NOAA and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) are guiding Mission: Iconic Reefs (M:IR) restoration partners with coral return protocols to help ensure the safe and efficient return of thousands of corals evacuated from their shallow in-water nurseries to land-based facilities this July. This summer’s historic marine heatwave prompted the emergency removal and massive collaboration between M:IR partners and multiple additional practitioners in order to safeguard the genetic diversity of Florida’s coral reef-building species. 

The new protocols outline temperature markers, coral health check procedures, transportation methods, and monitoring requirements. Ocean temperatures at in-water nursery locations must be below 87˚F for at least seven days and must be cleared of all diseased or dead corals before evacuated corals can be returned. An official Coral Health Veterinarian will conduct on-site health checks and provide a 30-day reintroduction certification. Transport protocols ensure that holding containers do not exceed 87˚F, are shaded, offer appropriate space, and are inspected at the end of transport. Corals that show signs of distress, such as tissue loss or excessive mucus, will be quarantined on land.

Restoration partners Coral Restoration Foundation, Mote Marine Laboratory, and Reef Renewal began the return efforts in late-October, using the protocols to transport corals from temporary safekeeping at land-based facilities at Mote in Sarasota, Summerland, Islamorada, and Key Largo; Keys Marine Laboratory; FL SeaBase; The Reef Institute; Aquarium Encounters; and Plant a Million Corals. The corals will be closely monitored for disease, predation, and mortality for a 30-day minimum in order to reduce stressors they may encounter when they are later outplanted on the reef, help stave off disease outbreaks, and help prevent introduction of pathogens into the wild. 

Assessment of coral health ongoing

In mid-August, NOAA’s M:IR Monitoring and Assessments Team conducted a 10-day assessment at segments of all seven iconic reef sites in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) to document the condition of the outplanted corals. At every location, the team observed fully bleached and recently dead corals. Most sites had pockets of corals that were only partially bleached, and in some cases, completely unbleached corals were observed. Boulder corals showed much less bleaching and minimal mortality, as compared to the branching elkhorn and staghorn corals. Approximately 30% of outplanted staghorn and 45% elkhorn coral surveyed died, most likely due to heat stress. Approximately 90% of elkhorn and staghorn corals surveyed exhibited signs of heat stress with bleaching, partial bleaching, or paling of the tissue. 

The assessment results are preliminary due to eight additional weeks of high temperature stress that occurred after the survey was conducted, which may have further impacted coral bleaching and mortality. A follow-up cruise is planned for February 2024, and  data from both cruises will help NOAA biologists understand the full extent of the marine heatwave impacts and inform future Mission: Iconic Reefs restoration strategy. Outplant method, temperature trends, bleaching thresholds, site comparisons, and survival and mortality rates by age and outplant dates are variables that will be considered. 

Corals that remained in the in-water nurseries and survived the heatwave will be considered for outplanting on a case-by-case basis under approval by FKNMS. Those corals will be outplanted to portions of M:IR sites where restoration efforts have not taken place;  their health and success will be tracked separately from pre-heatwave restoration areas. 

Additional guidance will be provided for future outplanting and monitoring by NOAA/FWC officials, who continue to assess conditions of Florida’s Coral Reef after the unprecedented heat wave.

Join Forces with The Manta Trust in the Global Call for Ocean Ambassadors

The Manta Trust is on the lookout for dedicated youth to step into the role of Ocean Ambassadors. As ambassadors of this crucial cause, young individuals aged 13-18 are invited to be the driving force behind positive change in ocean science and conservation.

The Manta Trust’s Ocean Ambassador program promises an unparalleled experience, offering participants the chance to connect with marine scientists, engage in enlightening discussions, and even conduct interviews with experts in marine conservation. The initiative seeks vibrant young minds ready to utilize their creativity and communication skills to amplify messages of hope and awareness about the ocean.

Working hand in hand with The Manta Trust, Ocean Ambassadors will collaboratively develop and implement projects to promote ocean science and conservation. From school initiatives to local community projects, these young advocates will play a pivotal role in inspiring positive transformation.

Participation in the Ocean Ambassador program ensures the acquisition of new skills and experiences, enriching applications for future opportunities. The call is open globally, extending an invitation to youth from all corners of the world, regardless of location or prior experience. If you meet the eligibility criteria and are ready to make waves in ocean conservation, The Scuba News encourages you to heed the call from The Manta Trust!

Applications are currently open, and aspiring Ocean Ambassadors are urged to complete and submit the online application form by December 10, 2023. Dive into this unique opportunity and be a part of the global movement for a healthier and more sustainable ocean.

Learn more and apply at: https://education.mantatrust.org/getinvolved

Ilha do Fogo, a 42-hectare island off the coast of Mozambique, has fully transitioned to 100% renewable energy. 

The island is a safe haven for one of the world’s most vulnerable marine species… sea turtles. In order to protect Ilha do Fogo’s habitat, for all wildlife, the island’s directors vowed to keep the island as low-impact on the environment as possible. 

Many islands are powered almost entirely by fossil fuels, however, the environmental impact of producing this type of energy went against everything the Fire Island Conservation team is working towards. 

The NPO’s chief of operations, Jan van Deventer, states “Running Ilha do Fogo purely on solar energy just makes sense. We had already developed a number of solar stills to harvest fresh water on the island, so the transition to run all our energy needs on solar power was the logical next step.”

The 120KW solar plant was installed on Ilha do Fogo in November 2022. Although the island has accommodation for guests in the manner of ‘floating’ ensuite tents, it has only recently opened up to eco-tourism. With the solar system currently operating at a fairly low usage level, it is generating an average of 6000 kWh per month. This translates to a reduction of around 70,000 kg of CO2 annually. However, it can easily generate 13,000 kWh per month to accommodate our guests on the island, which equates to an annual reduction of 156,000 kg of CO2.

The project’s conservation manager, Esther Jacobs, states “The island is truly a biodiversity hotspot and we aim to do everything in our power to protect its marine and terrestrial populations. Running on diesel-power energy goes against our ethics. Not only would this type of energy create a huge carbon footprint just in transporting fuel to the island, but would also emit pollutants, including nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, and particulate matter, which can be harmful to the wildlife.”

Even the accommodation was carefully considered to minimise any environmental impact.  “There are 10 tented suites sitting atop platforms that were built to ensure the existing ecosystems and vegetation stayed intact,” says Jan. “With each tent sleeping two people, we could feasibly have 20 guests staying at any given time. However, we want to keep guest capacity to a maximum of 12, ensuring our impact remains at a minimum.”

Ilha do Fogo accommodation is part of Unfound Africa’s portfolio of unparalleled destinations and undiscovered locations. Each offering in the collection has been selected for uniqueness, inspiring guests to protect their biodiversity and culture. A percentage of the proceeds from all Unfound Africa bookings are donated to Fire Island Conservation projects. 

You can read more about Fire Island Conservation on their website: www.fireislandconservation.com 

PADI Pros train with OceanShot partners for underwater coral reef panel at the Global Citizen Forum at COP28

PADI^®. is joining OceanShot co-founders for the historic underwater panel on positive ocean change at the Global Citizen Forum, which is taking place alongside COP28 in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE December 6-7 2023. The first-of-its-kind underwater panel will dive deep on the importance for coral reef protection to elevate the urgent need for ocean action.

PADI’s CEO and President Drew Richardson will join Dr. Brosnan and Mr. DeJoria at the Global Citizen Forum’s first-ever underwater panel to purposefully descend beneath the surface in the hopes of calling people around the globe to positive ocean action and inspiring them to both explore and save the ocean.

OceanShot is a coral reef ecosystem restoration project co-founded by globally-recognized marine scientist and climate risk expert Dr. Deborah Brosnan, and global philanthropist, environmentalist and entrepreneur John Paul DeJoria, launched in partnership with the Government of Antigua and Barbuda. The initiative uses technology that mimics the design and shape of natural reefs to restore coral and invite back marine life, as well as protect nearby coastal communities from storm surge and sea level rise.

Dr. Richardson is one of the most influential people in scuba diving and has transformed PADI’s mission to create a billion ocean Torchbearers^TM.  who are taking local action for global impact and united by a shared vision to achieve balance between humanity and the ocean.

OceanShot’s first living-lab hub, designed to be a place where innovators can test their technologies aimed at environmental protection, was deployed in Antigua and Barbuda. In June 2021, the Global Citizen Forum adopted OceanShot as one of its supported flagship initiatives. This year, OceanShot’s co-founders invited PADI as a partner in its world-class restoration model.

“Coral reefs are among the most ecologically and economically valuable ecosystems that drive our blue economy,” says Dr. Richardson. “Scuba divers can not only explore beneath the surface and fuel ocean change as Torchbearers, taking part in a range of meaningful diver citizen-science actions driving real results. As global citizens, we have the opportunity to be  changemakers that inspire more innovative and positive solutions for the health of coral reefs, the ocean and our shared blue planet.”

“We’re doing this work because our oceans need us and we need them,” says Dr. Brosnan. “Humans have mapped the human genome, landed astronauts on the moon, and in less than twelve months developed a viable vaccine to combat a global pandemic. It is time to focus the same attention on our oceans with bold, ambitious, and achievable initiatives.”

PADI recently conducted a special underwater training session with Dr. Richardson, Dr. Brosnan and Mr. DeJoria in preparation for the upcoming underwater panel in December where they will share their knowledge and passion for ocean conservation with the world.

To learn more about the first underwater panel at the Global Citizen Forum visit globalcitizenforum.org/ocean-shot/

OceanShot is managed and operated by Dr. Deborah Brosnan. For more information, visit https://www.deborahbrosnan.com/oceanshot.html

A waterspout is a powerful columnar vortex that forms over water and typically resembles a funnel-shaped cloud. Some are associated with cumulus congestus, some with cumulonimbus clouds, and others with cumuliform clouds. A fair-weather waterspout’s life cycle has five stages. A prominent circular, light-colored disc with a larger, darker area around it at first appears on the water’s surface. A pattern of light-and dark-colored spiral bands emerges from the dark spot on the water’s surface after the formation of these coloured discs on the surface. Then, around the dark spot with what seems to be an eye, a dense ring of sea spray known as a “cascade” appears. The waterspout eventually transforms into an apparent funnel that leads from the water’s surface to the cloud above. The spray vortex can reach heights of several hundred feet or more, and as it moves, it frequently leaves a visible wake and a related wave train. The life cycle of the waterspout is finally completed as the funnel and spray vortex start to dissipate as the warm air inflow weakens.

Most waterspouts are weak, small rotating columns of air over water rather than sucking up water. Stronger variants, produced by mesocyclones, do occasionally exist, despite generally being weaker than their land-based counterparts.

Although they have been spotted in the Great Lakes, tropical and subtropical regions are where waterspout formation is most common. But, nine waterspouts were reported on Lake Michigan in the United States at once in 2012. Although they are rare, waterspouts have been observed in conjunction with lake-effect snow precipitation bands.

Tornadoes over water, also known as “tornadoes watersprouts” are formed from mesocyclones in a manner that is essentially the same as how tornadoes on land are formed in connection with severe thunderstorms. Tornadic waterspouts would also include a tornado that crosses from land to water. True tornadic waterspouts are consequently more uncommon than their fair-weather counterparts.

Any object within 90 cm (1 yard) of the water’s surface, including fish of all sizes, frogs, and even turtles, can be lifted into the air, depending on how quickly the winds from a waterspout are whipping. Sometimes, a waterspout can pull small animals like fish out of the water and up into the cloud. Even if the waterspout stops rotating, the fish in the cloud can still be carried over land and tossed around by the wind until the cloud’s currents are no longer able to keep the fish in the air. People up to 160 km (100 miles) inland have reported seeing fish fall from the sky.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, it was a widely held belief among sailors that firing a broadside cannon volley dispersed waterspouts. Captain Vladimir Bronevskiy, among others, asserts that it was a successful tactic because he saw a phenomenon disappear in the Adriatic. The Mary Celeste was abandoned, and a waterspout has been suggested as the cause.

Watersprouts have long recognized as significant marine hazards. Watercraft, aircraft, and people are all in danger from stronger waterspouts. It is advised to stay well away from these phenomena and to always be alert by monitoring weather reports. When waterspouts are expected to move onshore or have already been sighted over coastal waters, the National Weather Services frequently issues special marine warnings or tornado warnings.

Want to find out how you can enhance the sustainability of your business and attract the growing market of eco-conscious travellers?

Join The Reef-World Foundation on Thursday, 9 November, 2023 at 20:00 GMT+08 in their webinar, “Deep Dive Into Boosting Your Business’ Sustainability”. The event is perfect for marine tourism operators (scuba diving, snorkelling and liveaboard) interested in making their business more environmentally friendly while delivering high-quality services. Unlock the potential to not only protect and conserve our ocean, but also skyrocket your revenue!

During this session, Reef-World’s Programmes Officers, Emma Levy and Erin Canto will chat with three industry leaders from around the world to explore various strategies and practical tips to boost your business’ sustainability. The guest speakers will share their experiences, success stories and provide valuable insights to help you take your business to the next level.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals, exchange ideas and gain inspiration to create a more sustainable business.

Register now and secure your spot for this informative and engaging online event at https://deep-dive-into-boosting-your-business.eventbrite.com

I greatly admire today’s young people — but I sure don’t envy them. We older generations are leaving them a hell of a mess.

Granted, many people of all ages are trying to help the world shift to efficient, cost-effective renewable energy and avert the increasingly devastating impacts of a heating planet. But some don’t want to give up the conveniences and luxuries they’ve become accustomed to, from jet-setting vacations to private automobiles, so they don’t push too hard for change.

And despite international agreements and significant progress on many fronts, those with real power to effect change are still propping up the fossil fuel industry. As oil companies rake in record profits, the world’s biggest economies, the G20 countries, invested a record US$1.4 trillion in public money in coal, oil and gas last year — despite ongoing pledges since 2009 to phase out fossil fuel subsidies.

It pains me to mention political “leaders” who oppose almost all climate policy and action — some publicly rejecting climate science altogether! The excessive support some show for polluting, inefficient energy sources makes me wonder who they’re really working for. They’re certainly not prioritizing the interests of those they were elected to represent, including those too young to vote.

It’s no wonder so many young people are angry — and sad, anxious and afraid. We’ve failed them. When they should be enjoying relatively care-free lives with friends and family, learning and gaining experience, many have become rightfully terrified for their futures. The resulting despair can be paralyzing.

It’s up to older generations to foster hope by taking concrete action to get off fossil fuels and stop destroying natural spaces. But we must also recognize the serious, often long-term mental health effects youth can experience in facing this crisis. We need to ensure they have access to adequate mental health support and tools for self-care.

After waiting too long for adults to make the right choices, many young people are finding that channelling their anger and fear into action is one antidote to despair. From climate strikes to community activism, they’re finding ways to connect with each other and shape their future.

Some have courageously mounted legal challenges. In Montana, 16 young people successfully sued the state this month for violating their right to a clean and healthful environment.

“Because of their unique vulnerabilities, their stages of development as youth, and their average longevity on the planet in the future, plaintiffs face lifelong hardships resulting from climate change,” the judge wrote.

Many are hoping the landmark decision will energize other youth climate lawsuits, including one next year in Hawaii.

In Canada, seven young people are suing the Ontario government over climate issues. And in a case supported by the David Suzuki Foundation, 15 youth from seven provinces and one territory are suing the federal government for violating their rights to life, liberty and security of the person under Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and violating their right to equality under section 15, because they’re disproportionately affected by the climate emergency.

