Quick Dips
Curated topical articles on the Blue Economy

California Lawmakers Propose Package of New Laws Tackling Plastic Waste Reduction

Senator Ben Allen, California Plastics & Pollution

While celebrating advocacy for protection of natural resources during Ocean Day at the State Capitol, legislators announced a package of bills to address the mounting waste crisis affecting California’s coastline, landfills, and ratepayers.

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6 aquatic food system innovations transforming women’s livelihoods

Shakuntala Thilsted, World Fish Center Fisheries & Aquaculture

WorldFish’s Global Lead for Nutrition and Public Health, Aquatic Food Systems, and Vice Chair of the 2021 UN Food System Summit Action Track 4: Advance Equitable Livelihoods, Dr. Shakuntala Thilsted, shares her experience developing nutrition-sensitive innovations that are transforming women’s lives.

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A High-Tech Path To a Blue Economy

Scientific American Custom Media

Technological innovation and a deep conservation ethic have made Canada a destination for ocean industry leaders.

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One ocean: At the intersection of green energy and a blue economy

Laura Rose, Global Aquaculture Alliance Energy Solutions Fisheries & Aquaculture

Oceanography study explores the relationships between offshore wind energy and fisheries industries, suggests inclusive approaches.

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Seagrasses and mangroves can suck carbon from the air

The Economist Energy Solutions Fisheries & Aquaculture

Along with two other kinds of coastal ecosystem—mangrove swamps and tidal marshes—seagrass meadows are particularly good at taking carbon dioxide from the air and converting it into plant matter. 

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Battery metals firm DeepGreen signs deal to merge with SOAC

Mining Technology

Canadian battery metals firm DeepGreen Metals has agreed to merge with special purpose acquisition company Sustainable Opportunities Acquisition Corporation (SOAC) to go public.

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Israeli Maritime Startups Boom as UN Decade of Ocean Science Kicks Off

Tiffany Duong, EcoWatch

While traditional investment in the ocean technology sector has been tentative, growth in Israeli maritime innovations has been exponential in the last few years, and environmental concern has come to the forefront.

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Blue Bonds: An Audacious Plan to Save the World’s Ocean

The Nature Conservancy

TNC’s Blue Bonds for Conservation model helps governments unlock funding for conservation—and could benefit millions of people in coastal regions.

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How technology can help us achieve at least 30% ocean protection (commentary)

Simon Cripps, Mongabay Fisheries & Aquaculture

Securing such a vast area requires new cutting-edge technology to monitor illegal activities and movements of species. 

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Asia Primed for Rare Blue Bond Sales to Fund Sea Protection

Rebecca Choong Wilkins and Todd Gillespie, Bloomberg Green

Few places in the world have greater need for a new type of sustainable debt to fund water projects and protect the oceans than Asia, with its more than 100,000 kilometers of coastline.

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Could plastic roads make for a smoother ride?

Chermaine Lee, BBC Energy Solutions Plastics & Pollution

From lower carbon emissions to fewer potholes, there are a number of benefits to building a layer of plastic into roads.

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Blue carbon: how three Australian marine sites lock away 2bn tonnes of CO2

Graham Readfearn, The Guardian

Three of Australia’s world heritage-listed marine sites have more than 2bn tonnes of carbon dioxide locked away in their vast seagrass meadows, coastal mangroves and tidal marshes, according to a new report from a UN agency.

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5 Not-So-Fun Facts About Plastics in the Arctic

Sarah Bobbe, Ocean Conservancy Plastics & Pollution

Even the remote Arctic marine ecosystem has a plastics problem.

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Blue economy: how a handful of companies reap most of the benefits in multi-billion ocean industries

Virdin, J. et al., The Conversation

To make these industries sustainable, we need to know more about the businesses which comprise them. So who’s driving this breakneck growth in the ocean economy?

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Where does plastic pollution go when it enters the ocean?

Sutherland, B. et al., The Conversation Plastics & Pollution

Of the hundreds of millions of tonnes of plastic waste we produce each year, it’s estimated that around ten million tonnes enters the ocean.

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Dispatch: eXXpedition's First Virtual Voyage is Complete

Plastic Pollution Coalition Plastics & Pollution

Jackie Nuñez, Founder of The Last Plastic Straw and Advocacy Program Manager at Plastic Pollution Coalition, was selected to embark on leg 15 of the eXXpedition, an all-women voyage to document plastic pollution in the world’s oceans.

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Why insect production may have minimal impact on aquaculture sustainability

Rob Fletcher, The Fish Site Fisheries & Aquaculture

While the insect farming industry is likely to "come of age" this decade, its overall impact on aquaculture may be more limited.

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Hidden pollution from shipping threatens sustainable ocean efforts

University of Portsmouth, Phys Org Plastics & Pollution Shipping & Ports

Ships are the polluting 'elephants in the room' nobody is talking about despite a global drive to make oceans cleaner, according to new research.

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On U.S. East Coast, Has Offshore Wind’s Moment Finally Arrived?

Jon Hurdle, Yale Environment 360 Energy Solutions

After years of false starts, offshore wind is poised to take off along the East Coast. Commitments by states to purchase renewable power, support from the Biden administration, and billions in new investment are all contributing to the emergence of this fledgling industry.

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How 3D, Location Intelligence Can Help Drive A Sustainable Ocean Economy

Marianna Kantor, Forbes

The ocean, already the world's seventh-largest economy, is in trouble—and now comes the part where we realize we have the technology to do something about it.

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