Farming should not only sustain people with healthy food, writes Jigmi Y. Thinley. If humans are to survive on Earth, it must also revitalise nature and sustain vital planetary systems, instead of poisoning and over-exploiting them. And to do that farming must be organic.
Earth's vitality and the power of happiness Jigmi Y. Thinley | 19th June 2014 Activism Food Farming Oceans Climate Change Water broad-beans-cut.jpg Farming should not only sustain people with healthy …
On current trends the world will contain 33 billion tonnes of plastic by 20150, writes Mae Wan Ho, and much of it will litter the oceans, concentrating toxins and damaging marine life throughout the food chain. The alternative is to classify the most toxic plastics as 'hazardous waste', and for all plastics to be reused and recycled in 'closed loop' systems.
Fighting the plastic plague in our oceans Dr Mae-Wan Ho | 13th February 2015 News Oceans Waste Toxics Recycling beach-plastic-qr-mexico-cut.jpg On current trends the world will contain 33 billion …
Orcas from Puget Sound and the Strait of Georgia are under threat,in large part due to toxic organic compounds in the marine food chain, writes Sierra Rayne. To give them a fighting chance, the nearby community of Victoria, British Columbia must install advanced sewage treatment - rather than just dump its wastewater largely untreated into the orcas' ocean home.
… working on the environmental fate of toxic organics such as PBDEs and dioxins in the …
Rising levels of carbon dioxide don't just cause global warming, writes Jason Hall-Spencer. Another consequence is acidifying oceans - which promises to disrupt marine ecology around the world, killing off oysters and corals, while boosting 'nuisance species' like stinging jellyfish.
Attack of the stinging jellyfish: the winners of ocean acidification Jason Hall-Spencer Plymouth University | 16th December 2015 Comment Oceans Climate Change COP21 Ecology Fishing jellyfish-cut.jpg …
For long periods animals in ancient oceans could live only in shallow surface waters, above vast 'dead zones' inhabited only by anoxic bacteria, writes Richard Pancost. Human activity is now creating immense new dead zones, and global warming could be helping as it reduces vertical mixing of waters. Could this be the beginning of something big?
Ancient 'dead seas' offer a stark warning for our own future Richard Pancost University of Bristol | 29th January 2016 Comment Oceans Ecology Geology Pollution plesiosaur-cut.jpg For long periods …
Oxygen levels in our oceans are falling, writes Lee Bryant, producing growing 'dead zones' where only the hardiest organisms can survive. The causes are simple: pollution with nutrient-rich wastes, and global warming. But the only solution is to stop it happening - or wait for 1,000 years.
Ocean 'dead zones' are spreading - and that spells disaster for fish Lee Bryant | 9th April 2015 News Oceans Pollution Farming Waste red-tide-dead-fish-cut.jpg Oxygen levels in our oceans are …
Increased atmospheric CO2 is doing much more than warming the Earth, writes Tony Juniper - it's also acidifying oceans, something that is already having major impacts on ocean ecology in the Southern Ocean and the North Atlantic. Likely effects: more CO2 in the atmosphere, more jellyfish.
COP21 warned on global warming's evil twin - acidifying oceans Tony Juniper | 3rd December 2015 News Oceans Climate Change Ecology Science coccolith-cut.jpg Increased atmospheric CO2 is doing much …
Plastic pollution in the oceans is impacting every level of marine life, writes Kate Rawles, from micro-plankton to whales. And here is your chance to do something about it - join a research expedition to the Azores next month to study the problem and develop solutions!
Microplastic ocean pollution - will you join our research voyage? Kate Rawles | 5th August 2014 Comment Oceans Pollution Consumerism Toxics Oil Science rozalia-fishing-plastic-ceri-lewis-cut.jpg …
High levels of toxins mercury and cadmium have been found in all organs of the whales recently beached on Scotland's North Sea coast, including the brain. The research shows that rising mercury levels in the oceans leads to toxic stress in the long-lived marine mammals.
Heavy metal poisoning in Scotland's beached whales The Ecologist | 15th February 2016 News Oceans Cetaeans UK Scotland Pollution Toxics Health pilot-whale-cut.jpg High levels of toxins mercury and …
The entire marine food chain is in danger of collapse because of a decline in tiny phytoplankton, which scientists are linking to climate change and rising ocean surface temperatures.
Marine food chain hit by ocean global warming The Ecologist | 29th July 2010 News Marine Oceans Natural World Climate Change Fishing plankton.jpg The entire marine food chain is in danger of collapse …
Is the species that dwells peacefully within its habitat with respect for the rights of other species the one that is inferior? Or is it the species that wages a holy war against its habitat, destroying all species that irritate it? Paul Watson questions man's monopoly on advanced brain power, and finds a planet suffused with a far deeper intelligence than our own.
The cetacean brain and hominid perceptions of cetacean intelligence Captain Paul Watson | 22nd August 2014 Comment Oceans Ecology whale-shark-diver-cut.jpg Is the species that dwells peacefully …
The world's mussel population could be under threat as rising CO2 levels in atmosphere and oceans makes their shells weaker and more brittle shells - making them more vulnerable to stormy seas, and predation.
Carbon dioxide threat to mussels' shells The Ecologist | 24th December 2014 News Climate Change Oceans mussels-cut.jpg The world's mussel population could be under threat as rising CO2 levels in …
A coalition of fishing, consumer, and environmental groups are suing the FDA for its 'unlawful' approval of Aquabounty's GM salmon, as it relied on treating the fish as an 'animal drug' under a 1938 law, and ignored serious risks to wild salmon and fishing communities.