Again, young people shouldn’t have to spend their time and resources going to court to compel governments to do what they should be doing in the first place: ensuring their constituents live in a healthy environment and that youth of all ages can expect a bright future.

It’s exhausting enough just living with the growing climate crisis, even if you aren’t in the midst of fires or floods or smoke-clogged skies — or worse. Knowing so many solutions exist and that change is possible offers hope but can also be a source of frustration, as there are so many barriers to progress.

Young people are especially vulnerable. I urge all youth to talk about and get active in climate issues if you can — whether it’s participating in a march, writing a letter or joining an organization — but remember also to enjoy your life. We still have each day, and it’s important and energizing to have fun, get out into nature, spend time with friends and family, listen to music, dance, play and just live.

Let’s not be overcome by despair. A better future is achievable. We older generations owe those coming after us our consistent, focused efforts to do whatever we can to get there!

David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation. Written with David Suzuki Foundation Senior Writer and Editor Ian Hanington.

Learn more at davidsuzuki.org.

Reef-World has expanded its impact, welcomed new team members, and embraced growth while prioritising employee well-being

The Reef-World Foundation — the leading voice in sustainable marine tourism and the international coordinator of the UN Environment Programme’s Green Fins initiative —released its Impact Report for 2022 – 2023, outlining a year of significant achievements, innovative initiatives and groundbreaking collaboration.

In a year marked by global challenges, The Reef-World Foundation has been resilient and continued to excel in its mission to protect and conserve coral reefs and related ecosystems. The organisation has expanded its impact, welcomed new team members and embraced the opportunity for growth, all while remaining dedicated to the well-being of its employees.

Chair of The Reef-World Foundation, Vic Hancock Fell, said, “The past year has been both challenging and transformative. We’ve embraced new faces and a culture of care, further igniting our passion for safeguarding coral reefs and our natural world. We’ve redefined our strategic objectives to drive immediate, collective action in the marine tourism industry.”

Impact Report Highlights

• Our Programmes: Green Fins, Reef-World’s flagship program, continues to set environmental industry standards and has made significant strides in protecting coral reefs globally. The Green Fins network now covers over 60 countries, an expansion from 14 in the previous year! Through the Youth Ambassador Programme, 2,432 students in the Dominican Republic are educated about marine ecology, creating Youth Ambassadors for reef protection.
• Sustainability Targets: Reef-World diligently works toward achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a particular focus on SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SDG 14 (Life Below Water). 
• Impactful Partnerships: In partnership with Reef-World, PADI established Eco Centers to recognise continuous conservation commitments. Reef-World’s supported survey, featuring partners like PADI, RAID, PSS, and ZuBlu, garnered 2,400 responses from April to June 2022, uncovering evolving travel trends and sustainability’s growing role in post-COVID-19 tourism.
• Expanding Communications: Reef-World’s refined approach amplifies its global message of sustainable marine tourism through increased social media engagement, press coverage, and a reformed communications strategy.
• Diversity and Inclusion: Reef-World’s commitment to diversity, equality and inclusion is reflected in its core values, culture of care and workforce capacity-building.

In the face of pressing climate change impacts, the need for immediate climate action is undeniable. The Reef-World Foundation has set the stage for a future where marine tourism will champion sustainable practices as the norm, offering solutions and hope for the world’s coral reefs.

Looking Forward

As Reef-World continues to grow and innovate, it remains committed to promoting environmental conservation and employee well-being. The organisation’s dedication to a Culture of Care and its efforts in fostering Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) set a shining example for the marine conservation sector and beyond.

“The launch of Green Fins Hub is positively a dream come true for us all, seeing the fruits of our labour over the years, and this is only the beginning. There is lots more work to be done, and now Reef-World has stronger foundations upon which to build, the only way is onwards and upwards,” said JJ Harvey, Operations Director at the Reef-World Foundation 

The Reef-World Foundation is immensely grateful for the continued support of its grant funders: UN Environment Programme, IDB Lab, The Matthew Good Foundation, Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority and GIZ (German development agency) in Jordan.

Reef-World would also like to express its gratitude to international partners whose vital support has resulted in significant tangible benefits for our work and mission: PADI; Professional SCUBA Schools International (PSS); Explorer Ventures; 1% for the Planet; ZuBlu; Snorkel Venture, GSTC; Dive O’Clock; WildSocks, Charitable Travel and Seven Dragons, without whom these achievements would not be possible. 

Find the full 2022–2023 Impact Report on Reef-World’s website.

Why this petition matters

Started by John Hourston

More than 100,000 dolphins and small whales are hunted and killed every year. Most hunts are unregulated, illegal and unsustainable with unknown impacts on populations. 

I’m a volunteer at Blue Planet Society so I can help to conserve our amazing marine wildlife – and I’m determined to help save dolphins and small whales.

I’m urging Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan, and Aksel V. Johannesen, Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands, to stop the hunt of EU/UK protected dolphins and small whales and transition to sustainable wildlife tourism. 

Please sign petition calling for dolphin and small whale hunting to end.

Learn more and Sign the Petition at: Stop the Hunt of Dolphins and Small Whales

How should old fishing nets and ropes be prepared for recycling?

In this video, we provide you with six easy steps to follow in order to properly prepare your used, broken, abandoned, and discarded fishing gear for recycling.

We separate the nets by type of plastic, rinse them in clean water, and store them in a dry, secure location after removing any metal weights and buoys. By taking these actions, you can lessen the impact that ghost gear has on marine ecosystems and, depending on how many nets you recycle, you can also raise money for your neighbourhood. Never burn or throw away used nets or ropes because doing so harms the environment and you.

What is Ghost Gear?

Ghost fishing gear, in particular, is one of the biggest threats to our oceans. Any fishing equipment that has been left behind, misplaced, or otherwise thrown away is referred to as “ghost gear,” including nets, line, rope, traps, pots, and floats. Other common terms include derelict fishing gear (DFG) and abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG). These marine pollutants are among the most dangerous objects in our oceans and can kill fish, marine mammals, and other marine life. They also present a navigational risk and decompose into other pollutants like microplastics.

Ghost gear is primarily caused by snagging, tangles with other fishing gear, weather, and accidentally being cut by passing marine traffic. Intentional discard by harvesters is less common and typically results from IUU (illegal, unreported, and unregulated) fishing, in which boats may cut loose their gear to avoid being apprehended by authorities.

More than eight million metric tons of plastic enter the oceans every year, and between 600,000 and 800,000 metric tons of ghost gear are thought to enter the oceans annually globally. In the Canadian Arctic, ghost gear has been identified as a significant source of marine debris, much of which comes from offshore.

Ghost gear is a threat to Canada’s waters and the rest of the world, and we have recognized this and made it a national priority. We are dedicated to taking effective measures to support ghost gear prevention, recovery, and responsible disposal by working with numerous organizations, including:

• Indigenous groups
• fish harvesters
• the aquaculture industry
• non-profit organizations
• communities

Let’s work together to keep our oceans free from ghost gear.

YouTube Video

With all the problems in the world, from massive inequality to the climate crisis, you’d think voluntary guidelines to improve corporate environmental and social practices would be a no-brainer. After all, addressing those critical issues can also boost a company’s bottom line.

But for companies with business models based on activities that harm the air, water and soil and create greater inequalities, ESG (environmental, social and governance) investor policies are a threat. That’s why Big Oil is fighting back. Much of the “anti-woke” rhetoric you hear from right-wing politicians and media is funded by fossil fuel interests.

Given what we know about the industry’s decades-long efforts to stall action on climate change by sowing doubt and confusion regarding the clear scientific evidence, it’s no surprise that the same people are putting enormous amounts of money and resources into obstructing efforts to introduce greater corporate responsibility. ESG encourages investors to consider criteria such as environmental risk, pay equity and transparency in accounting.

A report from U.S.-based Pleiades Strategy found that in 2023, fossil fuel money was behind 165 pieces of legislation introduced in 37 states “to weaponize government funds, contracts, and pensions to prevent companies and investors from considering commonplace risk factors in making responsible, risk-adjusted investment decisions.”

Most of the legislation, aimed at restricting the use of ESG investment criteria, was based on “model bills circulated by right-wing organizations that targeted diverse aspects of state financial regulation…”

Those organizations get much of their support from fossil fuel interests. They include four of the country’s most influential think tanks: the American Legislative Exchange Council, Heritage Foundation, Heartland Institute and Foundation for Government Accountability. All are affiliated with the State Policy Network, which receives funding from the fossil fuel billionaire Koch family, the Guardian reports.

The Texas Public Policy Foundation (which gets money from Koch-supported organizations, as well as ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Chevron) and oil and gas lobbyist the American Petroleum Institute have also been involved.

Some have worked to get laws passed to severely punish people protesting pipelines.

The study found the groups had limited success, getting only 22 of the proposed 165 anti-ESG laws passed, thanks to opposition from business, labour and environmental advocates, but laws that did pass — even those that were watered down — could affect climate and other policies to protect people and the planet.

Report co-author Connor Gibson warned that lack of success isn’t likely to deter oil interests. “We think this is the latest iteration of climate denial and obstruction and delay,” he told the Guardian.

It’s astounding that people would put their short-term economic interests ahead of human health, well-being and survival, but that’s what they’re doing with greenwashing, furtive propaganda campaigns and influence over politicians, governments and media.

The fossil fuel economy is about more than just money, though. It’s also about consolidating power and wealth, which creates greater inequality. It’s far more difficult for a small number of people and companies to control access to energy and the wealth it generates when it comes from sun and wind rather than coal, oil and gas.

Numerous studies show the clean energy transition would save enormous amounts of money in everything from health care to energy expenses and that continuing to use coal, oil and gas will become increasingly costly and deadly.

Leaving fossil fuels behind won’t even be that hard on investors, according to a recent study published in Joule. It found that in high-income countries, the richest 10 per cent would bear two-thirds of investment losses from scaling back fossil fuel production, with the wealthiest one per cent taking half that hit. Because most moneyed people have diverse portfolios, the study found, losses would only make up about one per cent of their net wealth.

Researchers also found it would be cost-effective for governments to compensate those less well off for any losses.

We have every reason to switch rapidly from fossil fuels to renewable sources — and to conserve energy and improve efficiency. We’re also increasingly finding that the corporate, political and media justifications for avoiding or delaying the necessary shift are brought to you by the industry itself, often clandestinely.

It’s time to get fossil fuel money out of politics and leave the oil in the ground.

David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation. Written with David Suzuki Foundation Senior Writer and Editor Ian Hanington.

Learn more at davidsuzuki.org.

The longest-living mammal is thought to be the bowhead whale, which can live for more than 200 years. The whale was likely bomb lanced sometime between those years, as evidenced by the discovery in May 2007 of a 15 m (49 ft) specimen caught off the Alaskan coast with the 90 mm (3.5 in) head of an explosive bomb lance of that same model. The whale’s age at the time of death was calculated to be between 115 and 130 years.

Life Expectancy of Other Whales

• Orca 50-90 years.
• Humpback 45-50 years.
• Beluga 35-50 years.
• Blue Whale 80- 90 years.
• North Pacific Right Whale 70 years.
• Short-Fin Pilot Whale 45 years.

After living in captivity for more than 50 years, Lolita the orca passed away. (18 August 2023) The orca, also known as Tokitae and Toki, displayed significant signs of distress over the past two days before she passed away, according to a Facebook post from the Miami Seaquarium. Lolita’s demise has been connected to a potential renal problem.

Toronto, Ont./ Traditional territories of several First Nations including the Williams Treaties First Nations, Huron-Wendat, the Anishnaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chippewas, and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation — Ecojustice lawyer, Laura Bowman, has welcomed the reversal of the decision by the Ontario government to remove 7,400 acres of environmentally sensitive land from the Greenbelt. This is a key victory for everyone in Ontario including dedicated community activists, environmental groups, farmers, and Indigenous Peoples.

Following the announcement this afternoon by Premier Ford, she said:

“Greenbelt giveaways were never going to meet our affordable housing needs. Finally, today the Ontario government put the brakes on one key part of a biased process that is undermining plans to develop in urban areas.

“Developing on the Greenbelt would have resulted in large, unsustainable, and unaffordable homes. Destroying environmentally sensitive land, and destroying Ontario’s future food security, is not the answer to Ontario’s housing crisis.

“But the provincial government is still using poor planning policies such as highways through the Greenbelt and forcing communities like Hamilton to expand onto greenspaces. These are big giveaways to many of the same speculators who benefited from the Greenbelt removals, and many followed the same kind of biased, chaotic process. These other attacks on greenspace around the Greenbelt and across Southern Ontario need to be reversed too.

“It is time for this provincial government to stop treating our greenspace like a windfall to be granted to whoever comes begging and return to balanced planning to protect the environment, health and people.

“Today’s decision is thanks to the journalists who have covered this scandal, to the local communities who rallied and campaigned for its reversal, and to environmental groups like Ecojustice and our allies who highlighted the importance of the Greenbelt to this province.”

About:

Ecojustice uses the power of the law to defend nature, combat climate change, and fight for a healthy environment. Its strategic, public interest lawsuits and advocacy lead to precedent-setting court decisions and law and policy that deliver lasting solutions to Canada’s most urgent environmental problems.

Ecojustice Newsletter

As you walk outside, watching birds take flight or a squirrel run up a tree, take a moment to consider the activity beneath your feet. A new study shows more than half the world’s life is in soil — including 90 per cent of fungi, 85 per cent of plants and more than 50 per cent of bacteria. Just a teaspoon of healthy soil can contain up to a billion bacteria and more than a kilometre of fungi, Nature reports.

That makes soil “the singular most biodiverse habitat on Earth,” according to the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. We often take soil, and the biodiversity it supports, for granted, but it’s critical to understand it.

“Organisms in soil play an outweighed impact on the balance of our planet. Their biodiversity matters because soil life affects climate change feedbacks, global food security, and even human health,” lead researcher Mark Anthony, an ecologist at the Swiss Federal Research Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, told the Guardian.

Soil, which makes up the top layer of Earth’s crust, is where we grow almost all our food and it’s second only to the ocean for carbon storage. We should dig deeper into understanding it — especially because topsoil degradation and loss are a growing ecological problem. The United Nations says one-third of global soil has already been affected, mainly by intensive agricultural practices that cause and speed up erosion and runoff, nutrient and organic matter depletion and disruption of natural processes and cycles.

Soil can also be susceptible to drought and floods, especially where sustainable agricultural practices aren’t employed. Dry soils don’t support life well and can be too baked to absorb water, making them prone to erosion and nutrient loss during sudden rains, with potential flooding below from runoff.

To address the global heating that’s causing weather to become more extreme and unpredictable, making farming challenging, we must shift to renewable energy, used efficiently and wisely. But there are immediate, proven ways to protect and make better use of the soils we need to grow food — and they come with climate benefits.

Quick-growing cover plants like clover, alfalfa, barley, oats, wheat and legumes can prevent erosion, fix nitrogen, replenish nutrients, control weeds and pests, slow evaporation and reduce ground-level temperatures.

Because ploughing up topsoil to plant seeds for monoculture crops has contributed to soil loss and depletion, no-till farming — gaining widespread acceptance worldwide — also helps, especially combined with cover crops.

The Biggest Little Farm documentary film illustrates (on a relatively small scale) how working with nature can keep soils in place and healthy while producing nutrient-rich, flavourful food, even under increasingly volatile California weather conditions.

As the farm’s website says, “healthy soil is built from the top down, which means every decision we make above it matters. In short this is why ecologically regenerative farming methods that restore biodiversity above and within the soil (cover cropping, compost application, managed grazing, etc.) create some of the most nutrient-dense and flavorful food that only nature can provide.”

