Quick Dips
Curated topical articles on the Blue Economy

Watch: Hannah Testa and Lesa Wilson Create Plastic Pollution Video Series

• Plastic Pollution Coalition • Plastics & Pollution

Passionate environmentalists and Plastic Pollution Coalition members Hannah Testa and Lesa Wilson have released a new video series on the plastic pollution crisis and how each of us can get involved.

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The solution to marine plastic pollution is plural, and plastic offsetting is one of them

• Roxane Lauzet, Modern Diplomacy • Plastics & Pollution

Due to growing concerns around environmental protection, businesses, individuals and governments have been looking for solutions that can be largely implemented to close the tap on plastic pollution.

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How many solar panels do we need to save the climate?

• Nils Zimmermann, Deutsche Welle • Energy Solutions

A zero-carbon-emissions energy system will rely mostly on low-cost solar electricity, experts say.

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Seaweed and solar energy join hands at sea

• European Commission, CORDIS • Energy Solutions • Fisheries & Aquaculture

Two EU-backed Dutch companies have created the first offshore solar and seaweed farm in the North Sea, making solar energy production and seaweed cultivation possible in the same space.

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Catalyst transforms plastic waste to valuable ingredients at low temperature

• Osaka City University • Plastics & Pollution

For the first time, researchers have used a novel catalyst process to recycle a type of plastic found in everything from grocery bags and food packaging to toys and electronics into liquid fuels and wax.

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'Getting to Zero': New commission to explore how to manage threat to carbon intensive jobs

• James S Murray, Business Green • Energy Solutions

Analysis highlights how net zero transition could impact 10 million jobs in carbon intensive industries. 

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Germany meets 2020 climate target due to Covid-19 effect

• Bernd Radowitz, Recharge News • Energy Solutions

Renewables account for almost half of the country’s power output last year grid agency says.

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Repurposed: Adding value to aquaculture via recycling

• Bonnie Waycott, Global Aquaculture Alliance • Fisheries & Aquaculture • Plastics & Pollution

Efforts in Chile, Europe illustrate new opportunities for environmental stewards and entrepreneurs.

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How the EU Plastic Waste Ban Could Turn the U.S. into a Next-Generation Recycling Destination

• Tina Casey, Triple Pundit • Plastics & Pollution

Next-generation plastic recycling technologies could breathe new life into the U.S. petrochemical industry, and not a moment too soon.

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DORE’s first investment since IPO involves eight Swedish hydropower plants

• Content Team, Renewable Energy World • Energy Solutions

Downing Renewables & Infrastructure Trust plc (DORE) has exchanged contracts to acquire its first investment, a portfolio of eight operational hydropower plants in central and southern Sweden.

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Bali's beaches buried in tide of plastic rubbish during monsoon season

• Graham Readfearn, The Guardian • Plastics & Pollution

Tourist drawcards Kuta and Legian beaches are being overwhelmed by up to 60 tonnes of plastic rubbish every day.

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River floods are boosting the global spread of plastic, study finds

• Daisy Dunne, The Independent • Shipping & Ports

River floods are boosting the spread of plastic around the world, a study has found, raising potentially severe health risks for people and wildlife.

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NOAA and USAID join forces to help nations combat illegal fishing practices

• NOAA • Fisheries & Aquaculture

The United States has taken another step forward as an international leader in the fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing — a practice that threatens global food security, damages economies, and risks the sustainability of fisheries and marine ecosystems.

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COVID-19 hazard: 1.56 bn masks polluted oceans in 2020, claims study

• Manoj Sharma, Business Today • Plastics & Pollution

These masks will take as long as 450 years to break down and all the while serve as a source of micro plastic and negatively impact marine wildlife and ecosystems, says a new report by OceanAsia.

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Climate Activist Builds Death-Bed Out Of Plastic To Warn About Environmental Pollution

• Palak Agrawal, The Logical Indian • Plastics & Pollution

The installation is located at Freedom Ghat, 50 metres from Laxman Jhula in Rishikesh to educate and warn the masses on the ill-effects of plastic pollution which is being reported to be the world's deadliest killer.

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New rules to tackle ‘wild west’ of plastic waste dumped on poorer countries

• Karen McVeigh • Plastics & Pollution

International convention to stop richer countries exporting contaminated material for recycling could mean a cleaner ocean in five years.

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New rules to tackle ‘wild west’ of plastic waste dumped on poorer countries

• Karen McVeigh, The Guardian • Plastics & Pollution

New international rules to tackle the “wild west” global trade in plastic, which has seen wealthy nations dump contaminated plastic waste on to poorer ones, will result in a cleaner ocean within five years, according to a UN transboundary waste chief.

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Philippines approves USD 10 million COVID-related stimulus for aquaculture sector

• Toan Dao, The Seafood Source • Fisheries & Aquaculture

The Philippines Department of Agriculture has allocated an additional budget of PHP 500 million (USD 10.4 million, EUR 8.5 million) to assist the country’s aquaculture sector in overcoming difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The start-up that believes seaweed can change the world

• Karen Scofield Seal, World Economic Forum • Fisheries & Aquaculture

Demand for plant-based food and nutrition is growing. According to recent retail sales data, grocery sales of plant-based foods in place of animal products grew 29% in the U.S. to $5 billion between 2017 and 2019.

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Ceiba, a sailboat capable of transporting 350 tons, being built in Costa Rica

• Marco Sibaja, The Tico Times • Energy Solutions • Fisheries & Aquaculture

On the shore of a mangrove in the Central Pacific of Costa Rica, a huge sailboat is beginning to take shape. But it’s not just any vessel. It will carry cargo with the force of the wind, and without fossil fuels.

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