Major Conference On Biodiversity Warns Against ‘Business As Usual’ Behaviour, Consumption

The report, Global Diversity Outlook 4 was released today at the start of the 12th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, known as COP-12. Continuing with ‘business as usual’ in our present patterns of behaviour, consumption, production and economic incentives will not allow us to realize the vision of a world with ecosystems capable of meeting human needs into the future.

NASA Study Finds Earth’s Ocean Abyss Has Not Warmed

NASA scientists analyzed satellite and direct ocean temperature data from 2005 to 2013 and found the ocean abyss below 1.24 miles (1,995 meters) has not warmed measurably. The temperature of the top half of the world’s oceans — above the 1.24-mile mark — is still climbing, but not fast enough to account for the stalled air temperatures…

UN Meeting Hears Call For Greater Marine Protections As Plastic Waste Accrues In Oceans

The steady build-up of garbage in the world’s oceans is a “tremendous challenge” and a growing threat to the planet’s marine ecosystems with the potential for “significant socio-economic consequences,” the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) heard at the 16th Global Meeting of the Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans, held in Athens, Greece.