Other methods such as agroforestry (integrating trees and shrubs with agriculture), urban and vertical agriculture, a shift toward plant-based diets and more can help maintain and enrich soils while safeguarding the climate, food systems, waterways, lands and ocean.

We must also protect and restore natural lands and the soils within them. We can’t keep paving or planting over forest and wetland soils through which mycelial networks and root systems connect with nutrients, chemical processes, plants, animals and each other, providing services our health and lives depend on — oxygen production, flood control, food, carbon sequestration, animal habitat, recreational opportunities and more.

The study on soil life also reminds us that, although we’ve been developing large-scale agriculture as if we had a complete understanding of natural systems, our knowledge has been and is still lacking. The researchers note that their study’s margin of error is large and that there’s much still to learn. And yet, we’ve been treating this essential, life-filled, life-giving layer of Earth like we treat the rest of the planet: as if it’s there to exploit without fear of consequences.

But we’re now seeing devastating consequences. Adopting better conservation, restoration and agricultural practices would help soil, food security, climate and health.

David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation. Written with David Suzuki Foundation Senior Writer and Editor Ian Hanington.

Learn more at davidsuzuki.org.

Learn about the algae in Lake Ontario, how the governments of Canada and the United States are managing the lake’s nutrient levels, and what you can do to help!

Details

Date & Time: Oct 19, 2023 12:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada) Zoom

Description

AGENDA (times given in ET)

12:00 – 12:02 Welcome – Emma Tahirali, Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP).

12:02 – 12:15 Nutrients and algae 101: Understanding and identifying algae, successes and challenges in managing nutrients – Marie-Claire Doyle, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).

12:15 – 12:20 Audience Q&A #1

12:20 – 12:40 Taking Action: Controlling nutrient inputs to the lake – Reducing nutrient impacts to Lake Ontario nearshore – Upgrades to wastewater infrastructure in the city of Toronto (10 min): Bill Snodgrass, Toronto Water – Improving water quality in Western NY’s Lake Ontario basin with soil health practices (10 min): Caitlin Tucker, American Farmland Trust.

12:40 – 12:45 Audience Q&A #2

12:45 – 12:55 How to report nuisance and harmful algae – Emma Tahirali, MECP – Brian Duffy, NY State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

12:55 – 1:00 News you can use: Steps you can take to reduce nutrient pollution and algal blooms in Lake Ontario.

Learn More and Register

In the azure depths off the coast of Hurghada, Egypt, a pioneering initiative is making waves in the world of marine tourism. The innovative concept is the creation of an Underwater Military Museum. This endeavour not only promises to attract more tourists to alternative destinations but also to relieve the pressures on the fragile natural coral reefs that have long been the region’s main diving attraction. Diving and snorkeling enthusiasts are in for a treat, with the opportunity to explore a captivating collection of 15 pieces of military equipment strategically placed in three distinct underwater locations, providing them with an unforgettable subaquatic experience while championing sustainable tourism practices.

The need for such a solution became evident due to the rapid development and the subsequent surge in tourist numbers experienced in the Red Sea Governorate, particularly in the bustling city of Hurghada. This development led to an unprecedented increase in diving activities on the area’s natural coral reefs. Some sites saw over 200,000 dives per year, significantly exceeding the recommended safe diving limit of 22,000 dives per site annually. This relentless exploitation threatened the very ecosystems that drew visitors in the first place.

Recognising that the responsibility for preserving the environment is a shared one, the community and its organizations united to seek solutions and promote the sustainable use of the Red Sea’s unique and delicate living resources. In response, the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA) took a proactive role in addressing the excessive use of natural coral reefs.

In close collaboration with the Red Sea Reserves Sector, environmental monitoring efforts revealed the deterioration of several sites off the coast of Hurghada due to excessive diving and snorkeling activities. It was clear that action was needed to reduce the strain on these resources, shifting from passive observation to proactive measures.

Thus, HEPCA conceived a plan: the creation of artificial coral reefs by strategically placing retired military equipment in front of Hurghada. The idea garnered widespread support from the Red Sea Governorate and the Ministry of Environment. The multifaceted goals of this initiative include:

1. Relieving Pressure on Natural Reefs: By establishing new diving sites, the project aims to alleviate the stress on natural coral reefs caused by excessive diving activities.
2. Promoting Historical Diving: The sunken antiquities are set to captivate diving enthusiasts from around the world, introducing them to the exciting world of diving on submerged historical artifacts.
3. Boosting Marine Life: Over time, the sunken equipment will evolve into natural coral reefs, bolstering the local fish populations and enhancing the region’s biodiversity.
4. Sustainable Tourism: The addition of artificial coral reefs enables the implementation of a diving site management plan based on their capacity, shifting the diving industry towards a sustainable and economically vital activity for Egypt.
5. Collaborative Preservation: This project exemplifies collaborative efforts between civil society organizations such as the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA), the Red Sea Reserves (Ministry of Environment), and the Red Sea Governorate. Together, they work as custodians of Egypt’s natural wealth, committed to its sustainable preservation for future generations.
6. A Model for the Future: Success in this project could serve as a blueprint for other regions facing similar challenges. Plans are already underway to add four more sites in the Hurghada region, signaling a comprehensive shift from the overuse of natural coral reefs to sustainable practices.
7. Global Coral Conservation: Egypt’s coral reefs, classified as one of the world’s last coral refuges, face threats from climate change. International organizations recognize their significance as a beacon of hope for coral preservation. Projects like this contribute not only to Egypt’s cultural heritage but also to its reputation as a steward of global coral conservation.

This underwater wonderland promises to not only captivate divers but also safeguard Egypt’s precious coral reefs for generations to come, all while underscoring the vital importance of sustainable tourism practices in today’s world.

All images copyright of HEPCA.

Learn more about the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA) at: https://www.hepca.org

This unique vessel has a crew of three, including two British architects and a duck tolling retriever named Shackleton, who took it on the adventure of a lifetime.

In February 2018, architects Guylee Simmonds and David Schnabel purchased a 100-person survival lifeboat with the dream of completing a four month Arctic expedition. They spent over a year transforming their 36 foot vessel Stodig before departing from the British port of Newhaven in May 2019 destined for the Arctic. Their route covered over 5,000 km and included passages along Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, ultimately leading them to Tromso, the largest city in the Arctic situated high in the Norwegian Fjords.

The aim of the expedition, according to Simmonds and Schnabel, was “…to explore this wild and isolated landscape, demonstrate the ability of design innovation to facilitate self sufficiency in such extreme environments and to document and share the adventure through photography and film.”

To learn more about their amazing adventure visit the Stodig website.

BoatBlurg Newsletter

In March 2023, word swept through the boating community that a giant seaweed ‘blob’ was en route to eastern North America.

Known in professional circles as The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt, the mass began formulating off Africa’s west coast over the winter before making its annual spring journey across the Atlantic.

The blobs form every year between the Caribbean and West Africa in the Sargasso Sea (hence the name), at which point the currents push it west towards North America. A unique combination of nutrient-rich water, steady currents, and bad luck created an unusually large mass in 2023, which had governments and businesses all over the Eastern Seaboard scrambling to prepare for its arrival.

The mass spanned more than 5000 miles (8000 kilometers) and stretched all the way from the west coast of Africa to the Gulf of Mexico. Several coastal areas were told to prepare for up to three feet of Sargassum on their beaches.

Not only is the seaweed a nuisance, it also rots once it reaches landfall, and the stench is enough to drive anyone off the beach. Sargassum contains sulfur, which has the distinct aroma of rotten eggs.

But while the ‘blob’ may be a scourge to boaters, it’s a boon for the ocean. The bloom is essentially a floating ecosystem that absorbs CO2 while providing food, nutrients, and resources to marine wildlife. It’s only once it reaches the coastline and beings rotting that it becomes propeller enemy #1.

However, between the stench and the risk to boaters and beachgoers, scientists have uncovered the biggest hazard of all — a new study has found the bacteria Vibrio present in high levels within decomposing algae trapped inside the Sargassum.

The infamous ‘flesh-eating’ bacteria is known as Vibrio vulnificus and is just one species of the genus. Infections of Vibrio vulnificus can be caused by eating raw or undercooked shellfish, as well as by exposure of open wounds to the bacteria.

Like, say, by going swimming where Sargassum is floating. Or by dropping anchor in a shallow bay anywhere off the East Coast.

Symptoms of Vibrio infection include vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain, with serious cases having the potential to cause the breakdown of skin. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says these can ultimately lead to necrotising fasciitis where the flesh around an open wound effectively “dies” and becomes necrotic.

The study’s authors are encouraging boaters and beachgoers to wash thoroughly if they come into contact with Sargassum. it should also be noted that Sargassum and algae can become sticky and adhere itself to other debris like floating plastic, driftwood, or other hazards.

According to Tracy Mincer, assistant professor of biology at FAU’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and Harriet L Wilkes Honors College, “Plastic is a new element that’s been introduced into marine environments and has only been around for about 50 years. Our lab work showed that these Vibrio are extremely aggressive and can seek out and stick to plastic within minutes. We also found that there are attachment factors that microbes use to stick to plastics, and it is the same kind of mechanism that pathogens use.”

“We really want to make the public aware of these associated risks. In particular, caution should be exercised regarding the harvest and processing of Sargassum biomass until the risks are explored more thoroughly,” he added.

In terms of the U.S. response near boating hotbeds, Florida’s Department of Health is advising residents and visitors to avoid Sargassum wherever possible.

A typical case of vibriosis lasts about three days, according to the CDC. However, people with a Vibrio vulnificus infection can become dangerously ill quickly. Advances cases may require intensive care and the possibility of limb amputation or significant removal of damaged skin and organs. About one in five people who become infected with Vibrio vulnificus will die, sometimes taking only 1-3 days from the onset of symptoms.

However, on a more positive note, scientists at the University of South Florida (USF), who are tracking the Sargassum using satellite imaging, say the amount in the Atlantic unexpectedly decreased by about 15% in May.

“[That] is good news for many coastal residents of Florida,” the university’s optical oceanography laboratory says on its website.

The Sargassum levels in the Gulf of Mexico are also expected to drop in June. However, researchers expect the large uptick in Sargassum masses over the past decade to continue. The leading theories surrounding the annual increase including excessive sewage and fertilizer levels in the Atlantic causing nitrogen levels to surge, creating an ideal environment for Sargassum to grow and bloom.

BoatBlurb Newsletter

Deep inside a Canadian mine, researchers made a remarkable discovery in 2016. They discovered the oldest body of water in the world at a depth of about 3 kilometres (1.8 miles). The water surpasses the record for the oldest known water and dates back a staggering 2 billion years. On November 25, 2020, a sample of Kidd mine water was added to the collection at Ingenium in Ottawa. (The Ingenium Centre is a state-of-the-art facility designed to protect and showcase Canada’s national science and technology collection)

Kidd Mine is the world’s deepest copper-zinc mine 3,014 m (9,888 ft) below the surface 24 km (15 mi) north of Timmins, Ontario.

Researchers used the chance to explore the mine more deeply after the discovery of the water. To ascertain the age of the water, they examined the gases that were trapped inside the water.

Texas Gulf Sulphur Company’s aerial geophysical survey in March 1959 revealed an anomaly in the Kidd-55 segment that called for ground investigation. In October 1963, a ground electromagnetic survey was carried out, and in November, a drill rig began drilling a 600-foot core sample. The core had an average copper content of 1.15%, an average zinc content of 8.64%, and 3.94 ounces of silver per ton, which was later confirmed by the Union Assay Office in Salt Lake City. In March 1964, a second hole was drilled, and two more were done in early April. After the board of directors meeting on April 16, 1964, a press release announcing the discovery of the copper-zinc-silver ore deposit at Kidd Mine was issued.

Officers of the company engaged in insider trading in Texas Gulf shares during the initial exploration of the site. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s subsequent lawsuit led to a historic ruling that established every market participant’s right to “relatively equal access to material information.”

Open pit mining was used to produce ore until the mine converted to underground mining in the year 1966. Copper, zinc, and a number of other metals are produced at the mine. Together, Kidd Mine and Met Site employ over 850 staff members and contractors. Kidd is widely regarded as a leader in health, safety and environmental performance and has received numerous regional and national awards for its achievements in these areas. The Mine employs the latest technology in its operations and is a significant driver of economic development in Northern Ontario. In 2016, Kidd Operations celebrated its 50th year of operation.

Too many people are consuming more than Earth’s systems can replenish. But while population growth is an important issue, overconsumption of energy and products is the more immediate and easily resolvable problem.

The wealthy, including middle-class people in rich countries, are responsible for many times the climate-altering emissions of lower-income people — the super rich especially. The Stockholm Environment Institute estimates that the world’s top 0.1 per cent emitted 10 times more per capita than the rest of the richest 10 per cent combined, more than 200 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year each.

Poorly insulated, inefficient large homes and buildings, large personal vehicles, yachts and private jets (and just flying a lot in general) all use considerable amounts of energy.

As the International Energy Agency points out, “Wealth, energy use, and the consumption of goods and services are unevenly distributed across the world. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are no exception.”

The IEA adds, “Globally, the top 10% of emitters were responsible for almost half of global energy-related CO2 emissions in 2021, compared with a mere 0.2% for the bottom 10%,” and “85% of them live in advanced economies” — including Canada.

The disproportionate numbers are equally shocking when considering wealth indicators within countries, which reveal the oversized footprint the tiny minority of excessively moneyed people have.

A recent study published in Nature Energy, “Emissions savings from equitable energy demand reduction,” found meeting the needs of 20 per cent of people in Europe who use the least energy while reducing demand from the top 20 per cent high energy users “can achieve considerable greenhouse gas emissions reductions of 11.4% from domestic energy, 16.8% from transport and 9.7% from total energy consumption.”

The study points out that while decarbonizing energy use — that is, stopping fossil fuel use — is essential, reducing energy demand in the Global North is a necessary step to meeting climate targets.

In its latest review, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found strategies to cut demand could reduce emissions by 40 to 70 per cent by 2050, compared to business as usual. Curbing use of everything from goods to energy among the well-off, which requires overcoming our wasteful consumerist habits, could help meet the needs of those experiencing energy poverty as emissions come down.

“We have to start tackling luxury energy use to stay within an equitable carbon budget for the globe but also to actually have the energy resources to enable people in fuel poverty to slightly increase their energy use and meet their needs,” said Milena Büchs, “Emissions savings” study lead author and professor of sustainable welfare at the University of Leeds, in a Guardian interview.

The study affirms that “those who have contributed most to climate change and who have greatest capacity to act should carry the greatest responsibility for reducing energy demand and emissions.” “Capacity to act” refers to the fact that the affluent could substantially reduce their environmental footprints by giving up or curtailing what many would consider “luxuries.” And, as the Guardian reports, “Rich people have more agency to cut their emissions and those of others” — not just in how they shop “but also how they act as citizens, investors, role models and workers.”

We should also consider the Jevons paradox when discussing consumerism. This implies that, rather than reducing demand, greater efficiency leads to lower costs, which increases overall demand. Let’s not just swap out one wasteful consumer society for another, albeit one with cleaner energy sources.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that the climate crisis is also a social justice crisis. Much of it has been caused by excessive consumption among the economically privileged — people and nations — who have benefited the most from it, while those who have contributed the least to the problem have been most devastated by its impacts — impacts that are cutting a wider swathe every day!

Addressing the climate crisis requires numerous solutions; the most critical is shifting quickly from coal, oil and gas to renewable energy. But we must also reduce overall energy use, and that starts with those who use the most. At the same time, policies and regulations that curb excessive consumption among the rich must also lift those less fortunate out of energy poverty. Better energy, better equity.

