Quick Dips
Curated topical articles on the Blue Economy

Decoding Ocean Plastic for Brands: Small Details, Big Impacts

Vanesa Coleman, Sustainable Brands Plastics & Pollution

While the terminology soup of recycled plastic sourcing is daunting, at the end of the day every ton of plastic recycled and put back into a circular economy is part of the solution. The key for brands is to be clear and honest in communications with customers.

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To Achieve 30% Ocean Protection Governments Can Look Beyond Conventional Tools

Kalinina, M. et al., The Pew Charitable Trusts

Alternatives to marine protected areas could help meet global conservation target by 2030.

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Citizen Science Increasingly Informs Ocean Expertise—and Policy

Leda Cunningham & Jim Palardy, The Pew Charitable Trusts Tourism

Journal article, with Pew co-author, suggests how to boost public engagement in conservation research.

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Artificial nutrients, a silent problem of our oceans

World Ocean Initiative, The Economist Group Plastics & Pollution

A guest blog by Jonas Svensson, head of Global Innovation and Technology at UNOPS’ S3i.

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How to spot the difference between a real climate policy and greenwashing guff

Damian Carrington, The Guardian Energy Solutions Plastics & Pollution

Unless actions by governments and corporations cut emissions in the here and now, a dose of scepticism is in order.

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'The ocean is our life-support system': Kerstin Forsberg on why we must protect our seas

Nell Lewis, CNN

CNN spoke to Forsberg about her passion for the ocean, its importance for humankind and the steps we must take to keep it healthy.

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This innovative project fuses journalism and music to highlight lawlessness at sea

Ian Urbina, World Economic Forum Fisheries & Aquaculture

Environmental crimes and human rights abuses are rife at sea and their offshore status means they're largely hidden from the world.

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This is what Burger King's experimental new packaging looks like

Jordan Valinsky, CNN Business Plastics & Pollution

Burger King is giving its most-used items, like utensils, straws and wrappers, an environmentally friendly makeover as part of the company's continued push to reduce waste.

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Breakthrough Study Shows No-take Marine Reserves Benefit Overfished Reefs

Wildlife Conservation Society Newsroom Fisheries & Aquaculture

A powerful, long-term study from WCS adds scientific backing for global calls for conserving 30 percent of the world’s ocean.

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Scientists Are Breeding Sea Stars in a Lab to Rehabilitate Warming Oceans

Todd Woody, Bloomberg Green Fisheries & Aquaculture

Climate change helped to kill most of the world’s sunflower sea stars. Resurrecting them could revive carbon dioxide-sequestering kelp forests.

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Reshaping the two biggest carbon-emitting sectors to meet new US climate targets

Bill Prindle, The Hill Energy Solutions Shipping & Ports

On Earth Day, President Biden pledged to cut 50 to 52 percent of U.S. carbon emissions from 2005 levels by 2030. A prerequisite for rejoining the Paris Agreement, this commitment reflects scientific assessments of the reductions needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

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This startup grows kelp then sinks it to pull carbon from the air

Alexis Benveniste, CNN Business Energy Solutions Fisheries & Aquaculture

Carbon emissions are a huge contributor to climate change, so companies are getting creative about finding ways to suck the heat-trapping element out of the atmosphere and slow global warming.

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Installing solar panels over California’s canals could yield water, land, air and climate payoffs

Roger Bales & Brandi McKuin, The Conversation Energy Solutions

Climate change and water scarcity are front and center in the western U.S. The region’s climate is warming, a severe multi-year drought is underway and groundwater supplies are being overpumped in many locations.

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In Search of the Rivers that Carry Plastic into the Ocean

Lourens Meijer, The Ocean Cleanup Plastics & Pollution

1000 rivers account for nearly 80% of global riverine plastic emissions into the ocean, according to our study, published in Science Advances.

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Seaweed quadruples fish immunity, study finds

Janelle Kirkland, USC Fisheries & Aquaculture

Scientists at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia have found they can quadruple the immune response of farmed fish by adding powdered seaweed to their diet.

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‘Historic’ German ruling says climate goals not tough enough

Kate Connolly, The Guardian Energy Solutions

Germany’s supreme constitutional court has ruled that the government’s climate protection measures are insufficient to protect future generations, after a complaint brought by environmentalist groups.

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Is Your Fish Fake? Report Shows Rampant Global Seafood Fraud

Tiffany Duong, EcoWatch Fisheries & Aquaculture

How can you tell that the fish on your plate is the real thing? You can't — and that's the problem.

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Watching a coral reef die as climate change devastates one of the most pristine tropical island areas on Earth

Sam Purkis, The Conversation

The Chagos Archipelago is one of the most remote, seemingly idyllic places on Earth. Coconut-covered sandy beaches with incredible bird life rim tropical islands in the Indian Ocean, hundreds of miles from any continent. Just below the waves, coral reefs stretch for miles along an underwater mountain chain.

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World Tuna Day: How sustainable are tuna fisheries?

World Ocean Initiative, The Economist Group Fisheries & Aquaculture

Intensive fisheries management is leading to a recovery in some tuna stocks, but improvements are not consistent across regions.

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Ocean Tech Innovation Needs a (Nonfinancial) Capital Injection

David Hume, The Liquid Grid

The ocean tech startup community could certainly benefit from more financial capital, but for tech startups that build their businesses around disruptive innovation, more emphasis needs to be placed on two oft forgotten ingredients that fuel innovation: social and human capital.

Read more → (7 minute read)