of 538 deaths, according to figures posted Monday by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The figure will likely climb higher before the year’s end amid the […]