David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation. Written with David Suzuki Foundation Senior Writer and Editor Ian Hanington.

Learn more at davidsuzuki.org

The Reef-World Foundation, DiveAssure, and ZuBlu are launching a new collaboration to champion marine conservation while promoting sustainable diving practices. The symbiotic partnerships aim to increase awareness and implementation of environmental standards in the marine tourism industry through the Green Fins initiative, spearheaded by Reef-World in partnership with the UN Environment Programme.

Businesses have a unique opportunity to create a long-lasting impact through partnerships with conservation organisations. These partnerships show how tourism can go hand in hand with sustainability when businesses join forces with conservation organisations. By working together, these organisations and companies demonstrate their dedication towards sustainability and open doors to endless opportunities for growth and success in the tourism industry that benefit the people and the planet. 

As the number of divers continues to grow and make a comeback post-pandemic, studies have shown that there’s a strong demand for sustainability education from dive tourists. This resulted in the partnership between Reef-World, DiveAssure and ZuBlu to promote sustainable diving practices through one of Green Fins tools, the Green Fins Diver e-Course. The course is designed for recreational divers to build on their existing scuba diving knowledge and provide them with the skills and confidence to conduct environmentally friendly diving trips. This, in return, empowers them to use their consumer power to demand more sustainable practices.

Chloe Harvey, Executive Director at The Reef-World Foundation, said: “We’re thrilled to be taking this step with these two wonderful companies. This is a truly symbiotic partnership, one that furthers the business priorities of DiveAssure and ZuBlu, as well as delivering on our conservation objectives.  Reef-World has a long history of working with sustainability leaders in the diving industry, and with their support, we look forward to diving into a future where sustainability is at the heart of every dive adventure.”

What the partnerships entail for divers who have completed the Green Fins Diver e-Course:

• Get 20% off worldwide diving accident and dive-travel insurance from DiveAssure.
• Get 5% off scuba diving holidays booked with ZuBlu, a dive travel agency which has over 800 carefully chosen resort and liveaboard partners across 100 dive destinations worldwide.
• Reef-World to provide 10% off on Green Fins Diver e-Course for all DiveAssure and ZuBlu customers and members.

Besides offering a discount on their diving accident and travel plans, DiveAssure proudly supports top Green Fins Members across the globe with grants to fulfil their sustainability and conservation goals. Founded in 1999, DiveAssure has a goal of not only providing scuba divers with everything they might need in terms of safety and medical assistance, they are also committed to sustainability and the protection of our ocean. They champion responsible diving, endorse marine conservation, and continuously strive to minimise environmental footprints. Every quarter, DiveAssure evaluates initiatives proposed by Green Fins members — be it beach or reef cleanups, coral propagation, or setting up marine life nurseries. Dive centres keen to collaborate on such impactful endeavours are encouraged to reach out to info@greenfins.net for further details.

Tal Tamir, Business Development & Community Chief at DiveAssure, said: “We are thrilled about our new partnership with The Reef-World Foundation. We believe that sustainable diving is a key factor in preserving the beauty and biodiversity of our ocean. And that through education, we can raise awareness and drive positive change. The Green Fins courses empower divers and operators with knowledge about marine conservation, sustainable diving practices and the importance of protecting the ocean and its ecosystems — knowledge we encourage all our members to have. Green Fins Members are welcome to apply for funding for their blue-green initiatives, which are considered quarterly. Let’s do good together!”

With the “Explore the blue. Dive green.” tagline, ZuBlu celebrates sustainable businesses and encourages divers to be more environmentally conscious while on their adventures to contribute to a healthier ocean. Reef-World has proudly collaborated with ZuBlu since 2018, and this new partnership model represents a transformation in the impact they can have together. Their mission centres around improving the way travellers engage with the ocean. They believe every dive starts at home, and every decision made in planning a holiday can make a difference to the marine environment. With access to information on the sustainable practices implemented by their featured resort and liveaboard partners, they can ensure their customers find sustainable operators to book their ocean adventures with.

Adam Broadbent, co-founder and CEO at ZuBlu, said: “We are delighted to be deepening our collaboration with The Reef-World Foundation to further encourage more conscious divers. At ZuBlu, we want to empower our guests to be a force for good on their scuba diving adventures. And we are delighted to be rewarding Green Fins Divers with a 5% discount to acknowledge their commitment to the ocean.”

Join the movement to protect our ocean by taking the Green Fins Diver e-Course and receiving all the rewards that come from the partnerships.

Wanted: Divers, Paddlers, Shore Support Volunteers for the 20th Annual Sylvan Lake, Alberta, Underwater Cleanup.

Schedule

9am :: Registration and Waivers
10am :: Dive Safety Briefing and Divers Start
10:30am :: Paddlers at launch to assist divers (weather permitting)
12 Noon :: Lunch for participants & volunteers
1 pm :: T-Shirts for Volunteers

Details

Sponsored by Cathie McCuaig and Alberta Underwater Council – Scuba Diving, Underwater Hockey

Sylvan Lake Pier

September 24, 2023 from 11:00am to 3pm

All welcome :: On or off Facebook

Learn more at: Sylvan Underwater Cleanup, 2023

On July 6, the world’s average temperature was the hottest ever recorded, at 17.23 C. That beat the previous highs on… July 3 and 4! June was the hottest month ever, but July is shaping up to be even hotter. Experts expect more records to break over the next while, as an El Niño weather pattern combines with record emissions to drive temperatures up.

“We have never seen anything like this before,” Carlo Buontempo, director of Europe’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, told the Washington Post, noting that “we are in uncharted territory.” Temperatures are hotter than they’ve been in 125,000 years!

People worldwide are feeling the effects, with scorching heat from Africa to Europe, and across China and the southern U.S. Records are even breaking in Antarctica, where warming drove sea ice to 17 per cent below the 1991-2020 June average. In Canada, May was the hottest month ever, until June recorded even higher temperatures. We see the results in air congested with wildfire smoke.

Heat and humidity are already causing an increasing number of direct deaths, along with numerous other negative impacts — floods, droughts, wildfires, refugee crises, water shortages, biodiversity loss and more.

How bad does it have to get before the world wakes up?

Unless we reject the widespread power and influence of the fossil fuel industry in all aspects of our lives, we could reach the point of no return before we employ the many available and emerging solutions.

Industry puts massive resources into convincing people that curbing the crisis will cause too much hardship. Shell chief executive Wael Sawan recently offered an example. “What would be dangerous and irresponsible is cutting oil and gas production so that the cost of living, as we saw last year, starts to shoot up again,” he told the BBC.

Shell had planned modest production cuts, but under Sawan’s leadership has backtracked, instead enriching its executives and shareholders in the wake of fuel prices driven up by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As global temperatures exceed record highs, so too do the profits of companies such as Shell.

Big Oil money flows through secretive organizations that downplay or deny the climate crisis, to media outlets and to politicians, their parties and governments. Lobbyists work both sides of the fence and gain astounding access to the political sphere. Governments, including Canada’s, continue to subsidize the industry though tax and royalty breaks, infrastructure purchases and more.

Dirty oil sands bitumen is sold as “ethical” and fracked methane gas as a “natural” climate solution. And who can forget “clean coal”? The industry and its supporters paint themselves as beneficial to society, creating jobs, boosting economies and keeping the lights on. Ordinary people struggling to pay bills are often too busy to see through these greenwashed false narratives.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Renewable energy, energy efficiency and conservation offer numerous advantages over fossil fuels beyond climate benefits. Along with energy storage, technologies including wind and solar have advanced much faster than experts predicted, and costs have dropped to the point where they’re far lower than coal, oil and gas prices. Renewables also create greater energy independence and better employment opportunities.

The only ones who don’t reap massive benefits from a rapid transition away from fossil fuels are the relatively few who profit enormously by monopolizing supplies, production and distribution of gas, oil and coal — and the politicians and media supporters on the receiving end of their donations and ad dollars.

That doesn’t mean shifting from fossil fuels to cleaner energy will be painless. We might have to curtail or give up luxuries, and the overconsumption, to which we’ve become accustomed — especially in wealthier parts of the world. For example, although electric vehicles are far better than gas-burners, private SUVs and automobiles for everyone aren’t sustainable over the long term regardless of how they’re powered.

But the transition won’t be as painful as the fossil fuel industry wants you to believe — although the more we delay in taking the much-needed steps, the more difficult it will be.

The only records we should be breaking now are in the speed at which we adopt healthier ways to live and to power our societies — without fossil fuels.

David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation. Written with David Suzuki Foundation Senior Writer and Editor Ian Hanington.

Learn more at davidsuzuki.org.

HALIFAX–Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) announced last week that the 2023 quota for the largest herring fishery in Canada would be 21,000 tonnes, considerably higher than the maximum of 14,000 recommended by science.

The herring stock in the Bay of Fundy and southwestern Nova Scotia (officially known as the 4VWX Southwest Nova Scotia/Bay of Fundy spawning component, or SWNS-BoF for short) has been declining for decades. It has been critically depleted since 2017 and stock status reports have indicated the need for rebuilding since at least 2001.

“For a second year in a row, the Minister has chosen to bypass the multi-year stakeholder process that developed harvest rules to rebuild the stock out of the critical zone within 10 years,” explains Sebastián Pardo, Sustainable Fisheries Coordinator at the Ecology Action Centre. “The Minister seems to only be listening to industry and ignoring other stakeholders, particularly when it comes to rebuilding this depleted stock. It begs the question as to why DFO is spending so much public money on science and management frameworks that do not get adopted. Sadly, this decision is yet another example of ministerial discretion hindering recovery and hurting our marine ecosystems.”

“This year’s decision also ignores the larger long-term benefits that would come from rebuilding the herring stock,” says Katie Schleit, Fisheries Director at Oceans North. “A recent cost-benefit analysis shows that the value of leaving forage fish in the water to rebuild, support ecosystem function, and provide food for other organisms is approximately $1.6 billion. DFO must take seriously its duty to rebuild populations and to consider scientific advice, ecosystem management, and the views of other stakeholders.”

Learn more at: https://www.oceansnorth.org/

A Project to Restore Endemic Seagrass, and Why It’s Important

Over a period of ten months, more than 140 thousand cuttings, spread over an area of 7 thousand square meters in the construction site area of the work were explanted and replanted in a more suitable area of the coast, accomplishing a biological record.

The record transplanting was done to save the Posidonia in the gulf, because it was decided to enlarge a part of the port of Porto Torres, but over a large seagrass meadow, so it had to be brought to safety.

We started with the placement of one hundred and fifty bio-geomat, structures that allowed us to be able to attach the plant to the substrate. So far, 80 percent of the plants have held out for the entire year, ensuring strong rooting to the substrate.

Why Did We Do It?

Posidonia oceanica plays a vital role in the marine ecosystem. It is a bioindicator of water quality, it hosts so many species and creates a refuge zone for them, so we are talking about a plant that allows different species to grow by finding the nutrients necessary for their survival and development. It produces oxygen and stabilizes the substrate present in the Mediterranean.

I am very glad to have actively participated in the project. It made me aware of the potential of this plant by teaching, to all those who participated, that we need to preserve this plant, not only because it is an endemic species of the Mediterranean, but because around this plant a real ecosystem is developed and created that allows the survival and development of so many species.

You can follow more of Paolo’s projects and adventures on social media through these links:

https://www.facebook.com/paolo.marras.5

https://www.instagram.com/paul.blake92/

Two filmmakers join Indigenous leaders, scientists, and an orca mother in a final effort to save the last 73 Southern Resident orcas from extinction after the mother carries her dead calf for 17 days.

Coextinction goes beyond the typical wildlife documentary by transporting viewers deep into the Pacific Northwest’s oceans and forests to observe the intricate webs of interconnectedness that connect ecosystem collapse, centuries of injustice against Indigenous peoples, and the front lines of the most serious environmental threats. No species dies out on its own.

The orca, also known as the killer whale, is the largest member of the family of oceanic dolphins and is a toothed whale. It is the only extant species of the genus Orcinus and can be identified by its body pattern in black and white. Orcas are a globally distributed species that can be found in all of the oceans of the world, from the Arctic and Antarctic to tropical seas.

Due to the likelihood that two or more orca types are distinct species, the International Union for Conservation of Nature rates the orca’s conservation status as data deficient. Due to factors like diminishing prey, habitat loss, pollution (from PCBs), capture for marine mammal parks, and conflicts with human fisheries, some local populations are regarded as threatened or endangered. The southern resident orcas, which swim in the waters of British Columbia and Washington, were added to the U.S. Endangered Species list in late 2005.

Learn more at: Coextinction

If you understand that the climate crisis is a serious challenge and believe governments, industry and society should be doing everything possible to address it, you’re not alone. You’re part of a growing majority. After all, who doesn’t want to ensure Earth remains a healthy place to live for generations to come?

People are also becoming more aware of the many benefits that energy efficiency, clean power and nature protection bring — from improving human health to saving money to avoiding volatile coal, oil and gas supplies and prices.

In Canada, a recent poll shows 75 per cent are concerned about climate change, and more than half think governments must do more to address it. But what about the U.S., where many politicians and media outlets attack progressive climate and energy policies as “woke”? Florida governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis has even spurned hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants and tax rebates for residents to make energy efficiency upgrades, and passed a law making it illegal for local governments to ban fossil fuels in favour of clean energy.

With the massive amount of attention paid to those who reject climate science and push fossil fuels, one would think most Americans are on board with policies like these. That’s not the case, according to a study published in Nature Communications. It found that 66 to 80 per cent of people in the U.S. are worried about global heating and support policies to address it, but many don’t realize their numbers are so high: 80 to 90 per cent “in every state and every assessed demographic underestimate support across all policies tested,” believing only 37 to 43 per cent favour them.

The study found one factor in the misperception was “consuming conservative news.”

This matters because, as an article in Yale Climate Connections reports, “When people feel alone in their views, they are less likely to take action.” Boston College psychology and neuroscience professor Gregg Sparkman said that’s why it’s important “to voice your concerns about climate change to others, to talk about climate policies that you think are exciting: These kinds of conversations, when done en masse, will help correct this misperception.”

One useful conversation to bring even more people into the majority is about how much money policies that encourage energy efficiency and clean energy will save. The European Union offers a good example.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, many feared Russian gas would be replaced with even dirtier coal. Instead, EU countries fast-tracked wind and solar installations, displacing “an estimated 230 TWh of expensive fossil fuel generation,” according to the International Energy Agency. That reduced wholesale electricity prices by at least eight per cent, saving electricity consumers about €100 billion, or C$145 billion.

The IEA also reports, “Between January 2021 and August 2022, the average monthly natural gas price increased ten-fold and the price of hard coal quintupled,” whereas, “Long-term contracts secured through policy mechanisms and regulations provide stable prices for most wind and solar PV power generators in Europe, limiting their exposure to volatile electricity prices. They can also help shelter consumers from rising electricity prices.”

Politicians who reject sound climate and energy policies are not only accelerating destruction of Earth’s life-support systems but are also putting wealthy fossil fuel industry donors’ short-term, selfish interests above those of the people they were elected to represent.

Policies and regulations are crucial. A study by the International Institute for Sustainable Development found that “unprecedented volatility and high oil and gas prices” in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russian invasion brought “windfall profits for global oil and gas producers, including those in Canada.” This has led to a push to expand the industry here.

But, the IISD reports, “Given demand projections, business as usual in the sector is no longer an option. To minimize the risks to dependent workers, communities, and regions, governments must take an active role in overseeing a predicted phase-down of oil and gas production and diversifying the economy.”

