Ocean Policy News

December 22, 2024

Top Headlines

The Social Cost of Carbon, a Crucial Tool for Setting Climate Policy, Omits Key Effects

Dec. 17, 2024 — The social cost of carbon -- an important figure global policymakers use to analyze the benefits of climate and energy policies -- is too low, finds a new ...

Overfishing Has Halved Shark and Ray Populations Since 1970

Dec. 12, 2024 — A new analysis reveals that overfishing has caused populations of chondrichthyan fishes -- sharks, rays, and chimaeras -- to decline by more than 50 per cent since 1970. To determine the consequences, a team of researchers developed an aquatic Red ...

Researchers Reveal Key Factors Behind Japan's Plastic Waste Removal Rates in Rivers

Dec. 12, 2024 — Plastic pollution is a growing problem in Japan, prompting cleanup efforts to recover plastic litter from water bodies. However, research on recovery rates from different river basins remains ...

AI Predicts That Most of the World Will See Temperatures Rise to 3°C Much Faster Than Previously Expected

Dec. 10, 2024 — AI predicts that most of the world will see temperatures rise to 3C much faster than previously ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:28pm EST

What Motivates Americans to Eat Less Red Meat?

Dec. 9, 2024 — Limiting red meat consumption is key to a sustainable and healthy diet, yet Americans are among the world's largest consumers of red meat. A new study reveals the demographics of American adults who ...

Scientists Urged to Pull the Plug on 'Bathtub Modeling' of Flood Risk

Dec. 6, 2024 — Recent decades have seen a rapid surge in damages and disruptions caused by flooding. Experts call on scientists to more accurately model these risks and caution against overly dramatized reporting ...

Mangroves Save $855 Billion in Flood Protection Globally, New Study Shows

Dec. 5, 2024 — Mangroves have been shown to provide $855 billion in flood protection services worldwide, according to a new ...

Countdown to an Ice-Free Arctic: New Research Warns of Accelerated Timelines

Dec. 3, 2024 — Scientists demonstrate how a series of extreme weather events could lead to the Arctic's first ice-free day within just a few ...

Delay and Pay: Climate Tipping Point Costs Quadruple After Waiting

Nov. 26, 2024 — The cost of reversing the effects of climate change -- restoring melted polar sea ice, for example -- quickly climbs nearly fourfold soon after a tipping point is crossed, according to new work. Much ...

Fewer Than 7% of Global Hotspots for Whale-Ship Collisions Have Protection Measures in Place

Nov. 21, 2024 — A new study has quantified the risk for whale-ship collisions worldwide for four geographically widespread ocean giants that are threatened by ...

Climate-Driven Hazards Increases Risk for Millions of Coastal Residents, Study Finds

Nov. 21, 2024 — A new study estimates that a 1-meter sea level rise by 2100 would affect over 14 million people and $1 trillion worth of property along the Southeast ...

Design and Imagination as Essential Tools During the Climate Crisis

Nov. 21, 2024 — Researchers advocate the use of imagination in tackling the climate crisis. They focus specifically on urbanizing river deltas, which are of great social and economic importance and highly vulnerable ...

Research Highlights the Pressures Human Activities Place on Tropical Marine Ecosystems

Nov. 20, 2024 — The tropical coastlines of Southeast Asia are home to some of the most important and biodiverse marine ecosystems on the planet. But as well as being ...

Decline in West African Coastal Fish Stocks Threatens Food Security and Livelihoods

Nov. 16, 2024 — Fish stocks along the West African coast have declined significantly over the past five decades, threatening food security and the livelihoods of the ...

Long-Distance Friendships Can Provide Conservation Benefits

Dec. 10, 2024 — While sustaining friendships from afar can be challenging, they may offer unexpected benefits for environmental conservation. A new study found that these social ties can positively influence ...

Alaska's Changing Environment

Dec. 3, 2024 — The University of Alaska Fairbanks released a new report this week highlighting environmental changes and extremes that impact Alaskans and their livelihoods. 'Alaska's Changing ...

Resilience Index Needed to Keep Us Within Planet's 'Safe Operating Space'

Nov. 15, 2024 — Researchers are calling for a 'resilience index' to be used as an indicator of policy success instead of the current focus on GDP. They say that GDP ignores the wider implications of ...

