Protecting Our Planet’s Biodiversity

There’s nothing quite like the first time you plunge beneath the ocean’s surface with SCUBA gear and become immersed in a world that was invisible to you just moments ago; a world full of corals and kelp, fishes and turtles, soft sands and cold muds and even sharks, stingrays, seals or whales, if you’re lucky. So, when my 8-year-old niece asked about becoming a certified SCUBA diver, I not only saw the opportunity to solidify my “Cool Aunt” status, but also was excited to share with her the awe that marine biodiversity in our ocean can inspire. However, the biodiversity found in our ocean, on the whole planet, is in crisis. My niece is only 8, and I can’t be certain what coral reefs will look like by the time she has all her diving certifications and we can plan that first plunge together beneath the waves.

Right now, Heads of State are convening at the United Nations (UN) for a Summit on Biodiversity and their words and commitments will determine a lot more than just the timing of my family SCUBA adventure. The Summit comes on the heels of the release of Global Biodiversity Outlook 5 (GBO5), a report card that tells us how governments are doing to reach targets that they set for themselves in 2010 to protect biodiversity. Their grade: Needs serious improvement. If we want to turn things around and pull off a Satisfactory by 2030 —before it’s too late —then it’s time to step up our level of ambition and seriously scale-up our actions.

Ocean Conservancy and our peer organizations are working hard to preserve the biodiversity of our planet and ocean. We can’t do it alone, though. We need ocean lovers and governments to help, and there are so many reasons to take action. Protecting marine biodiversity will not only preserve recreational diving and sustainable tourism, it will also preserve the livelihoods, food and nutrition security, and economies of many coastal communities. The benefits of protecting biodiversity come from the animals and plants themselves, whether we’re using them as resources for food, taking trips to see them or deriving medicines from them, as well as from keeping the soils, rivers or ocean they live in healthy. The same habitats and ecosystems that support biodiversity provide us with clean air and drinking water, and—increasingly importantly —they help regulate our climate by storing carbon. Protecting biodiversity and working to prevent catastrophic climate change go hand in hand. In order to achieve one, we have to achieve the other.

Of the 20 biodiversity targets (and 60 sub elements) that governments agreed to in 2010, many are specifically related to protecting marine biodiversity and coastal communities. Here are some examples of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets (named for the Aichi Prefecture in Japan where they were agreed to) set in 2010 and the reported progress towards their achievement:

Target 6. Sustainable Fisheries: The target has not been achieved (high confidence).

(Blue: exceeds target; Green: on track; Yellow: some progress; Red: no change; Purple: moving away from target)

Target 8. Preventing plastic pollution: The target has not been achieved (medium confidence).

Target 10. Reduce pressure on coral reefs: The target was missed by the stated date of 2015, and it has not been achieved by 2020 (high confidence).

Target 11. Conserve coastal and marine area: The target has been partially achieved (high confidence).

Target 14. Ecosystems that provide essential services…are restored and safeguarded, taking into account the needs of women, indigenous and local communities, and the poor and vulnerable: The target has not been achieved (medium confidence).

As you can see, it’s not all bad news. There are some areas of progress, like the fact that we are on track to protect 10% of coastal and marine areas by 2020. And, when you dig into the details and start looking country by country, there are bright spots and examples for each target that can and should be replicated to make more progress.

For example, despite the fact that sustainable fisheries have not been achieved globally—about one-third of fish stocks measured in global assessments are still overfished—stocks are being maintained or rebuilt in places where fisheries management polices include stock assessments, catch limits and enforcement, and as many as 80% of countries reporting on this target have demonstrated some progress towards achieving it. Additionally, reef sharks —which are keystone species for coral reefs and have completely disappeared from some nations due to fishing activity—can be protected using shark sanctuaries, closed areas, catch limits and bans on the use of some fishing gear like gillnets and longlines. This is good news for the sharks that keep the reefs healthy, the communities that depend on the reefs for food security and 8-year-old aspiring SCUBA divers everywhere.

Plastic pollution affects marine life and biodiversity all the way from whales and turtles at the top of the food chain to forage fish and plankton at the bottom. When it comes to transitioning to a circular economy to reduce the amount of plastic pollution in the ocean, Trash Free Seas Alliance member Danone is highlighted for their contribution to Target 4: Sustainable Production and Consumption.