Those who profit from the climate crisis and reject sound policies to address it — policies that would benefit most people — are speaking loudly, but their numbers are dwindling.

We’re in the majority. It’s up to us to speak louder.

David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation. Written with David Suzuki Foundation Senior Writer and Editor Ian Hanington.

Learn more at davidsuzuki.org.

As Divers we tend be very aware of the environment we explore. We are especially aware when changes to that environment occur. Within the Great Lakes, we have been most aware of how introduced species have had a greatly detrimental effect to the freshwater ecosystem of these lakes. Having had the pleasure of diving in the Lower Great Lakes for over 50 years, the introduction of zebra mussels, quagga mussels and the Round Goby have certainly changed that experience!

New divers no longer have the opportunity to witness what it once was like before this new reality.

As most of us are aware these introduced species came when ships travelling through the Great Lakes emptied their ballast tanks. Zebra mussels were the first to be noticed in the 1990’s but quickly followed by the two other species that also were native to the same regions- the quagga mussel and the Round Goby.

Round Gobies have become, on a lot of dives in Southern Ontario, the most predominant species of fish observed. I can remember a dive on the CB Benson off Port Colborne in Lake Erie where, as I was descending near the bow, it appeared that the entire deck was moving. It was literally the movement of hundreds of the little buggers moving about on the deck. This observation has been repeated several times on other wrecks. They even appeared to be gazing up at me as I reached the wrecks-eerie indeed!

Like the mussels, the Round gobies have had a deleterious effect on freshwater ecosystems they have ‘invaded’. They do, however have one redeeming feature-the are adapted to eat zebra mussels and they certainly now have an abundant food source in the Great Lakes. For me, they have become an interesting subject during underwater photography dives. Although they are quite skittish, moving about quickly, they can be approached and photographed with a little patience. They make a good ‘practice subject’!

Thanks to David Gilchrist for his article and the photos.

Follow David’s Dive Adventures on Facebook and Instagram.

Scuba Schools International (SSI) and Mares have partnered up with the female-led diving team Edges of Earth Expedition. Together, they are amplifying ocean action and highlighting progress in marine conservation worldwide.

Scuba Schools International (SSI), the world’s largest professional business-based training agency for scuba diving, is proud to announce its groundbreaking partnership with the Edges of Earth Expedition, an inspiring venture led by a female diving team.

This collaboration also involves Mares, a renowned name in innovative dive gear, and marks a significant step for SSI as it embarks on its inaugural brand ambassador program in its 50-year history.

The Edges of Earth Expedition is a two-year journey to over 50 remote dive sites across the globe—spearheaded by Andi Cross, an accomplished SSI Divemaster.

The team, consisting of highly certified scuba divers, freedivers, and wilderness guides, will engage with local experts including scientists, conservationists, dive centers, community leaders, and more. All of whom are dedicated to preserving and restoring the ocean’s delicate ecosystems.

In the face of the alarming consequences of ocean warming, the expedition’s primary mission is to shed light on the positive efforts and progress being made to protect marine environments. 

Through a dedicated online presence across SSI, Mares, and the Edges of Earth’s digital platforms, the team will share the untold stories of those who are championing ocean conservation.

By showcasing these inspiring narratives, they aim to inspire individuals, especially the next generation, to take proactive steps towards safeguarding our oceans.

Jenny Luksch, Social Media Manager at SSI, expressed her excitement about the partnership, stating:

“We’re thrilled to welcome the Edges of Earth team as SSI’s first-ever brand ambassadors. This collaboration reflects our commitment to promoting diving as well as environmental awareness. By amplifying positive ocean impact stories, we aspire to motivate more people to join the diving community and become advocates for ocean conservation.”

Mares, a leading international manufacturer of diving equipment, is equally enthusiastic about the partnership’s potential to amplify positive change. Marcel Steinmeier, Head of Marketing at Mares, stated:

“Mares is dedicated to enhancing the diving experience and contributing to environmental conservation. We welcome the Edges of Earth Expedition team to our community and salute their efforts in service to our oceans.”

SSI’s Blue Oceans initiative, focused on environmental conservation, perfectly fits the Edges of Earth Expedition mission. By supporting this partnership, SSI aims to foster a deeper understanding of the importance of ocean protection and sustainable diving practices.

For updates and insights on the Edges of Earth Expedition, follow SSI, Mares, and Edges of Earth on their respective social media channels.

The issue of abandoned boats continues to be a scourge across the global boating community. In Canada, the Coast Guard is upping their enforcement.

There is growing pressure worldwide to deal with the issue of abandoned boats.

In places like Venice, Italy, small abandoned boats are such a problem that they’re affecting the region’s aquatic landscape. For Cape Town, South Africa, even luxury superyachts have been abandoned, becoming a longstanding issue for locals.

The problem has reached such a fever pitch that Canada has instituted an Abandoned Boat Program to collect derelict vessels and hold the owners responsible for their removal.

The problem is so widespread, however, that countries like Canada have been forced to level up their enforcement capabilities.

According to the Globe & Mail, there are over 1700 abandoned vessels registered with the Canadian Coast Guard, 70% of which are in the province of British Columbia alone.

Even with the nationwide launch of the Abandoned Boats Program four years ago, the Canadian government had only levied two fines against derelict owners until this year.

In one of those cases, the owner of a wrecked cabin cruiser named Akoo, which washed ashore on Vancouver Island, was fined $15,000 by the Canadian Coast Guard. The fine was levied using the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act — a 2019 law that gives authorities more power to penalize owners whose boats are hazardous to marine environments and public safety.

Paul Barrett, the agency’s superintendent of compliance and enforcement, told The Globe that the Akoo had been anchored in Cadboro Bay in Victoria before breaking loose and washing ashore on a popular beach. The agency contacted the boat’s owner, Ryan Brackenbury, who failed to establish a salvage plan.

“When it first ran aground, it was discharging fuel into the sand,” Barrett told the Vancouver Sun. “There’s smashed glass, there’s people climbing on it. It’s a clearcut case of a hazardous vessel.”

For Brackenbury and the Akoo, it appears there were several months between when it first drifted ashore and the eventual enforcement.

Brackenbury claims he proposed a way of removing the Akoo from the beach to authorities, but the Coast Guard didn’t accept his plan. He also claims he can’t be proven to be the registered owner of the boat.

“It’s not even my boat, like it’s not registered to me. They can’t really prove that it’s mine,” he told The Globe.

In a case like Brackenbury’s, sourcing the boat’s registration and determining the owner are two feats that rarely happen in short order.

“If a vessel’s been left for a really long time, the registries might have lapsed and might not be valid anymore,” Barrett told The Globe.

But while some vessels are difficult to trace, there are several others on the Canadian registry that are well-known and border on public spectacle.

The most notorious Canadian example is probably the McBarge, an abandoned floating McDonald’s restaurant that even has its own Wikipedia page showing the coordinates to its location. The 187-foot barge was built for Expo 86′ in Vancouver and has attracted so much attention it was used for the 2004 Hollywood film Blade: Trinity.

Another unfortunately notorious example is the MV Sun Sea, a Thai cargo ship that was intercepted by the Coast Guard in August 2010. Onboard, authorities found 492 Sri Lankan asylum seekers who all made refugee claims. The incident made international headlines and is believed to have cost Canadian taxpayers some $25 million between the seizure, search, and removal. The vessel was abandoned at the Nanaimo Shipyard shortly thereafter before it was finally dismantled in 2019 when the Public Works and Government Services of Canada got involved.

Nico Preston, a wharf keeper on Mayne Island, between Vancouver Island and the mainland, told The Globe there are many reasons why vessels are abandoned.

“I imagine there are going to be a lot of abandoned boats from kind of the COVID era, where a lot of people got into boating and then had lost interest or became unable to keep up with the costs of keeping a boat on the water,” said Preston. “Then there’s also limited moorage available. It’s difficult to find a place to dock a boat that’s protected. You know, there’s only so many protected harbours in British Columbia.”

So, what’s the solution?

In the case of British Columbia, there’s a growing aspect of locally-operated tracking and enforcement.

John Roe, a longtime mariner in Victoria, BC, started the Dead Boats Society after getting involved with the seizure and disposal of “numerous” problematic vessels over the years.

For Roe and his team, the aim of Dead Boats Society is to promote “research, education, inventory, removal, assessment, remediation, and disposal of dead boats and marine debris.” The not-for-profit organization has undertaken over 10 restoration projects around greater Vancouver Island focusing on particularly troublesome bays, islands, and harbours.

All proceeds they raise go towards cleaning up their beloved waterway.

He told The Globe that many boats end up abandoned due to “urban pressures,” with marina space in short supply.

“The prices have gone up exponentially. I can’t afford to keep a boat in the marina myself, so none of my boats are in the water right now,” he said. “There’s no economical way to dispose of these things. There just isn’t.”

But while the abandoned boat problem isn’t likely to decrease under current economic conditions in the near term, Roe and his team will continue to make a difference. So will the Coast Guard.

“We can govern what happens, both municipally and provincially, and federally what happens in our water,” Roe said. “So, we just need to say, ‘your rotten old boat’s got to go.’”

For Barrett and the Coast Guard, “We’re less worried about eyesores. What we’re worried about with this act in particular is hazards,” he said.

BoatBlurb Newsletter

Oil spills are devastating for the environment and can derail many human endeavors, including scuba diving. You cannot dive during an oil spill.

While we are over a decade away from the largest U.S. oil spill in history, the Deepwater Horizon spill, oil spills around the country continue to happen. Since oil spills often occur in open water, they affect popular scuba diving locations. While scuba diving gear protects us from the water and some debris, it cannot protect us from oil. Diving in oil is dangerous as the oil is a neurotoxin.

But how long do you have to wait before you can dive? We provide a loose timeline for scuba diving after an oil spill below. 

Never Dive During an Active Spill

As we mentioned above, you should never attempt to scuba dive during an active oil spill. Attempting to do so can cause physical harm, such as headaches, nausea and vomiting, and skin and eye irritation. The oil will also harm your diving equipment. It can soak into hoses, making breathing more difficult during the dive or in future dives. Most people never successfully remove oil from their wetsuits since it can impregnate the material.

Even if there was no risk to your health or equipment, diving during an active spill would be dangerous. The oil makes the water murky and will often sit on top, cutting off helpful sunlight. Even with lighting equipment, you could struggle to orient yourself and discern other potential dangers, such as floating debris.

It Can Take Weeks or Decades for Oil Spill Recovery

Most people understand the cautions above and know not to attempt diving during an active spill or during spill cleanup. Spill responses require a seven-step process, either in the water or on land, that can take a long time to complete. For example, it took BP five months to seal the leaking wellhead in the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon explosion. Stopping the source of the spill is only step three of the response.

Even after a spill stops and the proper authorities manage the cleanup, you may not be allowed to dive in the affected area. It can take weeks, sometimes decades after a cleanup for an environment to recover from the spill. Sometimes you can dive during that recovery period if the water is safe enough, but other times you must wait.

Local Authorities Will Tell You When You Can Safely Dive Again

At some point during the timeline we mentioned above, the local authorities will declare that it’s safe to scuba dive in a location again. They may regulate that you can only dive in specific locations further from the original spill site. 

You may still see tar balls wash onto shore if you’re doing a shore dive. You may also find animals with oil on them, depending on how quickly authorities allow diving in an affected area. In either scenario or any other scenario involving oil, do not touch anything. Call the proper authorities to alert them of your findings so they can test the tar balls for another spill and help the animals in need.

Timelines for scuba diving after an oil spill will look different depending on the spill and cleanup. Always wait to hear from the proper authorities before attempting a dive near a spill location.

In 1989, I did a radio series for CBC called It’s a Matter of Survival. It examined how humans were altering the environment in detrimental ways, including heating the planet by burning massive amounts of coal, oil and gas for power and transportation. Listeners were so concerned that 17,000 sent in letters (this was pre-email days) asking what they could do. That led to the David Suzuki Foundation’s start in 1990.

It wasn’t the first time I had discussed the looming climate crisis. In 1977, I interviewed writer Isaac Asimov, who spoke about the “greenhouse effect.” He explained how carbon dioxide in the atmosphere absorbs infrared light, acting as a “heat shroud.” He noted that burning coal, oil and gas raises CO2 levels in the atmosphere and that, in “another 50 years or so … instead of three hundredths of a percent, it might be five hundredths of a percent.” (It’s now over four hundredths of a per cent.)

Even though that seems like a small increase, he said, it could melt polar ice caps, raise sea levels and cause runaway effects.

In 1988, just before the CBC series, renowned NASA scientist James Hansen testified to the U.S. Congress that climate change was, in fact, occurring and that failing to address it quickly could lead to dangerous consequences. In his presidential campaign, Republican candidate George H.W. Bush vowed to combat the problem if elected. Four years later, under his presidency, the U.S. became a founding member of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which continues to be the international forum for efforts to address climate change.

Even though politicians of every political stripe from around the world vowed to take climate change seriously, emissions have risen by 68 per cent since then, and fossil fuels have gone from supplying 79 per cent of the world’s energy needs to 81 per cent.

Greenhouse gas emissions have reached a record high, and scientists say it’s now too late to save summer Arctic ice. We’re seeing the effects: massive wildfires in Canada — where warming is occurring faster than southern parts of the world — droughts, floods, extreme weather events, growing numbers of climate refugees leaving increasingly inhospitable parts of the world.

What’s astounding is that fossil fuel spokespeople, politicians and media pundits are still saying the same things they’ve been saying for at least the past four decades — that we can’t get off fossil fuels overnight (it’s been a long night), that we need to keep burning fossil gas as a bridge fuel (it’s a long bridge) and that we can’t afford to transition to renewable energy (it’s long outdated information).

Then there are those who still deny there’s a problem at all, or who say our concerns are alarmist or hysterical. If you aren’t alarmed, you don’t understand the science.

If it seems dire, it’s because it is. But it’s not hopeless. We’re running out of time, but we’ve made progress, and we have numerous solutions — more every day. Evidence shows that employing those solutions will make the world better for just about everyone except, perhaps, those raking in massive profits from fossil fuels and destroying forests, wetlands and agricultural land. Even their lives would likely be more satisfying if they realized there’s more to life than profit and power.

Energy efficiency, renewable energy and energy storage solutions have advanced by leaps and bounds, far faster than anticipated. Not only that, but costs have fallen to the point that renewable energy is less expensive than coal, oil and gas.

Overall, we’d all be better off economically if we shifted rapidly to more affordable renewables, especially given the volatility of fossil fuel markets. Our health would be better without the pollution burning fuels causes. Ecosystems would improve. And, if done right, the shift could bring greater equality as power and wealth wouldn’t be as concentrated as it is in the fossil fuel economy.

Of course, we still have the responsibility to stop consuming so much, to rethink our wasteful ways of living. As human populations increase, the planet can’t support endless growth and consumption.

There are no excuses left to continue exploiting and burning any fossil fuels, and there’s no time left to waste. Nature has spoken. We must listen and act now.

David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation. Written with contributions from David Suzuki Foundation Senior Writer and Editor Ian Hanington.

Learn more at davidsuzuki.org.

This event by COJO diving is planned as part of the Great Fundy Coastal Cleanup, by the Nature Trust of NB. This is an interesting site, adjacent to the Meredith Houseworth Memorial Seashore nature preserve. 

https://www.naturetrust.nb.ca/en/meredith-houseworth-memorial-seashore

Meet time at the site is 10:00am, and will consist of a shore cleanup until approx 1pm, and a dive at 2pm. Participants should plan to be on the 07:30 ferry from Blacks Harbour if participating in the shore cleanup, or the 09:30 ferry if only participating in the dive.

