Innovative restoration of coral reefs helps protect Caribbean islands
Researchers have measured the protective role of coral reefs and field-tested a solution that reduces coastal risks by combining innovative engineering with restoration ecology.
Satellite observations show sea levels rising, and climate change is accelerating it
Sea level rise is happening now, and the rate at which it is rising is increasing every year, according to a study released Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Microplastics pollute most remote and uncharted areas of the ocean
First data ever gathered from extremely remote area of the South Indian Ocean has a surprisingly high volume of plastic particles, say scientists. Currently scientists can only account for 1% of the plastic they think is in the ocean.
Plastic waste ‘building up’ in Arctic
Plastic waste is building up in the supposedly pristine wilderness of the Norwegian Arctic, scientists say.
Federal penalties against polluters at lowest level in a decade under Trump
Figures released by the EPA show that 115 crime cases were opened in 2017, down from a peak of nearly 400 in 2009.
Trucking Mud to the Beaches Means More Sand but Dirtier Waters, CA
When Santa Barbara County dumps tons of mud from the catastrophic debris flow of January 9 on the shores of Goleta and Carpinteria, this wasn’t like anything that’s happened before. So residents are asking, “Will there be long-term effects? Might there be other locations that can share the impacts..?”
New Trump Administration Flood Standards Mirror Obama-Era Rules
Six months after President Trump revoked an Obama-era rule mandating that federally funded projects account for future sea level rise and flooding, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced that recipients of $7.4 billion in disaster recovery grants must do just that — seemingly representing a reversal of the administration’s stance on climate preparedness.
Demand for sand leads to global ecological crisis
Every day, miners remove 5,500 to 6,000 truckloads of sand (about 20 tons each) from the scenic beachfronts and 17 river basins of Tamil Nadu, India. Fueled by a real estate boom estimated to generate $180 billion annually by 2020, India is digging 500 million metric tons of sand every year, feeding an industry worth more than $50 billion. And India’s hunger is bound to increase…
Is desalination the answer for Africa’s water shortages?
As South Africa’s Western Cape province is in a race against time to produce solutions that will keep the taps from running dry desalination has been proposed as one of many strategies to deal with the water shortages, with Namibia and Botswana already in a joint venture to pump desalinated water from the Atlantic Ocean.