A total of 13 beaches in Hong Kong have been shut down by a palm oil spill from a ship collision that happened in the Pearl River estuary in mainland Chinese waters last Thursday. Several government departments have worked together… Read More ›
There is nothing like a bit of good news to start off the work week. In a heartening display of bipartisan unity, the Senate just passed the Save Our Seas Act, a small but significant piece of legislation. This is… Read More ›
It’s a calamity that threatens Washington state’s $270-million-a-year shellfish industry. And it has the Taylors — after a century-plus producing shellfish in the Evergreen State — exploring every potential angle to steel their mollusks against the corrosive effects of ocean acidification.
by Laura Parker Roerden You are probably asking: How are single-use plastic and children’s resiliency related? Is there some new study that shows plastic effects children’s brains and their resiliency? No, there is not. But there are plenty of studies that show that children’s… Read More ›
Researchers at Ano Nuevo found the mercury level in the water during the molting season 17 times higher than what it is at other times of the year. That led them to look at where the mercury was coming from: the seals themselves. The molted skin takes with it some of the mercury that the seals have accumulated from the prey they eat in the ocean. Their blood and muscles have higher concentrations of mercury than would damage the nervous system of a human.
National marine sanctuaries are similar to underwater national parks. Although fishing is allowed in many of them, offshore oil and gas drilling is banned in all of them, as is underwater mining and other activities that could harm wildlife or the environment. In the 45 years since President Richard Nixon started the program, no president has ever reduced or eliminated a national marine sanctuary.
Environmental groups say the report underscores the need for the United States and Canada to keep supporting Great Lakes restoration efforts. A budget proposal released by President Donald Trump zeroed out funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, but members of Congress from the Great Lakes area say they’ll fight to retain it.