Same day ferry return can be at 5:30pm or 7:15pm. NOTE – Ferry reservations are strongly recommended!

Additional details for the event will be posted as they become available!

We will provide bags for collecting debris on shore and in the water. As always equipment rentals are discounted 25% for the event!

Divers attending the event with rentals from COJO must make arrangement to pickup rentals prior to the event, and return to COJO in Lincoln – we are unable to transport rentals to/from this event, sorry!

Details

Event by COJO Diving: Saturday August 19, 2023 From 9am to 3pm

Whale Cove Rd, Grand Manan, NB E5G, Canada

Duration: 6 hr

Public anyone on or off Facebook

Learn more at: https://www.facebook.com/events/274478305168798

A commercial fisher caught a single adult female Grass Carp in Lake Ontario’s Bay of Quinte on July 3. The fish weighed 20.996 kg and measured 1.16 m in length, with no signs of recent spawning.

Response teams, along with an Ontario Natural Resources and Forestry team, searched the Bay of Quinte for more Grass Carp. There were none discovered. This is the 31st Grass Carp discovered in Canada since the Asian Carp program began in 2012.

Because of their ability to reproduce quickly, outgrow, and outcompete other fish for food and habitat, grass carp are a major threat to the Great Lakes basin. Please report any sightings of Grass Carps or other invasive species in Canada.

Responding to aquatic invasive species

Either federal or provincial governments can respond to prevent an aquatic invasive species from establishing itself permanently or spreading in a local habitat.

The Aquatic Invasive Species Regulations provides the authority for response actions. A basic response plan could include:

1. confirming the suspicious organism’s identity
2. assessing the extent of the invasion
3. quarantining the infested area, if possible
4. reviewing and choosing available control options
5. applying the chosen control option(s)
6. adapting the response strategy as needed

An effective response plan could also include stakeholders that have:

• experience
• strong partnerships
• good communication
• collaboration expertise

A successful response aims to permanently remove all members of an aquatic invasive species population from the affected waterbody while taking in account potential impacts on fish and fish habitat. Federal, provincial and territorial governments may take action when such an activity is feasible and likely to succeed.

Each province and territory works with different partners to manage issues caused by aquatic invasive species.

In order to check every bay and every river in Canada, we rely on citizens to report sightings of potential aquatic invasive species. We study each field report submission and figure out the identity of the species.

You can assist us in early detection and monitoring with your field report by following these steps.

1. Identify the species.
2. Note the exact location (GPS coordinates) and the observation date.
3. Take photos.
4. Take note of identifying features.
5. Contact us to report an aquatic invasive species.

Use this link to report any findings: provides all the Provinces/Territories contacts.

The world is on fire. Sometimes it seems not enough people care.

We’re still electing governments that do the bare minimum to address the climate crisis or reject necessary measures altogether. SUVs and trucks are ubiquitous on city streets. People continue to fly everywhere. Some media pundits accuse those who have been warning about ever-increasing global heating impacts for decades of hysteria, alarmism or overreaction.

Industry, governments and banks continue to support and develop coal, oil and gas projects, even though renewable energy options are available for less cost — and research shows we can’t keep extracting and burning fossil fuels if we’re to avert increasingly worse consequences of climate disruption.

Despite global agreements and goals, many people would rather continue as usual, hoping to escape the worst impacts for a few more years, or refusing to believe anything disastrous will occur in their lifetimes. That’s why it’s important for those of us who do grasp the problem to speak up.

If smoke-choked skies and evacuations don’t convince people the climate crisis is real, and costly, maybe insurance companies will. As wildfires tear through Canada, the U.S., Australia, Europe and more, and as floods and rising sea levels erode coastlines and destroy homes worldwide, insurers are noticing.

In Canada, claims for extreme weather events have more than quadrupled over the past 15 years. Insurers expect to pay out C$2 billion and rising every year for disaster-related claims. The 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire alone is estimated to have cost about $9 billion for firefighting, evacuations, industry shutdowns and damage to homes and businesses.

In the U.S., two major insurance companies have stopped offering new homeowner policies in California, partly due to “rapidly growing catastrophe exposure.” Increasingly frequent and intense hurricanes, wildfires and floods have made it difficult to insure homes in Florida, Texas, Colorado, Louisiana and New York.

Even when insurance is available, rates are often skyrocketing, leaving a growing number of homeowners unable to afford insurance. Because many banks won’t offer mortgages without home insurance, ownership and housing markets are being affected. Many insurance companies can’t afford to stay in business.

It will get worse if we don’t do everything possible to address climate disruption. By early June, nearly 10 million acres had already burned across Canada. Normally, only 600,000 acres would burn by then, usually in just one part of the country. Although many fires are sparked by campfires, careless cigarette butt disposal or lightning, climate change is causing hotter, windier and dryer conditions, longer summers, reduced snowpack and more lightning strikes — all of which increase the frequency and intensity of fires.

Increasing wildfires also contribute to further global heating. Because trees and plants remove and store carbon from the atmosphere through photosynthesis, forests are “carbon sinks.” When they burn, carbon is released into the atmosphere, and the burned forests no longer sequester carbon. In 2017 and 2018, wildfires in B.C. emitted more greenhouse gases than all other sectors combined.

The best solution is to do everything possible to halt and reverse climate disruption by getting off fossil fuels and protecting carbon sinks such as forests.

Near-term solutions to prevent forests from burning and to adapt to increasing wildfires are also important. One answer may lie in knowledge and methods Indigenous Peoples have long employed. In April, members of the ʔaq’am First Nation in southeastern B.C. worked with the B.C. Wildlife Service and others on a “prescribed burn” — setting intentional fires to clear out low-lying branches and dead shrubs that can contribute to wildfire spread.

Although prescribed burning carries its own risks, it’s being adopted in many jurisdictions. Other methods to create buffers and breaks around human settlements can also reduce the risk of wildfire damage to homes and property. Using better building materials to withstand fire damage is also necessary, as are better emergency response resources and protocols.

Ultimately, though, unless we take the climate crisis seriously and employ all the many readily available and emerging solutions, we’ll see more fires, floods and extreme weather events. The rising costs will affect everyone from marginalized and remote communities to homeowners to society at large. We can no longer afford incremental change. We’ve run out of time, and nature’s warnings are ever more urgent.

David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation. Written with contributions from David Suzuki Foundation Senior Writer and Editor Ian Hanington.

Learn more at davidsuzuki.org.

The sea lamprey is an invasive species that has been kept under control in Canada’s Great Lakes for decades – until now. Erica Vella explains how the pandemic fueled a surge in the population of “vampire fish,” and what’s being done to stop them.

About Sea Lamprey aka Vampire Fish

The body of the sea lamprey is eel-like, with no paired fins. It has a jawless mouth that is round and sucker-like, as wide as or wider than the head, with sharp teeth arranged in many concentric circular rows. Behind the eye, there are seven branchial or gill-like openings. The dorsal and lateral parts of the body are olive or brown-yellow, with some black marblings and a lighter coloration on the belly. Adults can grow to be 120 cm (47 in) long and weigh up to 2.3 kg (5.1 lb).

The Welland Canal, which connects Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, was used as an entrance for sea lamprey into the Great Lakes in the early nineteenth century. Within ten years, they had gained access to all five Great Lakes, where they quickly set to work predating on the lakes’ commercially important fishes, including trout, whitefish, perch, and sturgeon.

The lamprey attaches itself to the skin of a fish with its suction cup-like mouth and rasps away tissue with its sharp, probing tongue and keratinized teeth. Lamphredin, a fluid produced in the lamprey’s mouth, prevents the victim’s blood from clotting. Victims usually die as a result of excessive blood loss or infection. A year and a half after metamorphosis, lampreys return to the river to spawn and die after one year of hematophagous feeding.

Their populations are now rapidly increasing, and lampreys are becoming a growing problem for commercial fishermen.

New methods for controlling sea lampreys are constantly being developed. Because sea lampreys communicate using odours, scientists have replicated these odours to improve the efficacy of current control methods.

Doug Ford’s plan to pave over 7,400 acres of the Greenbelt is more than just breaking a promise he’s made before. He’s also destroying some of Ontario’s most important wetlands, which are already in short supply.

Wetlands play an important role in flood protection by absorbing stormwater runoff. They help to improve water quality, prevent soil erosion, and provide habitat for endangered species.

However, our wetlands are rapidly disappearing. An estimated 85% of wetlands in southern Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area have already been lost.

To make matters worse, despite receiving nearly 15,000 submissions opposing the changes, the government is moving forward with a plan to gut the province’s wetland evaluation system.

Learn more at: https://secure.gpo.ca/protect-precious-wetlands

PADI® (The Professional Association of Diving Instructors®) and Swiss prestige watchmaker,  Blancpain are combining resources to work towards saving 30% of the ocean by 2030 – with the two organizations teaming up to create the Vulnerable Marine Species Program. Blancpain’s support will be key in funding the Global Shark & Ray Census, a new citizen science initiative that is slated to launch Earth Day 2024 and is designed to help protect vulnerable marine species around the globe from extinction.

PADI and Blancpain have been kindred spirits in Ocean conservation starting over two decades ago with a whale shark identification project.  This latest evolution comes one year after both organizations announced an expanded commitment to partner and increase the number of marine protected areas (MPAs) around the globe.  As a founding partner of PADI’s Blueprint for Ocean Action, Blancpain accelerated the creation of PADI’s MPA Program and its flagship citizen science program Adopt the Blue–    Millions of recreational divers now have the direct ability to choose to be Ocean Torchbearers and directly engage in meaningful marine conservation activities while exploring the Ocean.

“Blancpain has long been committed to real engagement in Ocean Conservation issues. Working together, will be a force multiplier in achieving our shared Ocean Conservation goals” says Dr. Drew Richardson, CEO of PADI Worldwide and Chairman of PADI AWARE Foundation. “Blancpain’s expanded support of PADI’s Vulnerable Marine Species Program forges a juggernaut combining the Blancpain Ocean Commitment with the PADI Blueprint for Ocean Action  in advancing  positive ocean change.”

Now, with the generous support from Blancpain, PADI and global non-profit partner PADI AWARE Foundation^TM will build and deploy the largest underwater citizen science program designed to protect sharks and rays from extinction. In addition, PADI AWARE Foundation’s Mission Hub Community Grant Program will include support for both MPA and Vulnerable Marine Species Grantees internationally and at a local level. These grants support critical conservation initiatives in local communities all around the world.

PADI AWARE Foundation is among the world’s most successful shark and ray conservation organizations, with a 30-year track record of groundbreaking conservation measures for the oceanic whitetip shark, great hammerhead, giant manta ray, whale shark, and mako sharks – along with  many other vulnerable species. Last year at CITES (the Convention on Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) in Panama City. PADI was invited to CITES and asked to provide specialist advice and research to all attending government representatives. This helped secure support for a critical vote to double the amount of protected shark and ray species. To date, the PADI AWARE Foundation and PADI have helped secure protection measures for over 105 species of sharks and rays.

“With a growing base of divers interested in shark conservation, the Global Shark and Ray Census enables divers to function as diving citizen scientists in order to collect high-quality data and information on vulnerable shark species. Engaged divers across the planet who choose to participate will directly help accelerate national and global protection measures where they are needed most,” continues Richardson.

If you would like to personally support the  PADI AWARE Foundation and Blancpain in creating positive ocean change, donations can be made to the PADI AWARE Shark Appeal. Blancpain has generously agreed to match donations 1:1, which will go towards supporting the development of the Vulnerable Species Program.

About Blancpain

​​Founded in 1735 by Jehan-Jacques Blancpain in the Swiss Jura, Blancpain is known as the world’s oldest watch brand. Loyal to its tradition of innovation and confirmed by countless horological complications invented over the years, the Manufacture is constantly pushing the boundaries of watchmaking to take this art to places where it has never been before. Blancpain’s Ocean Commitment program pays homage to the brand’s significant historical links with the ocean, having launched the world’s first modern diving watch, the Fifty Fathoms, in 1953. This milestone moment in Blancpain’s near 300-year history marked the starting point of its collaborations with the ocean community, which have typified the 70 years since, as has its support for ocean conservation initiatives.  www.blancpain.com

About PADI 

PADI^® (Professional Association of Diving Instructors^®) is the largest purpose-driven diving organization with a global network of 6,600 dive centers and resorts, 128,000 professional members and more than 29 million certified divers to date. Committed to our blue planet, PADI makes the wonder of the underwater world accessible to all, empowering people around the world to experience, explore and take meaningful action, as Ocean Torchbearers^TM, to protect the world beneath the surface. For over 50 years, PADI is undeniably The Way the World Learns to Dive^®, setting the standard for the highest quality dive training, underwater safety and conservation initiatives while evolving the sport of diving into a passionate lifestyle. For divers by divers, PADI is obsessed with transforming lives and, with its global foundation, PADI AWARE^TM, creating positive ocean change. Seek Adventure. Save the Ocean.^SM  www.padi.com

Nine years ago, the David Suzuki Foundation launched the Blue Dot Movement. Its goal was to enshrine the right to a healthy environment in Canadian law. It started with a cross-country tour featuring Feist, Neil Young, the Barenaked Ladies, Margaret Atwood, Kinnie Starr, Raine Maida, Grimes, Danny Michel, Stephen Lewis, Bruce Cockburn, Robert Bateman, Shane Koyczan and many more.

The multi-pronged efforts over the years are finally starting to pay off. With recent passage of Bill S-5 to modernize the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, the right of all people in Canada to a healthy environment is now recognized in law. Although the ultimate goal was to have this right enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, getting it into this law is a great start.

The Environmental Protection Act hasn’t been updated since 1999, and over that time, much has changed regarding environmental issues and our understanding of them, so the amendments are long overdue.

Under the revised act, the federal government will have the duty to protect the right to a healthy environment and uphold the principles of environmental justice. The act also includes requirements to consider cumulative effects on environmental and human health and on vulnerable populations. And it updates regulations around control of toxic substances and dangerous chemicals, including ensuring that priority is given to prohibiting the most hazardous substances.

When the Blue Dot Tour hit the road in 2014, more than half the world’s nations recognized the legal right to healthy environment. It was astounding that Canada, a country known for its spectacular wilderness and abundant nature, was not among them. Now more than three-quarters of countries recognize and protect this right!

As the movement gained momentum, an ever-increasing number of municipalities adopted environmental rights declarations, many members of Parliament signed pledges supporting them, and people, organizations and communities joined the effort.

The movement also inspired the Foundation’s Future Ground Network and Réseau Demain le Québec, two growing online organizing hubs (one English, one French) that support local groups taking action in their communities to secure healthier, more viable futures in the areas of climate justice, biodiversity, waste reduction and sustainable systems.

It shouldn’t be controversial to recognize that we can’t live well without clean air and water, toxic-free food and the numerous services that diverse ecosystems provide. But Canada and the world still face increasing environmental crises, which often most affect marginalized people.

Here, we have dozens of drinking water advisories in effect, most in Indigenous communities. Air quality often reaches dangerous levels, and the oil and mining industries continue to poison land, air and water — again, most often near Indigenous communities. Environmental hazards contribute to tens of thousands of premature deaths in Canada every year, and pollution costs us more than $100 billion a year.

Although modernizing the Environmental Protection Act won’t resolve all those problems, it will at least set us on a path to government responsibility. But more needs to be done.

