On Sunday, the United Nations' scientific panel issued a dire report that the world is barreling towards catastrophic global warming if we do not slash carbon emissions.
We must limit warming below 1.5°C, or the planet will experience increasing wildfires, extreme drought, greater sea level rise and devastating flooding, the climate experts warned.
Since everyone is surfing on this #banksy wave, thought we'd also make one about #climatechange #globalwarming https://t.co/GFgZ521NLW— saman musacchio (@saman musacchio)1539171684.0
The long-awaited study, issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), is a urgent call on governments to move towards greener policies and sustainable technologies.
Coal, the most polluting fossil fuel, must be phased out by 2050, the scientists said.
Corporations and the future of our planet ... #Banksy #Banksyauction #banksysothebys #GlobalWarming #climatechange… https://t.co/AgNsXCQVl5— stephff cartoonist (@stephff cartoonist)1539084928.0
Meanwhile, some politicians dismissed the landmark report, which was authored by 91 researchers from 40 countries and cited more than 6,000 scientific resources.
Australia's deputy prime minister Michael McCormack said the nation will "absolutely" continue to use and exploit its coal reserves regardless of what the IPCC report says.
President Donald Trump, who intends to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement, was skeptical of the report.
"It was given to me. And I want to look at who drew it. You know, which group drew it. I can give you reports that are fabulous and I can give you reports that aren't so good," Trump told reporters on Tuesday from the South Lawn at the White House.
OK. I don't know who to credit for this, but it's brilliant. #climate #climatechange #IPCCReport #IPCC (If someone… https://t.co/AFHsmC2yfJ— Peter Gleick (@Peter Gleick)1539034905.0
Banksy himself has created climate-related art. In 2009, the famous street artist spray-painted the words "I DON'T BELIEVE IN GLOBAL WARMING" on a wall beside a canal in London.
His message came after the United Nations climate summit in Copenhagen that was widely considered a failure for not producing a binding agreement to tackle climate change, the Guardian reported then.
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Eye-Catching Designs Made from Recycled Plastic Bottles
The company sells a range of eco-friendly items like leggings, rash guards, and board shorts that are made using recycled post-consumer plastic bottles. There are currently 16 causes represented by distinct marine-life patterns, from whale shark research and invasive lionfish removal to sockeye salmon monitoring and abalone restoration.
One such organization is Get Inspired, a nonprofit that specializes in ocean restoration and environmental education. Get Inspired founder, marine biologist Nancy Caruso, says supporting on-the-ground efforts is one thing that sets Waterlust apart, like their apparel line that supports Get Inspired abalone restoration programs.
"All of us [conservation partners] are doing something," Caruso said. "We're not putting up exhibits and talking about it — although that is important — we're in the field."
Waterlust not only helps its conservation partners financially so they can continue their important work. It also helps them get the word out about what they're doing, whether that's through social media spotlights, photo and video projects, or the informative note card that comes with each piece of apparel.
"They're doing their part for sure, pushing the information out across all of their channels, and I think that's what makes them so interesting," Caruso said.
And then there are the clothes, which speak for themselves.
Advocate Apparel to Start Conversations About Conservation
Waterlust's concept of "advocate apparel" encourages people to see getting dressed every day as an opportunity to not only express their individuality and style, but also to advance the conversation around marine science. By infusing science into clothing, people can visually represent species and ecosystems in need of advocacy — something that, more often than not, leads to a teaching moment.
"When people wear Waterlust gear, it's just a matter of time before somebody asks them about the bright, funky designs," said Waterlust's CEO, Patrick Rynne. "That moment is incredibly special, because it creates an intimate opportunity for the wearer to share what they've learned with another."
The idea for the company came to Rynne when he was a Ph.D. student in marine science.
"I was surrounded by incredible people that were discovering fascinating things but noticed that often their work wasn't reaching the general public in creative and engaging ways," he said. "That seemed like a missed opportunity with big implications."
Waterlust initially focused on conventional media, like film and photography, to promote ocean science, but the team quickly realized engagement on social media didn't translate to action or even knowledge sharing offscreen.
Rynne also saw the "in one ear, out the other" issue in the classroom — if students didn't repeatedly engage with the topics they learned, they'd quickly forget them.
"We decided that if we truly wanted to achieve our goal of bringing science into people's lives and have it stick, it would need to be through a process that is frequently repeated, fun, and functional," Rynne said. "That's when we thought about clothing."
