Quick Dips
Curated topical articles on the Blue Economy

Can the shipping industry clean up its act? House on Fire podcast

James Bray, World Economic Forum Shipping & Ports

Shipping accounts for 2-3% of man-made greenhouse gas emissions, which puts it about on the same level as an entire country, such as Germany or Japan, as an emitter. The industry’s emissions are projected to rise by up to 250% in the next 30 years if no action is taken.

Read more → (2 minute read)


Michelin Commits to Shipping Product Transatlantic on Sail Cargo Ship

The Maritime Executive Shipping & Ports

France’s Michelin Group joined a growing number of global brands committing to use a sail-powered carbon-free shipping alternative for its products.

Read more → (4 minute read)


How Paving with Plastic Could Make a Dent in the Global Waste Problem

Ann Parson, Yale Environment 360 Plastics & Pollution

Roads in which waste plastic is melted down and mixed with paving materials are becoming more common around the world. Although for now they remain a niche technology, experts say the roads could become one of a diverse array of uses for discarded plastic.

Read more → (10 minute read)


Additional Shipping Lines Successfully Tested Biofuel Alternative

Maritime Executive Shipping & Ports

Two additional shipping companies, ONE and Eastern Pacific Shipping, recently completed successful trials of biofuels on their in-service ships.

Read more → (4 minute read)


The circular economy can help save the planet - if we start innovating now

Peter Lacy, Wesley Spindler and John Dutton, World Economic Forum

The circular economy represents the means to save the planet, as well as an enormous market opportunity.

There is a mismatch between multinationals struggling to keep pace with circular innovation, and entrepreneurs who lack the resources to scale up.

The Circulars Accelerator is bringing the two parties together to advance the zero-waste agenda.

Read more → (3 minute read)


Researchers eye sea cucumbers as potential fish farming impact solution in Europe

Jason Holland, Seafood Source Fisheries & Aquaculture

A team of aquaculture researchers is exploring how sea cucumbers might be used to help reduce the environmental impact of fish farming, using techniques already being used in agriculture.

Read more → (3 minute read)


As Plastic Pollution in Rivers Gets Worse, Species Are Increasingly Living on Litter

E360 Digest, Yale School of the Environment Plastics & Pollution

Scientists have long warned that the world’s major rivers and estuaries are hotspots for plastic waste, as trash and microparticles wash down tributaries and congregate before entering oceans. 

Read more → (3 minute read)


As the oceans become more acidic, threat to sealife and industry grows, new study finds

Gal Tziperman Lotan, The Boston Globe Fisheries & Aquaculture

The ocean’s growing acidity, which goes hand in hand with climate change and other human-driven factors, could have a devastating effect on the state’s coastal waters and the shellfish industries that rely on their ecosystems, according to a new report.

Read more → (3 minute read)


Artificial intelligence software detects ocean plastics from the air

Nick Lavars, New Atlas Plastics & Pollution

As millions of tons of plastic wash into the ocean everyday, scientists have their work cut out for them in trying to keep tabs on its whereabouts, but they may soon have a useful new tool at the their disposal.

Read more → (3 minute read)


GE Awarded DOE Grant to Research 3-D Printing of Wind Turbine Blades

GE Research Energy Solutions

GE Research, GE Renewable Energy, and LM Wind Power, a GE Renewable Energy business were recently selected by the Department of Energy to research the design and manufacture of 3-D printed wind turbine blades.

Read more → (3 minute read)


Mapping of undersized fish, crustaceans may help sustainable fishing efforts

Brooks Hays, United Press International Fisheries & Aquaculture

By mapping where undersized fish and crustaceans are congregated, researchers hope to help fisheries managers better protect vulnerable fish and crustacean stocks.

Read more → (3 minute read)


South Korea unveils $43 billion plan for world's largest offshore wind farm

Hyonhee Shin, Yahoo Finance Energy Solutions

South Korea unveiled a 48.5 trillion won ($43.2 billion) plan to build the world's largest wind power plant by 2030 as part of efforts to foster an environmentally-friendly recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read more → (2 minute read)


MARLIT, an artificial intelligence-based app to study floating marine macro-litter

Recerca, University of Barcelona Plastics & Pollution

A team of the Faculty of Biology and the IRBio presents an app based on an algorithm designed with artificial intelligence techniques to automate the study and quantification of floating plastics in the sea through aerial photography.

Read more → (4 minute read)


Recycling Myth of the Month: Plastic waste is not just a 'developing country problem'

Emily Petsko, Oceana Plastics & Pollution

When the subject of plastic pollution comes up in the United States, Europe, or other Western countries, many people’s first instinct is to dodge responsibility and pass the blame onto other nations.

 

Read more → (5 minute read)


Denmark to build 'first energy island' in North Sea

BBC News Energy Solutions

A project to build a giant island providing enough energy for three million households has been given the green light by Denmark's politicians.

Read more → (3 minute read)


‘Make peace with nature’, UN chief urges at Ocean Decade launch

UN News

January marked the beginning of what many within the UN and beyond view as “the most critical decade of our lives”, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said on Wednesday, launching a major initiative to protect the world’s oceans through the next ten years.

Read more → (3 minute read)


Tapping into an ocean of innovation: The economic interest for developing a new ecosystem on oceanic technologies

Or Haviv, CTech

"The development of ocean technologies is doubly important for us – ecologically and economically," explains Or Haviv, Partner and Head of Ventures at Arieli Capital.

Read more → (5 minute read)


Federal grant could help to quadruple US seaweed aquaculture volumes

The Fish Site Fisheries & Aquaculture

The fledgling North American kelp farming sector has received a boost after Connecticut Sea Grant was awarded a $766,650 federal grant to lead a three-year, multi-state initiative.

Read more → (5 minute read)


Blue Tech Voices - Melanie Nadeau, CEO of the Center for Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship (COVE)

David Hume, The Liquid Grid

In this interview with the new CEO of COVE, Melanie Nadeau, reflects on the growth of the organization, her first hundred days at the helm, and what the future may bring.

Read more → (8 minute read)


The Outlook for LNG as a Marine Fuel

Peter Keller, The Maritime Executive Shipping & Ports

Today, LNG-fuelled vessels amount to approximately 13% of the current newbuild order book and estimates for 2021 and beyond show continuing growth in many classes of vessels. Importantly, 2020 also saw the first uses of bio-LNG by deep-sea ocean vessels, thereby reducing the carbon footprints of these vessels.

Read more → (9 minute read)