The government should remove barriers that prevent citizens from using legal methods to hold polluters accountable when they violate the act and its regulations. We need enforceable national air quality standards. Regulations around labelling of potentially hazardous substances in consumer products must be strengthened. Government must also close loopholes regarding ocean dumping, and it must ensure that Indigenous communities get the same level of environmental protection as other communities in Canada. We must also restrict plastic waste exports.

Another important step will be for government to pass Bill S-226 — “an act respecting the development of a national strategy to assess, prevent and address environmental racism and to advance environmental justice.” This is critical, because social and environmental justice are inextricably linked. Solutions to the climate and biodiversity crises must be grounded in equity, access to justice and fulfilment of human rights.

Long overdue modernization of Canada’s Environmental Protection Act is a positive first step and shows what we can accomplish when we work together.

As David Boyd, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and environment and long-time Blue Dot spokesperson, said, “It’s a terrific day when Canada recognizes the right to a healthy environment and will be an even better day when governments respect, protect and fulfil everyone’s right to a healthy environment!”

Let’s keep moving!

David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation. Written with contributions from David Suzuki Foundation Senior Writer and Editor Ian Hanington.

Learn more at davidsuzuki.org.

An organisation that puts the well-being of its people and our planet at the heart of their operations

The Reef-World Foundation — the international coordinator of the UN Environment Programme’s Green Fins initiative — has been selected for The Escape 100, a well-known campaign highlighting the top purpose-led organisations to ‘escape to’ in 2023! 

Beating some 14,000 other company nominations, Reef-World has come out top thanks to their inspiring mission, positive impact and flexible working environment – ranking alongside social enterprise giants like Too Good To Go, Origin Coffee, Rude Health, FLOWN, City to Sea, HereWeFlo and Finisterre.

The charity prioritises a Culture of Care within the organisation that sits at the heart of decision-making. Reef-World is an exemplary marine conservation organisation and is considered a leading voice on sustainability in the marine tourism sector. They are determined and fully committed to ensuring that Reef-World also continues to be an exemplary employer, attracting and retaining champions of marine conservation today and tomorrow.

The Escape 100 campaign was started by Escape the City. While on their mission to help 1,000,000 quit their corporate jobs and find work that matters to them and the world, they began to wonder: what actually makes an organisation different, forward-thinking, and impactful? They came up with a scoring system of 6 criteria (Impact, People, Mission, Planet, Innovation and B-Corp) to rank companies, including anonymous employee reviews – and ‘The Escape 100’ was born.

This campaign comes at a key moment in working history. Since the pandemic started, employees all over the world have been given time to think about what really matters to them, and are increasingly prioritising finding new meaningful, flexible and forward-thinking work environments (as reported by The Times). In Escape the City’s recent survey of 1500 job-seekers, 89% want a career with a clear sense of purpose (up from 71% in 2015), with 73% saying that their reflection time during the pandemic has made them reevaluate their path. Furthermore, for 74% of professionals, a flexible working location is the primary barometer they use when choosing a new role.

Dom Jackman, Founder of Escape the City, explained further: “The job market is still dealing with the impact of the pandemic, and job seekers will have to work harder than ever to find opportunities that align with their values. This list has been designed to rank organisations on the metrics that really matter. What are they doing to save our planet? How do they look after their people? What problems are they solving? These are all things that job seekers want to know in 2023, and we hope this list helps talented people discover interesting opportunities and organisations that they might not have found otherwise.”

The Reef-World Foundation’s Operations Director, JJ Harvey, commented on what the campaign means to the charity: “Being recognised for the 3rd year in a row and ranking 6th in the world is a testament to our dedication to ensure that our staff feel valued, respected and continue to receive job satisfaction working at Reef-World. We continually strive to become a forward-thinking organisation that delivers on our goals and commitments to our stakeholders with fresh approaches and not being afraid of steering away from a “normal approach.” This approach is not only applied to our programmes of work but also internally and carries over to our culture of care for our team. We wouldn’t be where we are without the hard work and dedication of the staff, and their wishes must be respected and listened to. We can only grow and evolve with both ears open, and that’s what we intend to continue to do. We appreciate there is still lots more we can do as we seek to ensure we are all working in a fair and equitable work environment.”

James Greenhalgh, Digital Strategy Manager at The Reef-World Foundation, commented: “The Reef-World Foundation is a phenomenal place to work where everyone’s contribution is valued, and our team is able to punch well above our weight in terms of conservation impact. It has been an absolute pleasure to contribute to Reef-World’s output for the last 3.5 years.”

Check out The Escape 100, 2023 list here to see Reef-World’s ranking and read their team members’ reviews!

A fascinating article from Marine Industry UK has offered an interesting explanation for the increase in Orca attacks on yachts.

The attacks have made global headlines over the past three years as the whales have become increasingly brazen and methodical.

Most of the attacks have occurred near the Strait of Gibraltar off the coast of Portugal and Spain, but there are also reports globally describing similar attacks where Orcas have systematically rammed boats to inflict damage.

The rush by scientists to explain the uptick in assaults has proposed everything from Orcas becoming increasingly protective of their young, to echo sounders from ships frustrating the whales’ ability to use their echolocation.

One of the first theories to gain traction in 2020 suggested the whales were being protective of injured members of their pod.

At the time, Alfredo López, a biology professor at the Coordinator for the Study of Marine Mammals (CEMMA), told Newsweek: “It’s not revenge. They’re just acting out as a precautionary measure, even if eventually damage is done.” According to eyewitnesses, injured whales were visible in some groups and the remaining members of the pod were seemingly trying to keep vessels from getting closer.

Nevertheless, the problem has grown to such a level that Spain’s Ministry of Transport has stepped in, banning sailing vessels under 49-feet between Cabo Prioriño Grande and Punta de Estaca de Bares where the majority of attacks have taken place.

“Interactions with killer whales have affected, above all, medium-sized sailboats, with a length equal to or less than 15 meters (49 feet),” the ministry said in a statement. “All the encounters with the killer whales took place between 2 and 8 nautical miles from the coast and the sailing speed ranged between 5 and 9 knots, either exclusively under sail or sail and motor.”

In an interview with The Guardian, sailor Victoria Morris described one such attack where nine Orcas surrounded her 46-foot boat off Cape Trafalgar in Spain and rammed it continuously for an entire hour.

“The noise was really scary,” Morris said. “They were ramming the keel, there was this horrible echo, I thought they could capsize the boat. And this deafening noise as they communicated, whistling to each other. It was so loud that we had to shout.”

Since 2020, there have been over 100 ‘interactions’ where boats have been spun around, pushed, rammed, or damaged. According to Marine Industry UK, initially scientists identified three culprits. By 2022, however, the number is up to 17 individual Orcas who have participated in the attacks.

Now, a new theory has emerged with statistical evidence to back it up.

Black anti-fouling paint, a common outer coating applied to ships and yachts to prevent or slow the growth of marine organisms on the hull, may be the culprit. The coating prevents discolouration, corrosion, and the attachment of barnacles.

According to John Burbeck and the Cruising Association, who are leading a taskforce to address the problem, after six months of collecting data they’ve discovered a high percentage of boats in the attacks have black anti-fouling paint on their hull. Sailors and yacht owners can also report occurrences on the Cruising Association to help with data collection. Those being attacked are also almost entirely sailboats, and all under 49-feet.

According to Burbeck, “There are a high percentage of boats that are attacked that have got black antifouling. A low percentage of boats with black antifouling are having trouble-free voyages. If, on trouble-free voyages, you’ve only got 25 per cent of boats with black antifouling, why on the attack side, have you got more than 50 per cent with black?”

Burbeck is quick to note that other factors may be at play and that the anti-fouling theory could be a red herring. However, the evidence suggests that midsize sailboats with black anti-fouling are becoming targets at a rate of 2:1 compared to light coloured hulls.

The hull colour trigger may also start what Burbeck and other scientists theorize is simply Orcas being Orcas. Given their high level of intelligence and the fact they can both learn from one another and pass knowledge down through generations, families of Orcas may simply be enjoying toying with slow-moving black painted sailboats.

“Some of the attacks come completely out of the blue. There’s a crash and the rudder’s broken. Other times it’s obvious that they’re playing with the boat, because they spin it round and push it, and are clearly having the time of their lives playing until eventually the rudder breaks off and they lose interest. Some boats have been pushed up to four knots. They’re clearly playing, and other times they come in like a bullet and smash it off. If they always did it one way, you could say ‘it’s because’. Sometimes it’s a single Orca, and sometimes it’s up to six,” says Burbeck.

However, as the data continues to accumulate, Burbeck and others are starting to understand more about the Orcas’ motivation.

“The Orcas can have three motivations when they approach the boat (competition for speed, curiosity, and skill, for example) and when they stop the boat, we are reducing the motivations to two. That is the reason for stopping the ship. If we increase the speed, in addition to not reducing motivations, we are increasing a new one: increased activity, blood pressure, adrenaline and excitement. At this point, things can get dangerous.”

In other words, minimizing the factors that seem to encourage an Orca attack might be the key. Avoiding black anti-fouling, traveling at higher speeds through known areas, and staying in shallow water may all help reduce interactions. This, in turn, will discourage the enjoyment Orcas are seemingly getting, which only leads to more attacks.

Burbeck summed it up nicely, stating: “A euphoric Orca after having beaten the ship in speed and stopped the ship with the broken rudder, will be drunk with victory, therefore increasing his feeling of power and consequently his danger.”

For now, the best recourse is to travel in shallow water, less than two miles offshore, and to travel quickly and in groups.

“We’ll need to travel in groups, have a guide, stay in shallow water, and travel even faster, rather than ambling through as we always have done, where the wind and sun takes you. I wouldn’t do that now,” said Burbeck.

BoatBlurb Newsletter

Join millions of people reducing their plastic waste.

Plastic Free July® is a global movement that empowers millions of people to contribute to the solution to plastic pollution, allowing us to have cleaner streets, oceans, and communities. Will you participate in Plastic Free July by refusing single-use plastics?

About the challenge

Plastic Free July offers resources and ideas to assist you (and millions of others around the world) in reducing single-use plastic waste at home, work, school, and even your local café.

Here are 5 ways you can reduce your use of single-use plastics and help reduce plastic pollution:

• Check Your Trash. Reduce your plastic waste by exploring your own trash and recycling bins
• Bring Your Own. Refuse single-use packaging by utilizing reusable alternatives.
• Make Your Own.
• Share Stuff & Ideas.
• Recycle Right.

Yes, I will take the Plastic Free July Challenge

The Must-Sea Event of the Sumer is Back

Summer begins on July 2 with 72 hours of Sharkfest programming on National Geographic, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo Mundo, Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN2. Sharkfest will entertain with four weeks of explosive, hair-raising, and celebratory shark programming that will showcase the captivating science, power, and beauty of these magnificent creatures – because one week is simply not enough.

National Geographic Society

By harnessing the power of science and storytelling, National Geographic Pristine Seas works to inspire the creation of protected areas where marine life can thrive. Join the National Geographic Society in protecting our ocean at natgeo.com/ocean.

Learn more at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/topic/sharkfest

In the effort to limit and reverse the worsening impacts of global heating, the immediate goal is to quickly stop burning coal, oil and gas. That means rapidly shifting to renewable energy for electricity generation and transportation.

But simply switching from one source of energy to another and trading gas-powered cars, trucks and SUVs for electric ones won’t resolve the climate crisis — as important as those are. The interrelated environmental crises — deforestation, species extinction, climate change — are being driven by wasteful consumerism. Getting off fossil fuels poses more of a challenge if we continue to consume massive amounts of disposable products and energy.

As Andrew Nikiforuk recently wrote in the Tyee, “Any imperfect solution to our current civilization-threatening predicament must include dialing down our energy consumption rather than coming up with high-tech visions that keep accelerating it.” That includes the energy and materials used to produce growing mountains of disposable products, from smartphones to cars to clothing.

Almost everything we produce requires minerals and metals, which must be mined — including wind turbines and solar panels. If we continue to use electronic gizmos that must be replaced every year or two, and if we continue to insist that most people should have a couple of tonnes of metal, plastic and glass to move a hundred or so kilos of human, rather than building reliable transit systems and walkable communities, building out renewable energy might slow our descent but won’t save us from calamity.

That is isn’t an argument against renewable energy, which is absolutely necessary. Coal, oil and gas are also mined, cause massive damage to air, water, land and climate and put all life at risk. But we can’t continue to thrive in a system that depends on constant growth on a finite planet — population growth, economic growth, ever-increasing consumption. We need unlimited sunlight and wind for energy, but we have to recognize that finite resources are required to utilize that energy.

We’ve been misled into believing that endlessly chasing after more, bigger, shinier things will bring us satisfaction and happiness when, in fact, it’s often the opposite. Our Sisyphean struggle has left us tired and alienated, created massive inequality and pushed us toward ecological collapse.

We need a paradigm shift.

Getting by with less doesn’t mean living less satisfying lives. It’s a question of what we value. We’ve been indoctrinated into believing that wealth and power are the ultimate goals, but only a minuscule percentage of the growing human population truly benefits from that, and the “trickle down” economic theory has always been a hoax.

If we truly valued the short time we each spend on this planet, we surely wouldn’t waste it to wreak misery and destruction in pursuit of elusive goals. We’d learn to find joy in family, friendship and nature, in learning and sharing.

Working ourselves to exhaustion and jetting off to some increasingly crowded resort area for a couple of weeks to recover can’t be what life is about. Does dining on burgers and steaks make us any happier than enjoying healthy plant-based foods? It certainly doesn’t make us healthier. Does staring at a tiny device all day make us feel any more connected and satisfied with our lives than actually getting together with real people in real time, or taking in the quiet beauty of nature?

Industrialization, and especially car culture, were sold to us under false premises, fuelling a crisis that now threatens our survival. We’re not going to go back to the way things were, nor should we. But we can progress to better ways of living.

That will require quitting fossil fuels as quickly as possible and shifting to renewable energy. But we must also learn to use less. Energy efficiency is part of that, but reducing what we use is critical, especially in the western world, where per capita energy consumption is many times higher than in other parts of the world.

We’re capable of great technological innovation, but that alone isn’t enough to create a better world.

As Nikiforuk writes, “In blunt terms we need an energy strategy that pointedly shrinks economic activity over time the same way chemotherapy effectively diminishes a cancerous tumor.”

We might be surprised to find that our lives will improve if we do.

David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation. Written with contributions from David Suzuki Foundation Senior Writer and Editor Ian Hanington.

Learn more at https://www.davidsuzuki.org

Thursday 29th June, Westminster: The Shark Trust is celebrating as The Shark Fins Act passes into UK law, effectively reinforcing existing shark finning regulation through the broad application of global best practice.

“The Shark Fins Act now enshrines Fins Naturally Attached into UK law,” said Ali Hood, Director of Conservation for the Shark Trust. The Act not only applies to UK fisheries but also prohibits the import and export of detached shark fins, whether loose or in products. And whilst not an all-out ban on shark fin consumption and trade, Hood says, “this creates a more challenging environment for would-be traders, simplifying customs checks, and enabling the UK to hold other countries to the same standards to which we hold ourselves.”

Earlier this month The Shark Fins Act completed its passage through both Houses of Westminster supported unanimously by MPs and Peers from all sides. The Shark Trust has engaged in proceedings with interest, acknowledging this historic step in a 20 year journey from the first Shark Finning Regulation in 2003.