Four Global Policies Could Eliminate More Than 90% of Plastic Waste and 30% of Linked Carbon Emissions by 2050

Nov. 14, 2024 — A new study determines that just four policies can reduce mismanaged plastic waste -- plastic that isn't recycled or properly disposed of and ends up as pollution -- by 91% and plastic-related ...

Land-Use Policy Rethink Vital to Hit Net Zero

Nov. 14, 2024 — Changing how land-use subsidies are implemented would give UK taxpayers better value for money and improve chances of meeting environmental targets such as Net ...

Pioneering Planetary Boundaries Science as Key to Mitigating Rising Planetary Risks

Nov. 8, 2024 — The Planetary Boundaries framework is a pivotal tool for tackling the climate crisis and safeguarding humanity's future on Earth. For the first time, the full story of the Planetary Boundaries ...

Some of the World's Least Polluting Populations Are at Much Greater Risk of Flooding Fueled by Climate Change

Nov. 7, 2024 — A new study has exposed for the first time how inhabitants of the smallest countries globally, contributing least to climate change, already bear the brunt of its devastating consequences and the ...

Scientists Examine How Wastewater Practices in Florida Keys Impact Water Quality

Nov. 1, 2024 — Wastewater contains nutrients that can overfeed algae, leading to harmful algal blooms and pollution issues in the ocean and other waterways. A new study tracked how these nutrients migrate from ...

Biodiversity Law That Forces Builders to Compensate for Nature Loss Could Be Twice as Effective, Experts Claim

Oct. 31, 2024 — Recent rules that require all new building and road projects in England to address and offset their impact on nature are excellent in principle but flawed in their implementation, leading ...

When Is a Heat Wave Just a Heat Wave, and When Is It Climate Change?

Oct. 28, 2024 — A new study used the 2023 heat wave in Texas and Louisiana as a test case for establishing processes that tease out whether particular weather events are climate change ...

Are We Missing the Mark on Biodiversity? 90% of Countries Ignore Key Behavior Changes

Oct. 28, 2024 — There is a yawning gap between national policies to enhance biodiversity and the individual and small group behavioral changes that are critical to making a real ...

Curbing Air Pollution Control Devices Would Cost Thousands of Lives and Billions of Dollars

Oct. 25, 2024 — A new commentary found that power plants' use of these devices saved up to 9,100 lives and up to $100 billion in health costs in 2023. These estimates reveal the substantial health benefits that ...

Dolphins Sense Military Sonar at Much Lower Levels Than Regulators Predict

Oct. 23, 2024 — Scientists have directly measured the behavioral responses of some of the most common marine mammals to military sonar. And the finding that surprised them most was that these animals were sensitive ...

Ethical Framework Aims to Counter Risks of Geoengineering Research

Oct. 23, 2024 — A new report says any research into large-scale interventions in Earth's climate system must be grounded in sound ethical principles so society can make informed choices about whether to deploy ...

Smaller, More Specific Academic Journals Have More Sway Over Policy

Oct. 18, 2024 — Journals focused on ferns, clams, or coral reefs had proportionally more of their articles cited by the federal government when protecting species than more prominent, higher-impact journals. The ...

Environmental Law Reform Needed to Protect Endangered Marine Species

Oct. 8, 2024 — Researchers are calling for reforms to Australia's environmental laws, as threatened fish species continue to be legally ...

Green Education Can Create New Generation of Eco-Leaders

Oct. 8, 2024 — Countries across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region can overcome major shared environmental challenges such as water scarcity and air pollution by harnessing the power of 'green ...

Climate Report Warns of Escalating Crisis, Urges Immediate Action as UN Summit Nears

Oct. 8, 2024 — An international coalition of scientists concludes that the Earth's worsening vital signs indicate a 'critical and unpredictable new phase of the climate crisis' and that ...

Plenty More Fish in the Sea? Environmental Protections Account for Around 10 Percent of Fish Stocks on Coral Reefs

Oct. 7, 2024 — New research shows that international conservation efforts account for approximately 10 percent of fish stocks on coral ...

Environmental Quality of Life Benefits Women Worldwide

Oct. 2, 2024 — Global evidence has revealed that women's environmental quality of life is key to their overall quality of life and health, according to a new ...