Reporting on Target 8 (efforts to reduce plastic pollution), the report notes that “…commonly reported actions were bans or restrictions on certain types of plastics (about 20% of national reports referred to this type of action), awareness campaigns and community clean-up events. Some reports also referred to increased efforts related to recycling.” Again, we see some positive trends.

However, the fact that the report found no progress towards achieving Target 14 (to restore ecosystem services while taking into account the needs of women, indigenous and local communities, and the poor and vulnerable) should be unacceptable to all of us. “There are numerous examples of the disproportionate impacts of a decline in ecosystem services on women and girls … For example, women are more impacted by wetland degradation than men, due their use of wetlands for firewood, handicraft materials, water and herbal medicine.” Despite the lack of progress globally, there are still local bright spots. “…Considering gender dimensions in biodiversity management can lead to positive outcomes for biodiversity and gender equality.”

We should find hope in these bright spots and other emerging progress, but in addition we need increased ambition, strategic action plans and strong leadership. Authors of GBO5 and the Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat have assessed the past decade and the reported progress and challenges and laid out a path for “the sustainable fisheries and ocean transition.” This includes integrated ocean management, sustainably managed fisheries and aquaculture, protection of critical habitats, reducing land and sea-based nutrient and plastic pollution and controlling invasive species spread. While these actions all have unique challenges, none of them are new concepts, and all of them are possible if we make biodiversity and the natural world we depend on a priority.

The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the deadline for agreeing to the Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework, the next set of targets, to the end of 2021. These will be the targets we aim to reach by 2030, alongside efforts to also achieve the better known Sustainable Development Goals 2030. With more time to get it right, and more time to appreciate our reliance on nature and to learn the lessons of the past decade, countries must come to the table prepared to do more … a lot more.

That’s why the Biodiversity Summit happening today at the UN is so important. Having seen their failing report card, what will governments commit to doing to improve their grade? What reefs will be there for my niece to see? What wetlands, what fisheries, what livelihoods will be left by 2025, by 2030 … by 2050?

As GBO5 has shown us, setting lofty targets isn’t enough. We have to put the work in to meet those goals.

The post Protecting Our Planet’s Biodiversity appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.

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Going to Great Depths for Ghost Gear

This blog was written by Jenna Schwerzmann. Originally from upstate New York, Jenna began her marine conservation career on Long Island after graduating from Stony Brook University with a B.S. in Marine Vertebrate Biology and M.A. in Marine Conservation and Policy. She has experience with both research and outreach for local estuarine conservation efforts, including horseshoe crab monitoring, shellfish restoration and water quality projects, all through Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Marine Program. Jenna has also volunteered aboard whale watches since 2015 and interned at NOAA Fisheries in Gloucester, Massachusetts to assist with outreach for the Whale SENSE Program.

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When scuba divers plan a trip to Southeast Asia, popular destinations include Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia. Divers travel from all over the world to see the pristine reefs of the Coral Triangle that are teeming with underwater wildlife. However, in nearby Burma, also known as Myanmar, a quieter dive mission has begun. After multiple encounters with “ghost gear” on Burma’s reefs, one diver decided to take matters into her own hands.

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© Thanda Ko Gyi / Myanmar Ocean Project

Thanda Ko Gyi is a professional scuba diver who founded the Myanmar Ocean Project in 2018 in response to the abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG, or “ghost gear”) she discovered littering her home’s reefs. In response, Thanda started a project to restore and protect the health of Burma’s ocean by removing ghost gear and engaging local communities with support from World Animal Protection, National Geographic Society and Ocean Conservancy’s Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI). Since starting the project, Thanda and her dedicated team have successfully removed nearly two tons of ghost gear from remote reefs around Burma.

Thanda chooses her gear removal sites carefully to ensure the safety of her divers and to prioritize sensitive reefs and marine life habitats. One site in the Myeik Archipelago, called Sloop Rock, was identified after a visit to see the bamboo sharks residing in the reef, but they soon discovered the sharks were in trouble. “The whole place was covered in nets,” she said. It was clear that the nets had just recently been lost or abandoned, because while the sharks were still alive they’d been entangled and struggling in the nets for some time. Thanda’s team had not previously seen nets in this location, but she shared that the site was “completely blanketed” by debris on this day.

