Latest news with #oceanconservation
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Boater shares video in attempt to raise awareness of growing threat to oceans: 'Why are those not banned?'
Boater shares video in attempt to raise awareness of growing threat to oceans: 'Why are those not banned?' A dramatic TikTok video is sparking outrage for spotlighting one of the ocean's most pervasive and preventable threats: balloon pollution. Posted by boating company Vessel Mastery (@vesselmastery), the video shows a boater fishing a bundle of balloons out of the sea. "Please do your part," the caption urges. "The ocean belongs to the creatures that live in it, we are guests." The creator's plea includes a call to pop balloons before they float away and educate kids about the destruction they cause. "We are the example," the caption continues. "Please share this to as many people as possible!" Just moments after the captain retrieves the balloons, we see a pod of whales swimming near the surface. The message raises important questions about a celebration staple that has become an environmental menace. Although balloons are associated with celebrations and joy, they wreak havoc on marine ecosystems. When ecosystems get thrown off balance, the effects ripple across our food chain. Plus, local communities that rely on the ocean for fishing, tourism, and other livelihoods can suffer. Most balloons are made of plastic that doesn't break down. Instead, it turns into microplastics, which harm human health when they enter our food, drinking water, and bodies. Balloons can float for miles before landing in sensitive habitats. Marine animals often mistake deflated balloons for jellyfish or other food, leading to fatal blockages or injuries. Research shows that balloons are among the most lethal forms of ocean debris to seabirds. A 2019 study published in Scientific Reports found that birds that ingested soft plastic such as balloons were 32 times more likely to die than those that ate hard plastic. Balloon ribbons and strings also entangle birds, turtles, and other wildlife. Fortunately, organizations such as the Ocean Conservancy are pushing for public education campaigns and balloon-release bans, while some U.S. states and municipalities have already enacted local restrictions. For anyone planning a celebration, the eco-conscious move is to skip the balloons entirely or switch to reusable or biodegradable decorations. Commenters on the video didn't hold back. "Why are those not banned?" one asked. "I pull any & everything I see that doesn't belong there," another added. "Nearby on shore as well when I'm passing by. Straws… plastic… litter etc the wind blows it all in." A third chimed in, "Thanks for your service my friend." Should we be pouring money into nuclear fusion technology? Yes — it'll pay off It's worth exploring Not from our tax dollars No — it's a waste Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. Solve the daily Crossword
Irish Times
18 hours ago
- General
- Irish Times
‘For the benefits, you need billions': Restoration of 20m oysters to Galway Bay not enough, says community group
Twenty million native oysters have been restored to St George's Bed in Galway Bay over the past four years following the work of a community organisation but billions are needed, says the group. While 20 million may sound considerable, Cuan Beo programme manager Michael Officer says the State must think bigger if native oysters are to become self-sustaining, because 'for the benefits, you need billions'. Oysters are the 'kidneys of the ocean' – one mollusc can remove algae particles and sediment from up to 240 litres of seawater per day. They grow on one another as part of a reproductive strategy and create towering reefs that safeguard coasts from erosion and are biodiversity hot spots. A native oyster shell. Photograph: Laoise Murray However, a parasite affecting native oysters and years of overfishing mean stocks across Europe are a small fraction of what they once were. Native oysters are no longer sold or eaten. READ MORE Irish oyster culture now depends on farming the Pacific oyster which was introduced in the 1970s to replenish stocks. Pacific oysters are unaffected by the parasite, but the taste is of lower quality. 'Oysters have been important to people in Ireland since there were people on the island,' says Noël Wilkins, professor emeritus of genetics at the University of Galway. Houses all along Ireland's coast were built on the back of the oyster industry and they have been a source of 'fast food' for centuries. As the traditional flat-bottomed oyster fishing boats decayed on the shoreline, coastal dwellers have all but forgotten the meaning of native oysters to their communities. Oyster shells in a flat-bottomed boat used for scoping. Photograph: Laoise Murray However, Cuan Beo has been using education, art, environmental science and policy strategies to reconnect locals to life in the sea since 2016. The organisation is run by master oyster farmer Diarmuid Kelly, researcher Colm O'Dowd and oyster farmer Gerry O'Halloran. 'We set it up because we weren't being listened to as individuals,' says Kelly. 'We wanted to emphasise to people that the land doesn't end when you come to high water, that there's a whole body of life out there, and a whole lot of people making a living from it.' 'People upstream have no idea that what they do is affecting oysters downstream', he says. Kelly adds that habitats are being polluted by agricultural runoff, leaking septic tanks and urban rainwater upstream, which flow into the bay water where oyster colonies are like 'sitting ducks'. Fortunately, he says the water in southeast Galway Bay has been upgraded to a class A standard by the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority , although Kelly is mindful of Cuan Beo's role in improving the water. The group is looking forward to seeing national legislation establishing 30 per cent of the Republic's maritime area as a Marine Protected Area by 2030. The Government's pledge is greater than the 20 per cent required under the European Union nature restoration directive. Pacific oysters. Photograph: Laoise Murray Cuan Beo are planning an eco-credit project to quantify the value of oyster restoration and incentivise private financing of environmental projects. The organisation has received the maximum in local government and EU funding that can be allocated for the project. Consequently, it needs additional investment to scale up oyster restoration. Meanwhile, children in Clarinbridge primary school have been creating clay shells from moulds of ancient oyster shells with Galway-based artist Claire McLaughlin. These will be laid on the seabed as a surface upon which new oysters can grow. 'The children and the present oystering community [are] using this gift from the past to wish them well in their restoration,' says McLaughlin. Ceramic shells moulded from ancient native oysters. Photograph: Laoise Murray
Al Jazeera
09-07-2025
- General
- Al Jazeera
The Take: What would happen if coral reefs disappeared?
