www.cigwaste.org. 1. Trillions of cigarettes: 5.6 trillion cigarettes sold globally every year; 360 billion are sold annually in the United States. 2. Butt waste is everywhere: 99% of the 360 billion cigarettes sold have cellulose acetate (plastic) filters; at least one-third of those – 120 billion – are discarded into the environment. Washed into rivers, […]
What you've been waiting for, a long long list of ways you can reduce your plastic use. You probably know some already, but I hope that many of these ideas are new and do-able. Just think of the pacific garbage patch whenever you feel tempted to buy water, get a to-go cup or buy liquid […]
by Enric Sala of National Geographic in Ocean Views on September 25, 2012 Ninety percent of the large predators in the ocean are gone and their populations have collapsed, and some scientific studies suggest that most fisheries worldwide will collapse before 2050. The reason for this is that we have taken too many fish out […]
The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation is pleased to announce the Science Without Borders® Challenge, a contest meant to answer the question, “How Are We All Connected to the Oceans?” Students, ages 14-19, are asked to submit 1-5 minute videos that remind us how vital oceans are to our existence. Please forward this to […]
NOAA press release: November 30, 2012 In compliance with a federal court ordered deadline, and consistent with existing international protections, NOAA Fisheries announced today that it is proposing Endangered Species Act (ESA) listings for 66 coral species, including 59 in the Pacific and seven in the Caribbean. This science-based proposal is more limited than the […]
13 December 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk The Cook Islands has approved a shark sanctuary in its waters, making for the largest such sanctuary in the world. The South Pacific island chain declared a 1.9 million-sq-km sanctuary, contiguous with one established last week by neighbouring French Polynesia. That sees a ban on shark fishing and possession or sale […]
Science Daily Dec. 10, 2012 — Renewable energy could fully power a large electric grid 99.9 percent of the time by 2030 at costs comparable to today's electricity expenses, according to new research by the University of Delaware and Delaware Technical Community College. A well-designed combination of wind power, solar power and storage in batteries […]
Michael Zhang · Dec 08, 2012. http://www.petapixel.com/ The Pacific Trash Vortex, also known as the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” is an area the size of Texas in the Pacific ocean in which there’s 6 times the amount of plastic as there is natural plankton. Photographer Kim Preston wanted to draw attention to this growing problem, […]
November 13, 2012. http://www.redorbit.com/ ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies Big fish that have grown up in marine reserves don’t seem to know enough to avoid fishers armed with spear guns waiting outside the reserve. The latest research by an Australian team working in the Philippines into the effects of marine reserves […]