Unfortunately, the recreational divers were not able to tackle the massive net and bring it to the surface. They were on a tour schedule, so Thanda had to form a plan to come back at a later time.  “You do what you can,” she said, “but it was a really bad experience.”

© Thanda Ko Gyi

When fishing gear is lost, it moves with ocean currents and tends to accumulate into masses, forming hotspots that pose particularly significant problems and causing some reefs to change drastically within a relatively short period of time. A once-popular dive location called High Rock was expected to be relatively clean, as only one piece of gill net was observed there on a 2016 visit.

“By the time we went back in 2019, it had so many layers. And those used to be amazing dive sites,” Thanda said. Dive boats stopped visiting High Rock when they repeatedly found the reefs covered in nets and longlines, some of them hooking the divers and putting their safety at risk.

Thanda has documented the presence of ghost gear at 95% of the sites she has visited. But why? Fishers never want to lose their fishing gear. This gear is expensive to replace, and fishers lose valuable time on the water by doing so. The nets that Thanda retrieves often still have their valuable lead weights on them, which is a good indicator that they were lost unintentionally. Rough weather, entanglement with other gear or rocky structures underwater can all lead to this kind of accidental loss.

Unfortunately, no formal recycling infrastructure exists in Burma to recycle the recovered gear. But people reuse everything they can, and the stronger pieces of recovered nets are often washed and sold back to chicken farmers to use as fencing.

© Thanda Ko Gyi

“With gill nets, if it’s still white, because it’s new, they will buy it,” Thanda explained. “If it is yellow or green, they can still wash it. It’s only been in the water for a few months or up to a season. By the time it’s red, I was told, they will no longer buy it. It means they can’t wash off the algae anymore.”

Moving forward, Thanda would like to look into creating a proper recycling facility for both land- and sea-based sources of marine litter, as few organized waste management systems are available in Burma or its island communities.

Although Thanda’s diving plans are currently on hold due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, she is still hard at work addressing the problem of ghost gear. The Myanmar Ocean Project just released a new report presenting the results that came out of their expeditions so far. Thanda would like to gain a better understanding of the ghost gear problem by interviewing more fishermen, researching the gear lifecycle and other potential intervention points to avoid gear loss in Burma’s pristine waters. Thanda is a prime example of how one person can inspire change, and how help from local communities is essential for success.

The post Going to Great Depths for Ghost Gear appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.

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Jacksonville Jaguars Rookie K’Lavon Chaisson Joins Team Ocean

Melting glaciers and plastic pollution are a few things on Jaguars rookie K’Lavon Chaisson’s mind when he’s not on the field. “I don’t know how you can ignore it,” he said about climate change. And Chaisson is making his play hard to ignore after just two games in 2020, registering his first NFL sack last week, an interception (which was called back) and earning a significant amount of playing time. It’s no surprise that the 2019 National Champion and former number 18 (jersey number representing success—both on and off the field—as well as a selfless attitude) at Louisiana State University (LSU) is already making a splash this season. The Houston native took some time out from reading up on sea-level rise and his next opponent to speak with fellow LSU Tiger alumni and Ocean Conservancy’s own Emily Brauner.

Emily and K’Lavon both grew up along the Gulf Coast and experienced frequent flooding while attending LSU in Baton Rouge whenever there were heavy rains. K’Lavon shared what it was like to go from playing packed stadiums to limited fans, learning about the traumas of Hurricane Katrina from his teammates and his passion for animals—including his new dog. Here is a glimpse of the player that opposing quarterbacks will be looking to avoid in the weeks and years to come.

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An Ocean Explorer

K’Lavon’s love of water started on beach trips in Galveston, Texas. Eager to see his feet through the water (a challenge in most parts of the Gulf), K’Lavon’s first trip to Miami Beach provided the clear water he was seeking. Now up the coast in Jacksonville, the chance to go the beach is one K’Lavon enjoys and he’d like to take his beach-exploring global, looking for any beach with clear water.

