Quick Dips
Curated topical articles on the Blue Economy
Beth Gardiner, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies Plastics & Pollution
A world awash in plastic will soon see even more, as a host of new petrochemical plants — their ethane feedstock supplied by the fracking boom — come online. Major oil companies, facing the prospect of reduced demand for their fuels, are ramping up their plastics output.Read more → (9 minute read)
Martin Koehring, The Economist Group- World Ocean Initiative Energy Solutions Fisheries & Aquaculture Plastics & Pollution Shipping & Ports
Safeguarding and harnessing the ocean’s ability to provide for people and the planet is crucial for sustainable development, says Martin Koehring, head of the World Ocean Initiative.
Read more → (3 minute read)
Jennifer Lynch, SEVENSEAS Media Plastics & Pollution
A new study on the Pacific Ocean’s floating trash indicates not only a significant accumulation of microplastics in the Hawaiian Islands, but that larval fish are eating the debris.
Read more → (3 minute read)
Mindy Weisberger Fisheries & Aquaculture Plastics & Pollution
When workers with a whale strandings agency in Scotland performed a necropsy on a recently beached sperm whale, they found a gruesome surprise: The animal had died with around 220 lbs. (100 kilograms) of trash in its stomach.Read more → (4 minute read)
Olivia Rosane Fisheries & Aquaculture Plastics & Pollution
Discarded plastic fishing equipment, dubbed "ghost gear," is especially dangerous to marine life because it was designed to trap and kill it.Read more → (3 minute read)
Noah Smith, Bloomberg Plastics & Pollution
Most environmental problems are concentrated in the area where the pollution is produced. This is good, because it’s a lot easier for a single city or country to deal with an environmental challenge than it is for the international community.There are two huge exceptions to this. The first is global warming, which (as the name implies) affects everyone. The second is the world’s oceans, most of which are not claimed as the territory of any nation or the property of any individual.
Read more → (3 minute read)
Ocean Conservancy Plastics & Pollution
You’ve probably seen videos of these impacts first hand, like a sea turtle with a plastic straw embedded in its nose or a whale entangled in a fishing net, approaching divers that release it from harm. Some of these incidents have happy endings, but in reality, many more do not. Plastic has been found in more than 60% of all seabirds and in 100% of sea turtles species, that mistake plastic for food. And when animals ingest plastic, it can cause life-threatening problems, including reduced fitness, nutrient uptake and feeding efficiency—all vital for survival. Every year, 8 million metric tons...
Read more → (2 minute read)
Charles Avis, Public Information Officer (UN Environment) Plastics & Pollution
Decisions on plastic waste have been reached today in Geneva, as approximately 180 governments adopted a raft of decisions aimed at protecting human health and the environment from the harmful effects of hazardous chemicals and waste.
Read more → (6 minute read)
Principles for Responsible Investment Plastics & Pollution
Increasing regulation means that companies need to be ready to respond to the growing plastic-related legal requirements.
With 8 million tonnes of plastic entering the ocean annually, and growing evidence of microplastic entering the food chain, seafood companies and consumers are also at risk.
Read more → (5 minute read)
United Nations Fisheries & Aquaculture Plastics & Pollution
14.1 By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, particularly from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution 14.2 By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration, to achieve healthy and productive oceans 14.3 Minimize and address the impacts of ocean acidification, including through enhanced scientific cooperation at all levels 14.4 By 2020, effectively regulate harvesting, and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and destructive fishing practices and implement science-based management plans, to restore fish stocks...
Read more → (2 minute read)
Kalila Morsink, Smithsonian Energy Solutions Fisheries & Aquaculture Plastics & Pollution
That’s right—more than half of the oxygen you breathe comes from marine photosynthesizers, like phytoplankton and seaweed.
Read more → (3 minute read)
Ellen MacArthur Foundation Plastics & Pollution
More than 40 industry leaders have endorsed a new action plan to tackle global plastics issues, and have begun working together to create a more effective global system for plastics.
Read more → (4 minute read)
Ellen MacArthur Foundation Plastics & Pollution
Applying circular economy principles to global plastic packaging flows could transform the plastics economy and drastically reduce negative externalities such as leakage into oceans, according to the latest report by the World Economic Forum and Ellen MacArthur Foundation, with analytical support from McKinsey & Company.
Read more → (4 minute read)
