The window for saving the world’s coral reefs is rapidly closing

For the first time, an international team of researchers has measured the escalating rate of coral bleaching at locations throughout the tropics over the past four decades. The study documents a dramatic shortening of the gap between pairs of bleaching events, threatening the future existence of these iconic ecosystems and the livelihoods of many millions of people.

Trump Moves to Open Nearly All Offshore Waters to Drilling

The Trump administration said Thursday it would allow new offshore oil and gas drilling in nearly all United States coastal waters, giving energy companies access to leases off California for the first time in decades and opening more than a billion acres in the Arctic and along the Eastern Seaboard.

World’s largest plastics plant rings alarm bells on Texas coast

Gas giant ExxonMobil seal a $10bn agreement with the state-owned Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) to build the world’s largest plastics facility on the Texas coast. The Exxon-Sabic project will fuel an anticipated 40% rise in global plastic production over the next decade.

Nowhere to Hide from Climate Change

The water is nibbling away the beaches of Fiji. Not even the dead are allowed peace of mind. The graveyard of Togoru – a village on the largest island of Fiji – has been submerged.

Columbia Teen, NASA Partner In Mangrove Project: Report

A high school sophomore student has developed what might be the world’s first satellite-based early warning system to determine where mangroves are threatened. The work incorporates data from four satellites on mangrove growth and loss, rainfall, agriculture, and urban growth.