Dogs and Giraffes

 A new Presa Canario joined K’Lavon’s family only a few days before we spoke, giving him now two. In addition to his love for dogs, K’Lavon is fascinated by giraffes. What are they thinking up there? That got us thinking, what’s the giraffe of the ocean? There is such a thing as giraffe seahorse, part of the family Syngnathidae.

The impact of the plastic crisis on sea life and wild animal poaching occupy the top of K’Lavon’s list of environmental threats. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is a game-changing piece of legislation that brought back many species from the brink of extinction—including the Gulf of Mexico’s manatee populations. Today, however, the ESA is at risk of being dismantled, but you can help by writing to your members of Congress that you support the critical protections it provides for our ocean’s most vulnerable animals.

Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, 15 Years Later

 As K’Lavon sat down with us, Hurricane Sally was bearing down on the Gulf Coast, with even more hurricanes and tropical storms on the way. Fifteen years ago, K’Lavon and Emily experienced a pair of Category 5 Hurricanes, Hurricane Rita and Hurricane Katrina, and shared their recollections of the disasters. Although K’Lavon wasn’t personally impacted by Rita back in Houston, he remembers how his mother and grandmother helped displaced residents after the storms. As Emily shared the uncertainty about her home in New Orleans, K’Lavon learned about the devastation of the storm while at LSU from his teammates who lived through it.

Climate Change, Look at What’s Going On

The same inquisitive mind that earned K’Lavon a spot on the SEC’s Academic Honor Roll, keeps him busy reading and researching new topics of interest like climate change. When reading about the melting glaciers in the Arctic, he couldn’t believe it. With melting glaciers, more frequent and powerful weather events and the ongoing wildfires hitting the West Coast, it’s difficult for him to understand how many are still in denial of the changing climate.

The impact of humans on the climate and the power for all of us to do something to change is something else K’Lavon believes is possible. Given his coastal connection from Texas to Louisiana and now in Florida, it’s no surprise that K’Lavon feels this way about our ocean and coastal communities.

With the International Coastal Cleanup normally taking place in September, it was great to hear from another Galveston-area native about taking ocean health into their own hands. While the International Coastal Cleanup started 13 years before K’Lavon was born, his determination and passion for learning will no doubt be a boost for our ocean. To keep up with K’Lavon, see more at @S4CKGURU and @Jaguars.

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Hurricanes Worsened by Climate Change

This week marks the 15^th anniversary of Hurricane Rita, a Category 5 storm, weakened to Category 3 before coming ashore, that caused devastation to East Texas and the city of Houston. It seems fitting that its anniversary also falls on Climate Week, an annual international summit that brings together leaders, activists and non-profit organizations—all calling for greater climate action and climate change commitments.

As our ocean continues to experience the impacts of climate change, we should be prepared for more frequent and even worse storms and hurricanes. It’s important to clarify that climate change does not cause hurricanes, but warmer ocean temperatures and higher sea levels, which are effects of climate change, are expected to increase the intensity and frequency of hurricanes and other types of tropical cyclones, such as typhoons.

Evacuees fleeing Hurricane Rita from the Louetta Road (exit 68) overpass in Houston, Texas. © Ashish/Flickr

Even in 2020, we’ve had so many tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic, we’ve already run through the alphabetical list of 21 names for the year and have taken up the Greek alphabet in order to name the rest of the coming storms, a foreboding sign of the mythological-like disasters that our coastal communities face.

This happened in 2005 as well, the same year that both Hurricane Rita and Hurricane Katrina struck the South. This past August was the 15^th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, also a Category 5 storm that reduced to Category 3 upon landfall—but the impacts of this storm were astronomical.

I was 10 years old and living in New Orleans when the storm struck. My family was lucky enough to have the means to evacuate, but there were many that did not.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the total damage from Hurricane Katrina is estimated to be $161 billion. Numerous failures of levees around New Orleans led to catastrophic flooding, 70% of New Orleans’ occupied housing were damaged and more than one million people in the Gulf region were displaced.

