Oceans
From tackling marine plastic pollution to coral reef restoration, learn about humanity’s latest efforts to protect ocean habitats and marine wildlife.
Travel company discontinues bookings with captive whale or dolphin shows
Marine biologists and activists are increasingly calling for the end to dolphins and whales held in captivity, especially for entertainment purposes, as these environments do not give them the space, social connection, and mental stimulation their complex brains need to thrive. Captive sea Read More...
How coal could help desalinate seawater in an eco-friendly way
While the practice of burning coal to generate electricity is soon to become a thing of the past, the material could prove useful in other, more sustainable ways. A new study, for example, has shown that the mineral could find use in the desalination of seawater. The study, conducted by Read More...
Shark scales: a day spa for fearless fish
Sharks are the apex predators of the ocean. They consume between 0.5 to 3.0 percent of their body weight each meal, which takes two to three days to digest. Depending on which species out of nearly 400 we are talking about, their diet consists of fish, crustaceans, stingrays, turtles, squid, Read More...
4 Latin American countries join forces to form huge marine reserve
Four Latin American countries have agreed to merge their marine reserves to form one mega-reserve that will protect one of the world’s richest regions of ocean biodiversity. The pacific-facing countries of Panama, Ecuador, Colombia, and Costa Rica announced the creation of the Eastern Tropical Read More...
Beach-dwelling sheep eat seaweed and reduce their methane emissions
Back in March, we shared the research findings from a University of California study on how feeding seaweed to cattle can reduce methane emissions from their burps and flatulence by up to 82 percent. Now, scientists in Scotland have found that the same effect holds true for sheep. The recently Read More...
The role of whale conservation in tackling climate change
While we tend to think of forests as the world's primary natural carbon sinks, that’s only true on land. When it comes to our oceans, a huge carbon sink comes in an unexpected form: whales. That’s right, these amazing mammals store humongous amounts of carbon dioxide in their bodies as they Read More...
Cape Verde's sea turtle conservation efforts prove to be a resounding success
The West African island nation of Cape Verde is experiencing first-hand the rewards of years of conservation effort. In the past five years, Cape Verde has seen a surge in sea turtle populations across all 10 of its islands. According to the country’s environment ministry, last year’s nest Read More...
These seaweed-inspired sensors use underwater currents to power themselves
Ocean protection increasingly relies on the internet of things (IoT) to gather essential data with the help of a variety of marine distributed sensors underwater. Most of these devices, however, have always been highly dependent on batteries, which need to be regularly changed or recharged. Read More...
California grants leatherback sea turtles further protection
For decades, the population of the great Pacific leatherback turtle off the California coast has declined by 5.6 percent per year. To address this devastating loss, California’s Fish and Game Commission recently voted to list the turtle as endangered under the state’s own Endangered Species Read More...
France bids “adieu” to plastic packaging for fresh produce
Plastic pollution is strangling our planet. To combat the use of unnecessary plastics, France has announced that it will be banning plastic packaging for fruits and vegetables. Currently, an estimated 37 percent of fruit and vegetables are sold with plastic packaging in France, so the ban will Read More...