Quick Dips
Curated topical articles on the Blue Economy

Green Marine Sets New Performance Indicator for Ship Recycling

The Maritime Executive Shipping & Ports

Green Marine is broadening the scope of its North American environmental certification program by adding a performance indicator for responsible ship recycling.

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'Nature is taking back Venice': wildlife returns to tourist-free city

The Guardian Tourism

With the cruise ships gone and the souvenir stalls closed, the coronavirus lockdown has transformed La Serenissima’s waterways

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Sailing towards a plastic-free ocean

UN Environment Program Plastics & Pollution

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) World Conservation Monitoring Centre and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology teamed up to undertake a microplastics research and Ocean Literacy project linked to the Japan-Palau Goodwill Yacht Race—celebrating 25 years of Palau’s independence.

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The need to protect at least 30% of the ocean by 2030

James Nikitine, World Ocean Initiative

In a guest blog, James Nikitine, marine science communicator and chief executive of Manaia Productions, calls for more widespread, connected and effective marine protected areas.

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Could Our Energy Come from Giant Seaweed Farms in the Ocean?

Annie Sneed, Scientific American Energy Solutions Fisheries & Aquaculture

A U.S. agency is funding projects to help create a bioenergy industry based on macroalgae.

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OES: Wave and Tidal Energy from 5GWh to 45GWh in 10 Years

Marineenergy.biz Energy Solutions

Global wave and tidal stream energy production has risen tenfold over the last decade, according to a report issued by Ocean Energy Systems (OES).

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How to decarbonize shipping without spending billions

Wajiha Khalid & Sheikh Ahsan Ullah Tariq, World Economic Forum Shipping & Ports

The maritime shipping industry is only responsible for around 2-3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. However, in order to achieve the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) ultimate goal of a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions from shipping by 2050, the industry requires some drastic innovation.

Read more → (9 minute read)


Protecting Wetlands Yields Staggering Economic Benefit, Study Finds

Kimberly M.S. Cartier

Mangrove forests, marshes and seagrass beds protect inland areas from storm surges and strong winds. Over long periods, coastal wetlands like these build up sediment that mitigates sea level rise and local land subsidence.

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Bill’s advance bodes well for US offshore aquaculture

Liza Mayer Fisheries & Aquaculture

A bill that seeks to establish national standards for offshore aquaculture in the US was re-introduced March 11 at the US House of Representatives.

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For decades, scientists puzzled over the plastic ‘missing’ from our oceans

Britta Denise Hardesty and Chris Wilcox of CSIRO Plastics & Pollution

You’ve probably heard that our oceans have become a plastic soup. But in fact, of all the plastic that enters Earth’s oceans each year, just 1% has been observed floating on the surface. So where is the rest of it?

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Catalyzing the Blue Revolution: How Investors Can Turn the Tide on Aquaculture

Robert Jones Fisheries & Aquaculture

Seafood is one of the most important food sources for the world’s seven billion people—for as many as three billion people, it is a key source of protein. That significant demand is projected to rise as the population adds upward of two billion more people in the next 30 years.

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Introducing the Sustainable Blue Economy Finance Principles

World Wildlife Fund

The ocean economy is estimated to be worth US$24 trillion and investors and policy-makers are increasingly turning to the ocean for new opportunities and resources.

However, unsustainable commercial activities and ineffective governance are eroding the natural capital on which economic growth depends.

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We need a paradigm shift in economic thinking

World Ocean Initiative, The Economist Group

Naoko Ishii, chief executive and chair of the Global Environment Facility calls for a fundamental rethink in our relationship with the environment to support a sustainable economy and social well-being.

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We need a paradigm shift in economic thinking

The Economist Group, World Ocean Initiative

Naoko Ishii, chief executive and chair of the Global Environment Facility calls for a fundamental rethink in our relationship with the environment to support a sustainable economy and social well-being.

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Green ammonia could slash emissions from farming – and power ships of the future

Bill David Energy Solutions Shipping & Ports

Ammonia can be burnt for energy like fossil fuels but with no carbon emissions.

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Dive tourism: how to minimize your environmental impact

UN Environment Program Tourism

The Reef-World Foundation—the international coordinator of the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Green Fins initiative—is reminding tourists of the huge environmental impact their actions can have and is calling on people to protect coral reefs by following a few simple guidelines.

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Blue Vision? Progress by the G20 on marine plastic pollution

World Ocean Initiative, The Economist Group Plastics & Pollution

Ambitious plans to tackle marine plastic pollution were announced by the G20 last year. The World Ocean Initiative assesses its progress and focuses on Japan ahead of the World Ocean Summit in Tokyo on March 9th-10th.

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Seaweed based feed could see methane emissions from cows reduced

UC Davis

The introduction of seaweed to cows' feed can reduce methane emissions by 58%, according to research from UC Davis.

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Here's how eating sea urchins could help save the oceans' dying kelp forests

Charlotte Edmond, World Economic Forum Energy Solutions Fisheries & Aquaculture

Spiky, voracious and multiplying at an alarming rate, sea urchins are destroying marine ecosystems around the world. The solution? Eat them, according to one company.

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Report Details Climate Impact on Coral Reefs, Warns of 'Human Tragedy'

Jessica Corbett, EcoWatch.

In a new report about how the world's coral reefs face "the combined threats of climate change, pollution, and overfishing"  a London-based nonprofit calls for greater global efforts to end the climate crisis and ensure the survival of these vital underwater ecosystems.

Read more → (5 minute read)