It's SO MUCH FUN seeing the high school kids in our Plastic Free Cities program speak out and use their voice as spokespeople - they're really, really good!!! Just watch them in this killer news story!!!
Such a joy to watch Ocean Conservancy, Big Blue & You, Debris Free Oceans, and the NOAA: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration marine debris program partner together on this work. Special kudos to Maggie Winchester-Weiler for making this magic happen! And many thanks to both Louis and Anastasia for telling the story of these kids' efforts to clean up their community and our ocean.
You’ve probably seen several headlines in the news about microplastics and all the wild places where scientists have found them—from the top of Mt. Everest to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, to inside our own bodies. Ocean Conservancy even released a report earlier this year about microplastics found in protein! But what are microplastics, really? And how can we prevent them?
👏 The single most effective way to reduce the amount of microplastics that end up in the environment is to make less plastic in the first place. 👏
Dive in with our own Britta Baechler, Ph.D. and Anja Malawi Brandon, PhD as they break down this mega-issue for our ocean and our planet, and what we can do to course correct. https://lnkd.in/g9TBQba6
It's International Whale Shark Day, and we're trying to raise $10,000 to protect the ocean where these awe-inspiring giants live! https://lnkd.in/eKD_vSe6
🐋🦈 Whale sharks are the largest fish in the world and can grow up to 40 feet long and weigh up to 20,000 pounds. That is the height of two giraffes stacked on top of each other and the weight of two elephants combined. 🦒🐘 Their mouths are three feet wide and hold more than 350 rows of teeth. But don’t be alarmed by their size—they won’t hurt you! Whale sharks are gentle giants.
Donate today in honor of whale sharks and protect their habitat from the growing threats of plastics, climate change and risky drilling: https://lnkd.in/eKD_vSe6
📸: Indian Ocean Imagery/Canva
While plastic pollution and climate change may seem like separate issues, they are BOTH the consequence of the same root problem: fossil fuels.
Many countries are taking steps to transition off oil and gas as energy sources and switching to clean renewable energy, reducing fossil fuel-based plastics is lagging behind. Ocean Conservancy recently completed an analysis of coastal countries’ National Determined Contributions (NDCs) to understand whether and how plastics reduction is included as a climate mitigation and adaptation measure. The results are murky...
▶ Only 14% of coastal countries directly mentioned plastics reduction, primarily focused on single-use plastics.
▶ Of coastal countries, only 11% planned decarbonization efforts in the chemicals sector; in fact, a few of the countries that produce plastics also included plans to increase production.
▶ 45% mentioned improving recycling (plastics and other materials); only 19% of countries included brief mentions of reuse, despite the potential for significant emissions reduction.
🚨 If we don't reduce our reliance on plastic, we risk locking in fossil fuel demand for generations to come. 🚨
With the next round of NDCs due by 2025, coastal countries have an opportunity to strengthen their commitments to reducing plastic production and committing to a circular economy. Learn more in our new report: https://lnkd.in/erXcmM7i
BREAKING: Gov. Ron DeSantis has halted his administration's plans to build pickleball courts, golf courses and hotels on Florida state parks due to overwhelming public backlash. 🗣 We've said it before and we'll say it again: When you speak out, you make change! 🗣 Thank you to everyone who opposed this egregious proposal to literally pave paradise and put up...MORE golf courses.
Read more from Emily L. Mahoney and Max Chesnes in the Tampa Bay Times.
https://lnkd.in/dVX7pwjg
🥱 While its scientific name is Greek for "giant yawner of the open sea," don't sleep on the megamouth shark! This elusive shark has been sighted only about 69 times in the wild. Dive into the deep, dark ocean and learn more: https://lnkd.in/dZci5F-H
📸: Marko Steffensen/Alamy Stock Photo
‼ Take action for our ocean: https://lnkd.in/eBBr678S
Fish are key players in our ocean ecosystems and important for people and economies worldwide. Fishing is a major component of food security and culture—fisheries put food on the table for billions of people, offer jobs and livelihoods for millions and help generate tourism to many coastal communities. That’s why fishery managers need to take action now to prepare United States fisheries for climate change.
Climate change is already here, and it’s putting stress on our ocean and fishing communities and having major impacts on fisheries across the country. We must act now and call on NOAA Fisheries to ensure fishery managers can address climate change head-on. Add your name now before the comment period ends on Aug. 31: https://lnkd.in/eBBr678S
📸: United States Forest Service Alaska Region/flickr
New from Ocean Conservancy Florida Conservation Director Jon Paul (J.P.) Brooker in the Tampa Bay Times on Florida’s out-of-touch proposal for state parks. 👇
FLORIDIANS: Next Tuesday, Aug. 27, you have a chance to speak out against this egregious action. Below is a list of meetings for each state park proposal between 3:00-4:00 PM:
🗣️Hillsborough River State Park, Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library, 2902 W. Bearss Ave., Tampa, Community Room D
🗣️Honeymoon Island State Park, The District, 11141 U.S. 19 N., Suite 204, Clearwater
🗣️Oleta River State Park, Florida International University, Biscayne Bay campus, Kovens Conference Center, Room 114, 3000 NE 151 Street North, Miami
🗣️Jonathan Dickinson State Park, The Flagler of Stuart, 201 SW Flagler Ave., River Room, Stuart
🗣️Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park, Downtown Event Center, 416 NE First St., Fort Lauderdale, Lecture Hall, Building C, second floor (Enter at Main Entrance B — clearly marked on the outside of the building)
🗣️Anastasia State Park, First Coast Technical College, The Character Counts Conference Center, Building C, 2980 Collins Ave., St. Augustine
🗣️Camp Helen State Park, Lyndell Conference Center, 423 Lyndell Lane, Panama City Beach
🗣️Topsail Hill Preserve State Park and Grayton Beach State Park, The Lakehouse at the Watercolor Inn, 238 Watercolor Blvd. West, Santa Rosa Beach
Director @ Ocean Conservancy | Environmental Law, Policy
Throw a rock in Florida, and you’ll find a golf course, pickleball court, or a hotel. But it’s getting increasingly hard to find the pristine sugar sand dunes, the bowls of liquid light that are our gem-like springs, the deep and unadulterated swamps and glades, the teeming and tangled mangrove forests – these are the things and special places that I want my Florida to have more of.
The fact is, we’re paving paradise and putting up parking lots at a pace that we might never recover from, and we’re about to blast past the point of no return. That’s why it’s incumbent on Floridians both new and native to sound the alarm not just about protecting the integrity of our state parks, but about protecting against unbridled, mindless growth.
Together, our collective voices can make change. I hope you'll join me in taking action.
READ my op-ed in the Tampa Bay Timeshttps://lnkd.in/eXiT-Uea