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© @nobrauners/Instagram

I remember looking out the window of our van as we evacuated the day before the storm was expected to hit, stuck in hours of traffic right outside the city, surrounded by a few of our possessions, the car radio rattling off news of the impeding storm as it was occasionally interrupted by the blaring alert indicating a state of emergency. I remember sitting in a hotel room in Arkansas, trying to occupy my baby sister while my parents waited for the small television to provide news of our friends and family—the gloom momentarily lifted as our dog repeatedly attempted to walk through a sliding glass door. We had boarded up the house and left our two cats at home, steadily realizing our mistake as the news showed images and videos of water levels rising and as people were stranded on their roofs, waiting for help to arrive.

A spray painted fridge left out after Hurricane Katrina in December 2005. © @nobrauners/Instagram

A few months later, I was in Virginia, living in a small apartment with my mom and sister. My dad had a job in data disaster recovery and needed to be back in the city. An animal rescue group went around New Orleans, releasing animals that were left behind and we were reunited with our cats. We returned home on Christmas Eve.

Needless to say, it was a grim Christmas as we drove around the city of New Orleans. Trees were fallen, large appliances and debris littered streets, and flood lines marred houses, but we were grateful to be together as a family, in the city we call home.

As someone who has been displaced, who has had friends and family lose their homes and lose loved ones, who has seen the city of New Orleans in shambles, I ask that you talk to your elected officials about climate change, to support local measures that aim to address this issue and to advocate for those who are most at risk.

Black, Indigenous and other communities of color are disproportionately affected by climate change and in most cases, and as was the case for Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, are the least prepared and receive the least amount of support before and after storms and other natural disasters. We need to provide support for all communities, but especially these communities that are hit hardest. If we don’t do something to address this issue and adapt, as a nation, we are going to lose people, homes and beloved places.

The post Hurricanes Worsened by Climate Change appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.

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A Salute to Salt Marshes

Every summer growing up, my parents and I would pile into our Suburban with kayaks, beach toys and boogie boards and make the three-hour-long drive from Baltimore to the Jersey Shore.

As a kid, those three hours felt like an eternity. But I always knew we were close to the beach when my Dad would roll down all the windows and proclaim “Smell that?! That’s the salt marsh! Best smell in the world.”

To this day, the salt marsh is one of my favorite scents.

Now, the pungent aroma of the salt marsh might not be everyone’s cup of tea. But it is recognizable to many who travel to beaches throughout the United States. Today, we’re going to delve into the science behind these distinctive ecosystems.

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What is a salt marsh?

Salt marshes are wetlands that are flooded with high tides and drained with low tides. They are found along coastlines in the United States and in other mid- and high-latitude countries (they’re not found as frequently in the tropics). There are more than 4.1 million acres of salt marsh in the United States found from the coast of the Bering Sea to the Florida Keys. Half of all the country’s salt marshes can be found along the Gulf of Mexico.

If you’ve ever seen a salt marsh up close, you know it’s made of thick, dark muck. The marshy soil is comprised of mud and peat, which is made of decaying plant matter. This decomposing organic matter combined with salt water flooding can make the soil hypoxic, meaning its oxygen levels are low. This results in its pungent and distinctive “rotten egg” smell.

© slack12 / Flickr

Why are salt marshes important?

Salt marshes, like many wetlands, play an important role in healthy shorelines. They are crucial habitat for terrestrial and marine species, and provide a safe place to hide, find mates and raise young. Many commercially- and recreationally-important fish species live in salt marshes as juveniles, and many bird species take advantage of the high grasses in the marsh to feed and nest. According to NOAA, 75% of fisheries species use salt marshes for food, shelter or as a nursery, including popular seafood species like shrimp and blue crab.

Salt marshes protect more than just juvenile crustaceans—they protect people, too. They serve as a buffer between the land and ocean by absorbing wave energy during storms (similar to mangrove forests). They also trap sediment, help mitigate flooding in low-lying zones and filter nutrients and toxins out of runoff water. Essentially, they help reduce negative effects of ocean on the land, and land on the ocean—like a really helpful middle man.

They’re also important carbon sinks, meaning they take up and hold onto carbon that would otherwise be in the atmosphere. With the rapidly escalating effects of climate change, this function is more critical than ever!

© Breland Amber, USFWS

Why are salt marshes in trouble?

