Quick Dips
Curated topical articles on the Blue Economy

Reshaping the two biggest carbon-emitting sectors to meet new US climate targets

Bill Prindle, The Hill Energy Solutions Shipping & Ports

On Earth Day, President Biden pledged to cut 50 to 52 percent of U.S. carbon emissions from 2005 levels by 2030. A prerequisite for rejoining the Paris Agreement, this commitment reflects scientific assessments of the reductions needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

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This startup grows kelp then sinks it to pull carbon from the air

Alexis Benveniste, CNN Business Energy Solutions Fisheries & Aquaculture

Carbon emissions are a huge contributor to climate change, so companies are getting creative about finding ways to suck the heat-trapping element out of the atmosphere and slow global warming.

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Installing solar panels over California’s canals could yield water, land, air and climate payoffs

Roger Bales & Brandi McKuin, The Conversation Energy Solutions

Climate change and water scarcity are front and center in the western U.S. The region’s climate is warming, a severe multi-year drought is underway and groundwater supplies are being overpumped in many locations.

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In Search of the Rivers that Carry Plastic into the Ocean

Lourens Meijer, The Ocean Cleanup Plastics & Pollution

1000 rivers account for nearly 80% of global riverine plastic emissions into the ocean, according to our study, published in Science Advances.

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Seaweed quadruples fish immunity, study finds

Janelle Kirkland, USC Fisheries & Aquaculture

Scientists at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia have found they can quadruple the immune response of farmed fish by adding powdered seaweed to their diet.

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‘Historic’ German ruling says climate goals not tough enough

Kate Connolly, The Guardian Energy Solutions

Germany’s supreme constitutional court has ruled that the government’s climate protection measures are insufficient to protect future generations, after a complaint brought by environmentalist groups.

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Is Your Fish Fake? Report Shows Rampant Global Seafood Fraud

Tiffany Duong, EcoWatch Fisheries & Aquaculture

How can you tell that the fish on your plate is the real thing? You can't — and that's the problem.

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Watching a coral reef die as climate change devastates one of the most pristine tropical island areas on Earth

Sam Purkis, The Conversation

The Chagos Archipelago is one of the most remote, seemingly idyllic places on Earth. Coconut-covered sandy beaches with incredible bird life rim tropical islands in the Indian Ocean, hundreds of miles from any continent. Just below the waves, coral reefs stretch for miles along an underwater mountain chain.

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World Tuna Day: How sustainable are tuna fisheries?

World Ocean Initiative, The Economist Group Fisheries & Aquaculture

Intensive fisheries management is leading to a recovery in some tuna stocks, but improvements are not consistent across regions.

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Ocean Tech Innovation Needs a (Nonfinancial) Capital Injection

David Hume, The Liquid Grid

The ocean tech startup community could certainly benefit from more financial capital, but for tech startups that build their businesses around disruptive innovation, more emphasis needs to be placed on two oft forgotten ingredients that fuel innovation: social and human capital.

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Seaweed Solutions

Harrison Tasoff, The Current UCSB Fisheries & Aquaculture

Researchers say cultivated seaweed can soak up excess nutrients plaguing human health and marine life.

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Regulators missing pollution’s effect on marine life, study finds

Karen McVeigh, The Guardian Fisheries & Aquaculture Plastics & Pollution

Increasing chemical and plastic pollution are “significant” contributors to the decline of fish and other aquatic organisms, yet their impact is being missed by regulators, according to a report by environmentalists.

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U.S. Fishery Managers Are Failing to Protect Marine Habitats as Required by Law

Reynard Loki, Independent Media Institute Fisheries & Aquaculture

How much is too much? The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has warned that more than a third of the world’s fish stocks are being overfished.

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My Octopus Teacher Oscar Win Raises Profile of Unique African Kelp Forest

Olivia Rosane, EcoWatch Fisheries & Aquaculture

My Octopus Teacher, the heartwarming story about a man's friendship with a common octopus, took home the Oscar for best documentary feature Sunday night.

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New sustainable advances help reimagine fish farming: "It's really the wave of the future"

CBS News Fisheries & Aquaculture

Fish farms haven't always had the best reputation, but that seems to be changing fast. Many scientists and chefs believe fish farms may be the future of food due to a combination of factors, including overfishing in our oceans and a global population that keeps rising.

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Number of ocean "dead zones" doubles

TPN/Lusa, The Portugal News

The number of "dead zones" in the oceans has almost doubled in a decade, demonstrating the "widespread failure" to protect the seas and the need for new "ambitious" global targets, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said.

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Biden announces US will aim to cut carbon emissions by as much as 52% by 2030 at virtual climate summit

Kate Sullivan & Kevin Liptak, CNN Energy Solutions

President Joe Biden on Thursday kicked off a virtual climate summit attended by 40 other world leaders by announcing an ambitious cut in greenhouse gas emissions as he looks to put the US back at the center of the global effort to address the climate crisis and curb carbon emissions.

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Innovations in reusable packaging need a playbook. Here's why

Tom Szaky & Erin Simon, World Economic Forum Plastics & Pollution

We need cross-sector consensus to define the standards of reusable packaging so businesses can innovate and scale-up solutions.

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Changes to giant ocean eddies could have ‘devastating effects’ globally

Graham Readfearn, The Guardian Energy Solutions

Swirling and meandering ocean currents that help shape the world’s climate have gone through a “global-scale reorganisation” over the past three decades, according to new research.

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Better product design and recycling can curb plastic waste

World Ocean Initiative, The Economist Group Plastics & Pollution

World Ocean Summit session highlights benefits of designing products with end of life in mind, and improving waste management.

Read more → (5 minute read)