Published by Ocean Conservancy The first whale I ever saw was a beluga whale. I was perhaps four years old, visiting an aquarium, and stood fascinated by a creature so large, graceful and beautiful. Little did I know I would someday see hundreds of beluga whales in the wild, migrating through the sea ice off the […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Access to clean water was one of the primary reasons why I became an environmentalist. During my senior year of high school, I learned about inequitable access to safe drinking water. Still, it was not until learning of the water crisis in Flint a few years ago that access to safe water […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Thirty years ago—just after midnight on March 24, 1989—the tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground in Alaska’s Prince William Sound. The damaged ship spilled roughly 11 million gallons of oil into the ocean, killing and injuring seabirds, sea otters, harbor seals, bald eagles, orcas and other marine wildlife. In the days that followed, […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Steven Reinhold is one of the original creators of the hashtag #trashtag, which encourages people to post pictures picking up trash in the environment. Started a few years ago, it went viral a week ago when a Facebook user named Byron posted a before and after picture of a trash cleanup, and […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy During the greenest month of them all, I’ve rounded up some of the coolest green marine wildlife that our ocean has to offer. Take a look at these festive species and find out some fascinating fun facts about them. Green Sea Turtle Scientific Name: Chelonia mydas IUCN Red List Status: Endangered © Phikwe […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy On February 5th, the MV Solomon Trader (a Hong Kong-flagged bulk carrier) lost its mooring and ran aground on a coral reef off the island of Rennell in the southern Solomon Islands. So far, the damaged vessel has spilled more than 80 tons of heavy fuel oil. This oil is now floating […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy It’s not uncommon to hear ocean lovers say that their favorite whale is the “killer whale”—or, under less menacing and more accurate terminology, the orca (scientifically dubbed Orcinus orca). These marine mammals are incredibly powerful ocean icons, but I’ve got news about orcas that may surprise some of you: the “killer whale” […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Would you believe that more people have been to the moon than have explored the deep, DEEP sea? It’s true! The mysteries of the deepest parts of the ocean have fascinated scientists for centuries and yet, we’ve only explored a small fraction. These areas are defined as being 20,000 feet or more […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy If you ask someone on the street what their favorite ocean animal is, odds are you’d hear something like “sea turtle” or “dolphin.” While there is nothing wrong with that (who doesn’t love charismatic megafauna?), the ocean’s most popular residents all have something in common—a backbone! But vertebrates (animals with a backbone) […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Narwhals are, arguably, one of the most enigmatic species of the Arctic Ocean—and rightfully so—they’re pretty incredible. Although few people have ever seen a narwhal, they are widely recognized for their unique tusk which lends itself to the most magical of nicknames: “unicorn of the sea.” And who doesn’t love a unicorn […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy As if being a Monday morning wasn’t enough, the Anchorage Daily News headline read “Bering Sea ice is at an ‘unprecedented’ low right now.” March is when sea ice should be at its maximum extent, in some years reaching far into the southern Bering Sea. Earlier in the winter, there was more […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Last week, I was invited by Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX), Chair of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology’s Environment Subcommittee, to testify before Congress on the urgency of acting to protect coastal communities from the continued negative impacts of climate change and ocean acidification. I’m pleased to report that the […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Sharks are one of the most iconic animals in the sea—how many other animals can you identify simply by their fins? Sharks may get a lot of time in the spotlight, but these top predators are just one part of a diverse group of cartilaginous fishes in class Chondrichthyes. Today, I’m here […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Cleveland Water is the lead public water system in the Lake Erie Hypoxia Forecasting Project which began in March 2017. This 5-year grant project brings together inter-agency and university scientists to produce a forecasting system that will predict the location and movement of hypoxic water in Lake Erie. Partnerships between federal agencies […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Florida’s cultural and ecological diversity is her pride and the keystone of the Floridian identity, and Floridians in their diverse and individual local communities know what’s best for their local coasts and waters. It’s those people that are out on the beaches and out on the water every day, working, living and […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy The effects of climate change can range from prosaic to pernicious, from scary to surprising. A recent paper in Nature Communications spurred the imagination of readers and reporters by discussing how ocean color may change due to a changing climate, and what this can tell us about how and where ecosystems are […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Black labor has been essential to the Chesapeake Bay region, particularly during the oyster industry boom in the mid-1800s. Traditionally, Black people made up much of the seafood industry labor force in the Chesapeake. So why are there so few Black people working maritime and seafood jobs in the Chesapeake Bay today? […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy It’s International Polar Bear Day and you know what that means—a perfect excuse to celebrate and learn new things about polar bears! Although we’re sure you already know the basics on this charismatic species, we’re here to answer the most commonly asked questions about polar bears. Do polar bears live in Antarctica? […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy This week, our Ocean Acidification Program Director Sarah Cooley, Ph.D., will testify before the United States House Committee on Science, Space & Technology’s Subcommittee on Environment. The hearing—Sea Change: Impacts of Climate Change on Our Oceans and Coasts—will investigate the impacts of ocean acidification, sea level rise and warming temperatures. 39 million […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy A Wall Street Journal article reported recently that “The world’s biggest makers of shampoo, detergent and packaged food will test selling their products in reusable containers, adopting a milkman-style model to address mounting concerns about plastic waste.” In May, shoppers in New York and Paris—eventually followed by Tokyo and other cities—will be […]