Salt marshes love calm, low-lying coastal areas—and so do people. Historically, salt marshes have been lost to construction and development, resulting in a 25-50% decline in salt marshes worldwide. Increased nutrient runoff from fertilizers, farms and septic systems have led to increased nutrient levels in marshes, which throws the ecosystem off balance. Additionally, other pollution from industrial runoff and herbicides introduce toxins into the marsh, which can hurt or even kill wildlife. To top it off, other factors like overfishing of top predators and introduction of invasive species can further hurt the salt marsh ecosystem.

Fortunately, there are conservation programs worldwide to help protect and restore salt marshes. One way you can help is by supporting policies that protect wetlands, including salt marshes. By advocating for these critical ecosystems, you’re helping our ocean, its wildlife and all of us who depend on it!

The post A Salute to Salt Marshes appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.

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Our Ocean and Climate Change

This past Monday marked the beginning of Climate Week, an annual international summit that brings together leaders, activists and non-profit organizations—all calling for greater climate action, making new climate change commitments and sharing success stories.

While I was able to attend Climate Week in person last year, I’m proud that we at Ocean Conservancy will still be participating virtually this year and hosting numerous events. We launched a new report about how we can transition to a zero-carbon shipping industry, are convening a high-level government panel to advance climate ambition and ocean-based climate solutions on the international stage, and will cohost an event showcasing leadership from U.S. states on ocean-climate action.

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This year, we put the call out to send us your questions on the ocean and climate change. Let’s dive in:

How do we get people to see the link between climate change and the ocean?

Hama Hama is a fifth generation family-run shellfish farm on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. © Courtesy of Hama Hama Oyster Farm

At Ocean Conservancy, we try to connect climate change and the ocean by highlighting the stories of those people, communities and industries that are either already wrestling with the ocean impacts of climate change or will have to wrestle with those impacts in the future. Climate change is not only altering our ocean and the essential services it provides us—such as a livable climate, fish to eat and important industries like shipping and tourism—but it’s also happening here and now.

One of the impacts of climate change that we are already seeing is ocean acidification. Ocean acidification happens when sea water absorbs carbon dioxide from greenhouse gas emissions and the sea water becomes much more acidic, making it difficult for shell-building organisms, like oysters, to survive. Hama Hama Oyster Farm is a fifth-generation family business in Lilliwaup, Washington and is one of the many family-owned businesses hit hard by ocean acidification. Lissa James Monberg and her brother Adam James are part of the current generation working at the farm.

“Our family farm has been around for five generations and we’d like it to continue. But that might not happen with ocean acidification. This is a big deal for our industry and for Liliwaup, the little town I live in, because there aren’t a lot of jobs.”

Lissa James Monberg

Hama Hama Oyster Farm

If we don’t reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address climate change, businesses like Hama Hama and the communities that they are important parts of, may not survive. Real changes are happening in our ocean today and there is an urgent need for action.

What are you doing as an organization to combat climate change?

A bowhead whale skull and container barge off the coast of Burrow, Alaska. © Design Pics Inc.

To combat ocean climate change, we need to do two things: reduce greenhouse gas pollution and build resilience to those changes that are already underway.

In the United States, we work with coastal states to make sure they recognize the role that the ocean can play in their climate goals, both in reducing emissions and adapting to climate impacts, as sea level rise and other ocean changes threaten their communities.

 We also are seeing many of our Congressional ocean champions embrace the idea and advocate for ocean-climate action. We bring voices from across the country to Capitol Hill to testify and advocate for their Congressional leaders to take action to protect their homes and livelihoods from climate change.

Internationally, we’re working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the global shipping fleet and ensure that the ocean is included in international climate negotiations. At last year’s United Nations climate conference, COP 25, our team worked to help include the ocean in the conference’s final decision text for the first time ever. We also lead an international leadership coalition, the Pacific Rim Ocean-Climate Action Partnership, which is devoted to climate ambition and ocean-based climate solutions. 

How much does climate change affect corals?

A small pile of dead corals near American Samoa. © THE OCEAN AGENCY/XL CATLIN SEAVIEW SURVEY

Corals are particularly sensitive to climate change. When ocean temperatures warm, corals can bleach. Coral bleaching occurs when they’re so stressed that they expel their symbiotic algae that they rely on for food. If there’s a mild bleaching event, corals can recover, but if the bleaching is severe, they won’t recover and will die off.

