In The News

The World Is Drowning in Rubbish: World Today

Kate O’Neill December 5, 2019
China once accepted half the world’s plastic trash, and recycled much of that. Increased waste and sloppy cleaning encouraged China and other Asian nations to reject massive shipments from wealthy nations. “Until recently, these countries had been guilty of ‘distancing’, the practice of shifting waste ‘out of sight, out of mind’, both literally and in people’s imaginations,” explains Kate O’...

Scarborough Shoal: Rappler

Jose Antonio A. Custodio November 14, 2019
China has repeatedly harassed foreign ships in the South China Sea. “The harassment of the Liberian registered tanker the Green Aura by Chinese naval and coast guard elements off Scarborough Shoal has generated a huge amount of debate and discussion, especially with regard to the manner in which the Duterte administration attempted to sweep it under the rug,” reports Rappler. “The man of the hour...

Rising Seas Threaten 300 Million People: Guardian

Jonathan Watts November 11, 2019
Homes of 300 million people are facing threat from rising sea levels across the world, more than three times the previous estimate of 80 million, according to a study published in Nature Communications. The risk assessment was revised after a more sophisticated method applied artificial intelligence to compensate for overestimation of land altitudes. The biggest change in estimates occurs in Asia...

Flooded Future: Climate Central

October 31, 2019
Researchers continue to warn that previous climate studies may have been conservative and – without immediate mitigation and interventions – flooding, wildfires, extreme weather will be worse than earlier predicted. Accurate measurements of coastal elevations are costly, and past models overestimated elevations of forested areas. New research based on improved measurements of coastal elevations...

Invading Vietnam’s Waters: Times of India

Nayan Chanda October 28, 2019
China’s expansive claims over the South China Sea and ongoing aggression push Vietnam to consider filing a suit with the Hague for violating the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The international court has already ruled that China’s claims are overly expansive, but the country has not complied. In July, Chinese survey ships entered Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic Zone and disrupted oil drilling...

US Ends Two Science Advisory Boards: Hill

Miranda Green October 6, 2019
Donald Trump issued an executive order in June, urging departments to consider eliminating a third of the country’s advisory panels. Steps have been taken to disband two: the Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Invasive Species Advisory Committee run by the Interior Department. Such panels are typically staffed by...

Ocean in a Changing Climate: IPCC

September 25, 2019
The ocean covers more than 70 percent of earth’s surface. “Human communities in close connection with coastal environments, small islands (including Small Island Developing States, SIDS), polar areas and high mountains are particularly exposed to ocean and cryosphere change, such as sea level rise, extreme sea level and shrinking cryosphere,” notes the recent 1,170-page IPCC report “The Ocean and...