Shark finning (the removal of shark fins at sea and the discard of the carcass overboard) was banned in Europe and as a result the UK in 2003, following a campaign championed by UK Members of the European Parliament. In 2009 the UK took steps to further tighten shark finning regulation requiring sharks to be landed with their fins still naturally attached. The EU took a further four years to adopt equivalent legislation (2013), finally prohibiting the landing of detached fins by EU vessels.
Christina Rees MP introduced the Act to The House of Commons in 2022 as a Private Members Bill, which successfully garnered cross-party support. The Bill then passed to ‘the other House’ in January 2023, where Baroness Jones of Whitchurch led the debate in the Lords. The Peers demonstrated a clear grasp of the issues involved, and shark finning and the fin trade were discussed as a facet of overfishing, which is widely accepted as the greatest threat to sharks.

“I’m pleased to have played a small part in bringing an end to this cruel and wasteful practice,” said Baroness Jones of Whitchurch, “but the real thanks should go to the shark and marine conservation charities who did so much to highlight the need for a ban.”

Christina Rees, MP for Neath and Port Talbot added, “It has been a great privilege to take this hugely important Act through the House of Commons, and I am delighted to see it receive Royal Assent.”
Rees continued saying, “I want to put on record my thanks to campaigners in the marine conservation charities, including the Shark Trust, Shark Guardian, and Bite-Back, who have worked tirelessly to highlight the need to establish a law. My thanks also go to Baroness Jones of Whitchurch, for all her hard work in ensuring the Act’s orderly passage through the Lords.”

“This Act represents years of work and is the culmination of the leadership role taken by the UK on shark finning regulation. Banning the import and export of detached fins is a important addition to the fins naturally attached policy.” Hood went on to say, “The Shark Trust is pleased to have been able to play its part, providing briefings and expertise at many junctures. Massive thanks to all the organisations and members of the public who have so passionately campaigned for tighter finning regulation over the years.”

Aims to protect and preserve the Red Sea’s pristine coral reefs and marine ecosystems

The Reef-World Foundation is delighted to announce that Jordan is now the 15th country globally to implement the Green Fins programme — a UN Environment Programme initiative. The programme’s launch in Aqaba is evidence of Jordan’s commitment to safeguarding its natural resources and promoting sustainable tourism as the country builds its reputation as a world-class diving destination.

Green Fins is implemented in the country by Aqaba Special Economy Zone Authority (ASEZA) with the support of the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) through the “Employment-oriented MSME promotion” project on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), with the ultimate aim of improving the communication of environmental best practice from local diving centres to environmentally conscious tourists to help protect the environment.

Dominik Lee Zaax Wyszogrodzki, Green Fins Local Team Leader, said: “Divers are willing to pay more for services provided by dive centres that follow environmental regulations, and they expect dive centres to be leading the way in protecting the ocean. Implementing Green Fins in Aqaba is going to open us up to new markets and bring us to be one of the top diving destinations in the world.”

Following a week of training by an all-female-led training team from Reef-World (10 to 15 June 2023), Jordan now has a national Green Fins team comprised of five fully certified Green Fins Assessors and two Green Fins Coordinators from representatives of the Royal Jordanian Navy Forces, Aqaba Marine Reserve and the University of Jordan made up of a diverse group of local diving experts, environmentalists, and industry leaders. The Green Fins Jordan team is led by Ms Thelma Redwan, the Product Director at ASEZA, who coordinates the programme in collaboration with The Reef-World Foundation, GIZ, and other stakeholders.

The newly established local Green Fins team will be responsible for recruiting, assessing, training and certifying dive and snorkel operators to become Green Fins Members in the country. This involves providing training about the ecology and threats to coral reefs, advice for adopting simple and practical solutions to these threats and guidance to the Green Fins’ environmental standards for dive and snorkel operators. Green Fins membership will help marine tourism operators identify priority areas to improve their business sustainability performance and communicate their commitment  to following environmental best practices as a way of attracting eco-minded tourists.

“I’m thrilled to welcome Jordan to the Green Fins network as the fifteenth country to adopt the initiative to secure the future sustainability of their marine tourism industry,” said Chloe Harvey, Executive Director of The Reef-World Foundation. “ASEZA has shown exceptional leadership in recognising the opportunity to establish best environmental practice among their diving community with Green Fins. Jordan is a unique diving destination and home to a bountiful array of marine life. Our coral reefs are in serious trouble; it’s possible that coral reefs globally could be lost in our lifetime. Reducing local, direct threats to coral reefs, such as those posed by diving and snorkelling activities, will significantly improve their chance of survival.” 

Diving and snorkelling-related damage to sensitive marine ecosystems, including coral reefs, is becoming an increasingly significant issue. This damage makes them less likely to survive other local and wider threats, such as those associated with overfishing or plastic debris and the effects of climate change. Based on robust individual assessments of business practices, the Green Fins initiative helps identify high-risk activities. The assessors then work with participating business leaders to build and commit to a tailored sustainability action plan to address these risks. Through Green Fins implementation in Jordan, Reef-World aims to improve the sustainability of the diving industry in the region by working with 15 marine tourism operators, training 75 dive guides and raising awareness of sustainability best practices among 15,000 tourists in the first year of implementation.

Abdullah, Manager at Red Sea Dive Center, said: “I signed up for the Green Fins membership and got the help and support of the Green Fins team. I saw how thorough the process was and all the things they do on the assessment day. Now I’m convinced it’s an amazing programme that could really help the environment and one I’m very proud to be part of!”

Green Fins is a UN Environment Programme initiative, internationally coordinated by The Reef-World Foundation, which aims to protect and conserve coral reefs through environmentally friendly guidelines to promote a sustainable diving and snorkelling tourism industry. Green Fins provides the only internationally recognised environmental standards for the diving and snorkelling industry and has a robust assessment system to measure compliance. 

To date, four dive operators in Aqaba have joined the global network of 700+ trained and assessed Green Fins Members. These are: Aqaba Adventure Divers, Arab Divers, Coral Garden Diving Center and Red Sea Dive Center.

For more information, please visit www.reef-world.org or  www.greenfins.net/countries/jordan.

Dive and snorkel operators in Jordan interested in becoming Green Fins Members can sign up at: www.greenfins.net/register or contact the team at jordan@greenfins.net.

The Great Sand Hills are sand dunes in the south-west region of Saskatchewan, Canada. The Great Sand Hills, which are part of the Great Sandhills Ecological Reserve, are Saskatchewan’s second largest active dunes after the Athabasca Sand Dunes (730 sq mi). The dunes’ sands are composed of very finely ground sand known as rock flour that was deposited near the end of the last ice age. The area around the sand hills is frequently windy, and as a result, the fine sands are blown around, creating an ever-changing landscape.

Swift Current, Saskatchewan’s fifth largest city, is 159 kilometres (99 miles) to the south-east, while Leader, the nearest town, is 38 kilometres (24 miles) to the north-west. The trailhead is located 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) north of the hills in Sceptre. The Great Sandhills Museum & Interpretive Centre is located in Sceptre.

The Great Sand Hills were formed over 12,000 years ago as the Wisconsin ice sheet receded at the end of the last ice age. The landscape of southern Saskatchewan was very different back then, with retreating glaciers and several proglacial lakes. The ice sheet was nearly two kilometres thick at the height of the glacial advance 18,000 years ago, and as the glaciers receded, they left behind massive piles of sandy debris, glacial till, and moraines, (accumulation of unconsolidated debris) while the melting waters carved out massive spillways.

Glacial Lake Bursary covered the Great Sand Hills and nearby Elbow Sand Hills at the headwaters of the Qu’Appelle River in Douglas Provincial Park. The South Saskatchewan Spillway flowed from the lake, and as the glaciers receded and the waters dried up, sand deltas formed, causing the South Saskatchewan Spillway to change course and carve out the South Saskatchewan River Valley.

Today, antelope, mule deer, pronghorn, fox, coyote, white-tailed deer, badger, weasel, porcupine, and the rare Ord’s kangaroo rat can be found in the hills. Sharp-tailed grouse, white pelican, merlin, peregrine falcon, golden eagle, burrowing owl, mourning dove, and sandhill crane are among the local birds. Due to the dry conditions and poor soil, the vegetation around the hills is limited, but it does include prairie grasses, sagebrush, and small clumps of trees such as aspen and willow.

As the impacts of climate disruption become more frequent and intense, we need a range of solutions. One that’s getting a lot of attention is nuclear power.

Industry is pushing hard for it, especially “small modular reactors,” and the federal government has offered support and tax incentives. After 30 years without building any new reactors, Ontario is also jumping onto the nuclear bandwagon again. How should we react?

Along with its many known problems, as an inflexible, costly baseload power source, nuclear is becoming as outdated as fossil fuels. Small modular reactors will create even more waste and cost more — and slow the necessary transition to renewable energy.

Many disadvantages of nuclear are well known. It can contribute to weapons proliferation. Radioactive waste remains highly toxic for a long time and must be carefully and permanently stored or disposed of. And while serious accidents are rare, they can be devastating and difficult to deal with, as the Chernobyl and Fukushima disasters demonstrated.

Uranium to fuel nuclear also raises problems, including high rates of lung cancer in miners and emissions from mining, transport and refining. Add that to the water vapour and heat it releases, and nuclear power produces “on average 23 times the emissions per unit electricity generated” as onshore wind, according to Stanford University professor Mark Jacobson.

But the biggest issues are that nuclear power is expensive — at least five times more than wind and solar — and takes a long time to plan and build. Small modular reactors are likely to be even more expensive, especially considering they’ll produce far less electricity than larger plants. And because the various models are still at the prototype stage, they won’t be available soon.

Because we’ve stalled for so long in getting off coal, oil and gas for electricity generation, we need solutions that can be scaled up quickly and affordably.

The last nuclear plant built in Ontario, Darlington, ended up costing $14.4 billion, almost four times the initial estimate. It took from 1981 to 1993 to construct (and years before that to plan) and is now being refurbished at an estimated cost of close to $13 billion. In 1998, Ontario Hydro faced the equivalent of bankruptcy, in part because of Darlington.

Ontario’s experience isn’t unique. A Boston University study of more than 400 large-scale electricity projects around the world over the past 80 years found “on average, nuclear plants cost more than double their original budgets and took 64 per cent longer to build than projected,” the Toronto Star reports. “Wind and solar, by contrast, had average cost overruns of 7.7 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively.”

China has been building more nuclear power plants than any other country — 50 over the past 20 years. But in half that time, it has added 13 times more wind and solar capacity.

As renewable energy, energy efficiency and storage technologies continue to rapidly improve and come down in price, costs for nuclear are rising. As we recently noted, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment report shows that nuclear power delivers only 10 per cent of the results of wind and solar at far higher costs. In the time it takes to plan and build nuclear, including SMRs, and for much less money, we could be putting far more wind, solar and geothermal online, and developing and increasing storage capacity, grid flexibility and energy efficiency.

The amount it will cost to build out sufficient nuclear power — some of which must come in the form of taxpayer subsidies — could be better put to more quickly improving energy efficiency and developing renewable energy such as wind, solar and geothermal.

Putting money and resources into nuclear appears to be an attempt to stall renewable electricity uptake and grid modernization. Small modular reactors are likely to cost even more than large plants for the electricity they generate. And, because more will be required, they pose increased safety issues.

David Suzuki Foundation research shows how Canada could get 100 per cent reliable, affordable, emissions-free electricity by 2035 — without resorting to expensive and potentially dangerous (and, in the case of SMRs, untested) technologies like nuclear.

New nuclear is a costly, time-consuming hurdle on the path to reliable, flexible, available, cost-effective renewable energy. The future is in renewables.

David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation. Written with contributions from David Suzuki Foundation Senior Writer and Editor Ian Hanington.

Learn more at davidsuzuki.org

The Scuba News Canada published an article from Ecojustice in June 2023 :: “The House of Commons passed Bill S-5, which updates the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) for the first time in 20+ years.” This bill has now passed the senate and is law.

“”I can’t quite believe I’m writing this. After nearly 10 years of hard work, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) is being modernized. 

As Canada’s cornerstone environmental law, CEPA is meant to protect the public from dangerous chemicals and toxic pollution, but it hadn’t been updated in 20+ years. Meanwhile, the day-to-day threat to people’s health — in the form of ‘forever chemicals’ linked to cancer — escalated. 

Last year I spoke to committees in both the Senate and House of Commons about Bill S-5, which aims to modernize CEPA. Today, I’m thrilled to tell you that Bill S-5 has passed into law. 

While Bill S-5 is not a magic cure-all, it does introduce some important changes such as greater control of toxic substances. It also recognizes the right to a healthy environment for the first time ever in federal law. 

And we couldn’t have done it without you. 

More than 31,000 Ecojustice supporters lent their voices to this campaign, calling on political leaders and keeping CEPA reform alive — even after the 2021 federal election almost saw it off. This is your victory. 

Will you join us in celebrating, by giving what you can, so that we’re able to build on this success? 

YES, I WANT TO FUND MORE VICTORIES LIKE THESE

I want to be honest with you. Life for people in Canada won’t change overnight — nor will Bill S-5 save those already suffering the health impacts of CEPA’s failures. That’s why Ecojustice is in it for the long-haul. Thanks to the generosity of supporters like you, we’ll continue using the law to secure a safer environment for everyone. 

Law reform is slow-moving work and moments like these don’t come around often. So take a second to savour the news: We made it.”” 

With gratitude,
Dr. Elaine MacDonald,
Healthy Communities program director, Ecojustice

Reproduced from Ecojustice Newsletter

Manufacturing companies around the world create plastic products using synthetic polymers. These products have affected our marine ecology for years, and understanding their effects will help you learn how to help ocean life. Read on to learn more about the effects of synthetic polymers in the ocean and why keeping them away from water sources is essential.

What Are Polymers?

Polymers are combinations of different chemicals that form a new product. These polymers have two varieties: synthetic and natural. The difference between synthetic and natural polymers is in how they’re made. 

Natural polymers occur naturally, such as from the adhesion found in tree bark, while people manufacture synthetic polymers. Synthetic polymers may come from natural or synthetic molecules that combine to make a new product, and in most cases, that polymer will make a type of plastic product.

Harmful Chemicals

Synthetic polymers degrade over time, and their environment will significantly impact how they break down. In wet environments such as a lake or the sea, the chemicals of the polymer will “wash” away because of the water and mix with the liquid. This mixture presents a toxic threat to marine life, such as fish and amphibians.

The ingested toxins will also present a danger to people who fish as the fish they catch may cause sickness when not cooked correctly. Keep synthetic polymers away from water as much as possible. Even small streams eventually lead to larger bodies of water where fish may come into contact with chemicals.

Choking Hazards

Many animals eat various objects that humans wouldn’t consider eating, such as paper or old food scraps. Animals may unintentionally ingest plastic, thinking it’s food due to the smell or substances on it. Synthetic polymers may have a sharp point or an awkward shape that could cause the animal to choke.

This is a common effect synthetic polymers have on the ocean. Many water-dwelling animals suffer from choking, strangulation, or severe sickness when they ingest synthetic polymers. Smaller plastics are a problem because more animals can eat them, and larger animals tend to accumulate them.

Take time to recycle plastics or prevent them from falling into a water source. Since animals are everywhere, they will eventually find plastic and may take a bite.

Reduction in Populations

The dangerous effects of synthetic polymers will lead to more marine life dying or becoming too sick to fend for themselves. The resulting deaths will eventually decrease certain populations and create a domino effect that harms other species. Many animals rely on the presence of other animals, and when one species has a depression in its population or a new threat takes the stage, the ecosystem will feel it.

Keeping synthetic polymers away from bodies of water is essential to protecting and conserving marine environments. Remember these effects as you walk in nature, throw away the trash, or sort through recycling; synthetic polymers are everywhere, and protecting marine life will ensure that there aren’t as many harmful effects on the planet.