As ocean temperatures warm and marine heatwaves become more common, we’re seeing more widespread coral bleaching. If we are able limit temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius, we may be able to save about 30% of coral reefs. However, if warming reaches 2 degrees Celsius, we stand to lose almost all of the world’s coral reefs—which would have huge implications for our ocean and for coastal communities.

Can we reverse climate change, and do we have time before it’s too late?

A fisherman gathers netting under The Calcasieu River Bridge in Lake Charles, Louisiana. © Wesley Hitt/Alamy

We can’t immediately reverse the changes that have already happened in the ocean because of climate change, but there is hope.

We can adapt and help our ocean and communities become more resilient and more importantly, we still have time to take meaningful action on climate change and dramatically help the ocean and all of us who rely on it. We can do that by reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions and making a widespread systemic transition away from fossil fuels and towards clean energy sources.

Individual actions are crucial to combating climate change and we should all do what we can in our own daily lives, but we also need to exert pressure on our government and industries to make this change and employ all of the different climate solutions available to us—including ocean-specific solutions.

The ocean can help slow climate change by providing offshore renewable energy and natural carbon storage in blue carbon ecosystems. The ocean isn’t only a victim of climate change, it’s also a powerful source for solutions.

How is climate change linked to environmental and racial justice?

Queen Quet and the Gullah/Geechee Nation at the #StoptheDrill Rally in South Carolina. © Courtesy of Queen Quet

Right now, we’re not only facing the COVID-19 pandemic, but we’re in the middle of a moment in history where the injustices and systemic racism that Black people in our country face has been laid bare by the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and countless others.

Black, Indigenous and other communities of color are all on the frontlines of climate change and are experiencing its devastating impacts the most. We cannot solve climate change without righting the racial and environmental injustices. This will take a lot of work, but it’s necessary work.

“As the CEO of Ocean Conservancy, as a mom and as a citizen in my everyday life, I am committed to racial and environmental justice.”

Janis Searles Jones

CEO, Ocean Conservancy

At Ocean Conservancy, we’re working to diversify our Board, change our hiring practices to increase diversity and equity, and add justice and equity considerations to our work and partnerships. But these are just the first steps—we have a long way to go. We need to evaluate who is benefiting from our work and who is participating in the decision-making process. We need to hear from and work with frontline and marginalized communities such as Black, Indigenous and other communities of color that are already hurting from environmental degradation.

We also need to consider how resources are distributed and if the conservation actions we take will only further the power and wealth of white communities or if it will redistribute those resources to Black, Indigenous and people of color who have historically been denied the same wealth and opportunity.

I hope all of you will join us in not only tackling climate change and making sure the ocean is protected, but also in our commitment to tackling environmental injustice. We need to dramatically slow climate change if we want to protect everyone and everything that we love—and we need everyone to join us in that effort.

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Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Her Life and Legacy

This blog on the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was jointly authored by Ocean Conservancy’s Janis Searles Jones, Chief Executive Officer, Anne Merwin, Vice President of Conservation and Ivy Fredrickson, Staff Attorney.

The news of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death Friday evening hit us hard, as we imagine it did for many of you. As the nation turns to what this means for the Supreme Court and our democratic institutions, we want to spend a moment reflecting on the person that Justice Ginsburg was—on her legacy and what she means to us—and on what her passing means for our ocean.

The importance of Justice Ginsburg as an advocate, a scholar and a Supreme Court Justice is difficult to overstate. RBG’s (as she was affectionately nicknamed) impact is reflected in the outpouring of extraordinary pieces celebrating her life over the weekend.

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To us as attorneys and as mothers, she was a role model and a trailblazer: a brilliant working mom who changed the world in ways that allowed us to walk through the doors she opened and follow our own paths. Long after her death, RBG’s life and career will leave a lasting imprint on us personally, as well as on our country and the world.

As ocean advocates, attorneys and mothers, we want to recognize and give thanks for three things in particular about Justice Ginsburg:

She demolished barriers.