Coral reefs are dying at a record speed, putting a backbone of global food chains at critical risk. More than 80 percent of coral reefs are now hit by mass bleaching. Reefs feed millions, protect coasts and shape economies. What happens when they vanish – and is the world doing enough to stop it? In this episode: Heather Starck (@HeatherStarck), executive director, Coral Reef Alliance Episode credits: This episode was produced by Manuel Rápalo and Marcos Bartolomé, with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Kisaa Zehra, Kingwell Ma, Remas Alhawari and Mariana Navarrete. It was edited by Alexandra Locke. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Joe Plourde mixed this episode. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad Al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take's executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio. Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on Instagram, X, Facebook, Threads and YouTube
RNZ News
08-07-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Preserving New Zealand's unique marine environments
Photo: Supplied New Zealand is known for having one of the most unique marine environments on the planet. The Department of Conservation describes this country as a world hotspot for biodiversity not just on land, but also at sea. Experts estimate up to 85% of New Zealand's wildlife could be in the ocean. But campaigners want more done to ensure this biodiversity and the marine environment is preserved. Raewyn Peart, the Policy Director Environmental Defence Society, believes this country is now far behind international best practice both in legislation and with the protections in place for special marine areas. She is drawing up proposals for reform backed by case studies on the Marlborough Sounds, the Otago Coast and most recently the Bay of Islands .
Globe and Mail
07-07-2025
- Health
- Globe and Mail
Globe Climate: Another tick-infested summer
If you're reading this on the web or someone forwarded this e-mail newsletter to you, you can sign up for Globe Climate and all Globe newsletters here. Good afternoon, and welcome to Globe Climate, a newsletter about climate change, environment and resources in Canada. Award-winning photographers Shane Gross and Cristina Mittermeier are using their images to aid global marine and freshwater ecosystem conservation efforts, and to bring public attention to the importance of our oceans. Gross and Mittermeier joined journalists Jenn Thornhill Verma and Ryan MacDonald in a pair of conversations at a Globe and Mail event in Toronto in partnership with Rolex. Catch on up their discussion about the power of photography to spur change, responses to some of the best-known images, and current areas of focus. Now, let's catch you up on other news. For this week's deeper dive, Nova Scotians watch their backs – and each other's. Health science reporter Jennifer Yang writes that as temperatures warm, tick populations, and their diseases, do as well. With each year that passes, Canadian seasons are getting warmer, for longer, and ticks are expanding their range. And as tick populations have taken off, so, too, have the diseases they can spread through their bites. Nova Scotia's South Shore has become home to some of the country's densest populations of blacklegged ticks – a vector for the bacterium that causes Lyme disease. 'People who haven't even seen ticks before are seeing them, and seeing many,' says Donna Lugar, founder of the Nova Scotia Lyme Disease Support Group, which she formed in 2013. 'I've never heard such horror stories as I've heard this year.' And climate change is making this a reality for more and more people. 'Canada's heating probably faster than anywhere else in the world, and the ticks are moving into those places as they warm,' says Nick Ogden, director of the modelling hub division with the Public Health Agency of Canada, who has studied ticks and Lyme disease since the 1990s. 'The range expansion of the tick has happened faster than the modelling we did a decade ago. Because it's actually warming faster than the climate models were telling us back then.' Communities like Lunenburg County in Nova Scotia offer a glimpse of what lies ahead for many other swaths of the country, where temperatures are rising and the ticks are inching in. Meanwhile, nationally reported cases of Lyme disease have climbed from 522 in 2014 to a preliminary count of 5,239 last year. Until a vaccine is a possibility, Canadians are finding other ways to fight back. Pesticides are being developed and could help, if it too can adapt to warming temperatures. Cathal Kelly: Under blistering summer temperatures, sports power through Peter Kuitenbrouwer: With classroom temperatures soaring, schoolyards need more trees Steve Flamand: Ottawa, bring back Canada's EV incentive program Clayton Thomas-Müller: Wab Kinew's development dreams threaten our people's way of life Trump's green-bashing is precisely why it's a good time to buy green When you live so close to Washington it can feel like it sets the world's agenda, but on the energy transition, it doesn't, writes John Rapley. He says that while Trump rambles on anti-renewables, the energy transition proceeds. Plus, the reduction in the price of assets and products (because of Trump) creates a golden opportunity for both investors and consumers. We've launched the next chapter of The Climate Exchange, an interactive, digital hub where The Globe answers your most pressing questions about climate change. More than 300 questions were submitted as of September. The first batch of answers tackles 30 of them. They can be found with the help of a search tool developed by The Globe that makes use of artificial intelligence to match readers' questions with the closest answer drafted. We plan to answer a total of 75 questions. We want to hear from you. Email us: GlobeClimate@ Do you know someone who needs this newsletter? Send them to our Newsletters page.