Support Marine Research and Sustainability in Style
To date, Waterlust has sold tens of thousands of pieces of apparel in over 100 countries, and the interactions its products have sparked have had clear implications for furthering science communication.
For Caruso alone, it's led to opportunities to share her abalone restoration methods with communities far and wide.
"It moves my small little world of what I'm doing here in Orange County, California, across the entire globe," she said. "That's one of the beautiful things about our partnership."
Check out all of the different eco-conscious apparel options available from Waterlust to help promote ocean conservation.
Melissa Smith is an avid writer, scuba diver, backpacker, and all-around outdoor enthusiast. She graduated from the University of Florida with degrees in journalism and sustainable studies. Before joining EcoWatch, Melissa worked as the managing editor of Scuba Diving magazine and the communications manager of The Ocean Agency, a non-profit that's featured in the Emmy award-winning documentary Chasing Coral.
To make the sole, Reebok used an ingredient called Susterra propanediol, developed by DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products, that's described as "a pure, petroleum-free, non-toxic, 100 percent USDA certified bio-based product, derived from field corn."
The bio-based shoe is just the first phase of Reebok's "Cotton + Corn" sustainable product line that was first announced last year.
Reebok's Future Team, which created the shoe, is now developing footwear that's actually biodegradable.
The goal is to create shoes that can decompose in six months, Reebok said in a blog post Tuesday. The company noted that "most stories about sustainable shoes are recycling stories"—meaning they're either made from recycled materials or up-cycled from old shoes.
"Our issue with recycling is you recycle plastic, it's still plastic ... You're not getting rid of the problem," Bill McInnis, vice president of Reebok's Future Team, recently told CBS News. "The idea is how do you get rubber and plastic out of the process and replace it with natural things that grow like corn."
Just think, instead of throwing your shoes away for good—adding to the roughly 300 million pairs that end up in U.S. landfills annually—you can compost them or simply bury them in your backyard.
"Typical shoes are made from oil-based plastics that can sit around in landfills for hundreds of years when you're done with the," McInnis said on a company web post. "We're focusing on creating shoes made from things that grow, made from things that bio-compost, made from things that can be replenished."
The cotton and corn shoes are available online and cost $95.
Reebok launches sustainable sneaker made from cotton and corn https://t.co/aLPJPjALmn https://t.co/ASZcH61KUs— CBS News (@CBS News)1534305783.0
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The Trump administration has incited a war on science that "defies logic" and resembles the censorship enforced by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, Australia's chief scientist, Alan Finkel, said Monday.
New Bill Would Block EPA From Regulating Greenhouse Gases https://t.co/WtKItMefJQ @BusinessGreen @GreenCollarGuy— EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)1486423817.0
Warning that "science is literally under attack," Finkel stated, "It will almost certainly cause long-term harm." He recounted the consequences under Stalin when the scientific method, based on facts and evidence, was suppressed by politics:
Soviet agricultural science was held back for decades because of the ideology of Trofim Lysenko, who was a proponent of Lamarckism. Stalin loved Lysenko's conflation of science and Soviet philosophy, and used his limitless power to ensure that Lysenko's unscientific ideas prevailed. Lysenko believed that successive generations of crops could be improved by exposing them to the right environment, and so too could successive generations of Soviet citizens be improved by exposing them to the right ideology. So while Western scientists embraced evolution and genetics, Russian scientists who thought the same were sent to the gulag. Western crops flourished. Russian crops failed.
Finkel has extensive experience as an engineer, educator, neuroscientist and entrepreneur. In 1983 he founded the California-based Axon Instruments, and in 2004 he became a director of its acquiring company, NASDAQ-listed Molecular Devices (MDCC).
"Today, the catch-cry of scientists must be frank and fearless advice, no matter the opinion of political commissars stationed at the U.S. EPA," he said. He expressed gratitude for the freedom of speech he's been granted in Australia.
Government Scientists at Climate Conference Terrified to Speak With the Press https://t.co/8HIdTDzZhp @climateprogress @ClimateDesk— EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)1485470106.0
One of the first measures the Trump administration took was to restrict scientists at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from speaking to the public or releasing information before it gets reviewed by political appointees. Soon after, a Twitter account appeared in response to the censorship. Alt U.S. EPA calls itself the "Satirical 'Resistance' team of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency."
