BLAME FOR MASSIVE CORAL DIEOFFS ON TROPICAL REEFS has largely centered on seemingly unstoppable ocean warming. But a new study of coral reef pollution focused on the Florida Keys has confirmed another major cause of coral loss – and, one that can be fixed. A review of 30 years bringing together data on rainfall events, man-made pollution and coral health has linked massive coral loss in the Keys to direct man-made pollution from improperly treated
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THE EVIDENCE IS CLEAR: THE MOST COMMON CHEMICALS FOUND IN SUNSCREENS, OXYBENZONE AND OCTINOXATE, are damaging to coral reefs and contribute to coral bleaching. The city of Key West in Florida has just joined the state of Hawaii in voting to ban the sale of coral-toxic sunscreens. At stake is the health of their fragile reefs and, obviously, their futures as destinations for millions of divers and other tourists. They’d like to see reef-safe sunscreen
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GLOBAL PLAYERS INVOLVED IN EVERY PHASE OF THE PLASTICS CHAIN, from production to consumer packaging to waste management, have announced the creation of a nonprofit effort to help end plastic waste in the environment, especially in the oceans. The new Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) is supported by nearly 30 corporations, as diverse as petrochemical manufacturers like ExxonMobil, manufacturers like the Saudi company SABIC and consumer products distributors like Proctor & Gamble. They propose
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STARBUCKS HAS JOINED THE LIST OF PLACES AND COMPANIES to announce plans to eliminate plastic straws in its businesses. With some 28,000 stores, the coffee seller is the largest corporation to take the step, a move pushed by activists to decrease the amount of plastic waste in the environment, especially in the oceans. The company says the plan to eliminate plastic straws by 2020 will will mean one billion less straw in circulation. PLASTIC STRAWS NO, LIDS
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SEATTLE HAS JOINED THE LIST OF CITIES, COUNTRIES AND CORPORATIONS ON PLANET EARTH TO ADOPT A PLASTIC STRAW BAN. The measure, which went into effect July 1, bans straws and plastic utensils in bars and restaurants. The move is a step forward in the worldwide campaign to cut down on the amount of plastics entering the environment, especially the world’s oceans. It’s estimated that Americans use 500 million plastic straws every day. Many of them make their way
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EACH YEAR, JUNE 8TH IS RECOGNIZED AS WORLD OCEANS DAY, with the goal of focusing attention on the state of our oceans and its needs. SO FIRST! Reflect on the beauty, serenity and meaning we find when we visit the reef. Not to mention the oceans’ role in feeding the world, helping control the climate and giving us great beaches. SECOND: DON’T MESS IT UP! Drawn from a post at the beginning of the year
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Links to environmental news & research. “GIMME SHELTER, SAYS YOUR NEW NEIGHBOR, THE URBAN OCTOPUS” Anthropocene With more human-made debris on the sea floor in deep water near human-occupied coasts, octopuses are more common in urban waters than off less developed stretches of shoreline, a study conducted in Puget Sound determined. “DESIGNING MARINE PROTECTED AREAS IN A CHANGING CLIMATE” Hakai Magazine With climate change creating so many unknowns for conservation efforts, focusing on biodiversity is
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IF YOU’RE BUSY MAKING NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS, here are five for the reef that will be easy to keep. Actually, they’ll help the whole planet, above and below water. • USE LESS PLASTIC: Plastic pollution in our oceans, on our shorelines and everywhere else, is maddening and destructive of the health of people, wildlife and the environment as a whole. To help cut down on the spread of plastic debris: Use refillable water bottle and reject
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NEWS ABOUT AUSTRALIA’S GREAT BARRIER REEF is usually dire, but a team of scientists studying the reef have found a ray of hope: Some GBR sections are resilient segments that are in position to support regeneration of damaged areas. ROBUST SOURCE REEFS Far from being a monolith, the GBR is composed of more than 3,800 interconnected reefs. About 100 of them are capable of functioning as “robust source reefs” that can produce coral larvae likely
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MEXICO HAS ESTABLISHED THE LARGEST MARINE PARK in North America, a 58,000-square-mile region of the Pacific Ocean several hundred miles off its southwestern coast. “UNIQUELY RICH” The Revillagigedo Archipelago National Park surrounds four uninhabited volcanic islands and is described as uniquely rich in marine biodiversity, supporting several species of sea turtles, three dozen species of sharks and rays and more than 360 species of fishes, some of which are not found anywhere else in the world. COLLIDING
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