FDA sued for 'unlawful' approval of GMO salmon The Ecologist | 1st April 2016 News GMOs Fishing Oceans Law Regulation Ecology USA Panama atlantic-salmon-cut.jpg A coalition of fishing, consumer, and …
The oceans are awash with plastic, write Magnus Johnson & Melanie Coull, with dire effects on marine wildlife mistaking it for food. But it's not just big animals like basking sharks, turtles and albatrosses that suffer. The very worst damage may be caused by particles too small for the eye to see, and the toxic chemicals that cling to them.
Over 268,000 tonnes of ocean plastic - neglect it at our peril Magnus Johnson Melanie Coull | 11th December 2014 Comment Oceans Waste Toxics Natural World garbage-laden-beach-of-anchado-cut.jpg The …
By keeping marine herbivores in check, predators from sharks to crabs are essential to keep the oceanic 'carbon pump' working - with seaweed and plankton fixing atmospheric carbon and bearing it down to deep waters and sediments before getting munched. It's time to give ocean predators the protection they deserve, for climate's sake.
Predators keep the oceans' carbon pump ticking Peter Macreadie Euan Ritchie Graeme Hays Trisha B Atwood | 29th September 2015 Comment Oceans Climate Change Science Ecology killer-whales-cut.jpg By …
As the Arctic warms and its ice melts, growing numbers freight ships are reaping big savings from the 'Arctic short cut'. But this is creating a huge risk of invasive species spreading in ballast water and on hulls - disrupting both Arctic and temperate ecosystems.
The Arctic shipping boom - a bonanza for invasive exotic species Natasha Geiling Smithsonian | 27th June 2014 News Oceans Transport Natural World Ecology redkingcrab-cut.jpg As the Arctic warms and …
Previous studies have focused on the impact of acidification on coral reefs but not other marine organisms
Ocean acidification to devastate commercial fisheries The Ecologist | 10th December 2009 News Oceans Fish Natural World Climate Change fishermenatsea.jpg Previous studies have focused on the impact …
A small fishing community in Mexico's Baja California is playing involuntary host to a gigantic tourism and real estate development, writes Viviane Mahieux. And while the branding of the Tres Santos resort is all about mindfulness, ecology and sustainability, the reality is one of big money, high level politics, and the unaccountable deployment of state violence against those who dare oppose it.
Brutal, opaque, illegal: the dark side of the Tres Santos 'mindfulness' eco-tourism resort Viviane Mahieux | 29th April 2016 News Mexico USA Development Oceans Fishing Finance Tourism …
The dispersant used in the Deepwater Horizon clean-up appears to be more toxic to corals than crude oil, writes Danielle M DeLeo. It also increases the concentration of oil in seawater, leading to higher, more toxic exposures of oil components when they come into contact with corals and other marine organisms.
Dispersants sprayed after Deepwater Horizon oil spill more toxic than oil alone Danielle M DeLeo | 26th April 2015 News Oceans Oil Pollution USA oil-dispersant-spraying-cut.jpg The dispersant used in …
As if melting ice in Polar bears' Arctic habitat was not enough, Norwegian scientists have found that organic pollutants such as pesticide residues are disrupting their thyroid and endocrine systems, adding a further threat to the species' survival.
Polar bears at risk from pollution as well as warmth Tim Radford | 24th April 2015 News Toxics Pollution Ecology Oceans Waste Arctic Mammals polar-bears-cut.jpg As if melting ice in Polar bears' …
The global catch of fish and seafood is falling at three times the rate reported by the United Nations and urgently needs to be slowed to avoid a crash, reports Christopher Pala. The finding comes in a new study for Nature which quantifies the huge illegal industrial fish pillaging taking place around the world, together with artisanal catches, which in 2010 added over 50% to UN estimates.
Oceans running out of fish as undeclared catches add a third to official figures Christopher Pala | 19th January 2016 News Fishing Oceans Regulation Law Un Food fish-auction-tokyo-cut.jpg The global …
Even creatures at the bottom of the ocean aren't sheltered from the detritus of human civilization, writes Sarah Zielinski. Everywhere they have looked, scientists have found plastic, glass and other trash littering the seafloor and collecting in canyons.
Our garbage is polluting the remotest, deepest ocean Sarah Zielinski | 1st July 2014 Comment Oceans Waste sea_plastic-cut.jpg Even creatures at the bottom of the ocean aren't sheltered from the …
If SeaWorld is looking to build a new park in California, it will be steering well clear of San Francisco, writes Laura Bridgeman. Following a campaign backed by scientists and hundreds of high school students, the City has declared cetaceans' right to be free and 'unrestricted in their natural environment'.
San Francisco declares: every whale and dolphin has the right to be free Laura Bridgeman | 23rd October 2014 Activism Cetaceans Oceans Cities USA bottlenose-dolphin-flips-cut.jpg If SeaWorld is …
The main impacts of climate change - changing weather patterns, melting glaciers, sea level rise - are well known. But its ability to reduce oxygen levels in the deep ocean is little reported...
Suffocating seas: how climate change is reducing ocean oxygen levels Carrie Madren | 26th July 2010 News Climate Change Natural World Oceans Seas Oxygen Marine Life oceandepths.jpg The main impacts …