One of only nine women in her class at Harvard Law School, she grew up in a world where it was lawful to treat women as less than men. Just as an example of the attitude around women at the time, a few years after she finished her law degree at Columbia Law School, Chief Justice Earl Warren’s Supreme Court upheld, unanimously, the state of Florida’s exclusion of women from jury service because a “woman is still regarded as the center of home and family life.” Her career is a shining example of proving that sentiment wrong, and she worked throughout her career to make sure all women had equal access to their career of choice. Before becoming a Supreme Court Justice, she argued six cases before the high court, winning five, all with a husband and two children at home.

She was a brilliant strategist.

RBG spent a good part of her career as a litigator bringing cases that changed the world in ways that make a difference in our daily lives. In the early 1970s, she brought a series of sex discrimination cases that would wind their way to the Supreme Court, at the time an all-male institution. Given the composition of the court and the tenor of the times, she selected cases where laws discriminated against men on the basis of sex and argued that that discrimination against men violated that Constitution’s equal protection clause. She knew her audience and argued angles she knew would appeal to those in charge. And she played the long game, selecting cases that would build toward lasting achievements for everyone. RBG broadened the legal field’s understanding and interpretation of inequality. A champion of justice, she played a key role in extending legal protections to women, the LGBTQ+ community, people of color and other historically marginalized groups.

She was a relentless optimist.

On the Supreme Court, when RGB was on the losing side of the vote, she voiced her contrary view by crafting a prolific and inspiring number of dissenting opinions. We believe these dissents will make up as much a part of her lasting legacy as her majority opinions. The Supreme Court will continue to face issues of social justice, equality, environmental protection and the rights of workers; RBG’s dissents may very well inform the majority opinions in future cases. Her optimism will be revisited and the theories she so brilliantly explained in both her majority decisions and her dissents will live on. Her career and her legacy are proof positive that progress is possible. We embrace her optimism and will drive toward that progress.

She has also been a champion for the environment. Justice Ginsburg joined the majority of the court in the landmark case Massachusetts v. EPA in 2008, in which the Court recognized that the harms associated with climate change are serious while also reaffirming the science of climate change. The importance of this finding to a healthy ocean and functioning planet cannot be overstated.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, SCOTUS portrait © Steve Petteway / Public domain

It’s impossible to summarize RBG’s legacy, but we believe she will be remembered first and foremost as a champion for equality, a champion for everyone having a voice in our system of government, a champion for building a more perfect union that includes all Americans. And that resonates for us because ocean conservation is about equality, voice and coming together for something bigger. The ocean is shared by us all.

And in the end, it isn’t about just us—it’s about our children, grandchildren and the ocean and planet we are leaving them. We believe everyone, now and in the future, deserves clean water, clean air, a sustainable planet and a healthy ocean. We believe that despite these partisan times, there is more that unites us in conserving our ocean than divides us.

So, in honor of Justice Ginsburg’s life, in honor of her work and to honor her legacy, we remain optimistic in the face of the unprecedented crises we face. We hope our leaders in the Senate will be inspired by Justice Ginsberg’s principled approach to the law and governance, and ensure that the process of filling her seat on the Supreme Court is rooted in fairness and equity. For the future of our democratic institutions, we cannot let the filling of a Supreme Court vacancy devolve into an exercise of raw political power that erodes our foundational principles of non-partisan judicial independence and respect. In this spirit, we are asking our members and supporters to contact their Senators and tell them to not fill Justice Ginsburg’s seat until after the next Presidential inauguration.

Janis, Ivy and Anne

The post Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Her Life and Legacy appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.

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7 Questions about the Arctic Sea Ice Minimum, Answered

For people living in northern climates, the transition to the fall season marks significant annual events, from the end of summer vacations to the emergence of brilliant autumn colors as cooler temperatures arrive. In the far North regions, one major environmental event that is closely watched by climate scientists and Arctic enthusiasts around the world is the day Arctic sea ice shrinks to its smallest extent of the year. Known as the Arctic summer minimum, this event occurs annually around the middle of September and is one way the impact of climate change is measured in the Arctic.

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As an Arctic researcher and cartographer, I get up early each September morning to plot the most recent sea ice images and statistics, succumbing to that morbid human tendency to turn our gaze toward impending disaster. I do this even though I know the data will likely highlight our society’s failure to respond to the threats of climate change. Today, I’m here to share with you my answers to some frequently asked questions about Arctic sea ice.

What is the current state of Arctic Sea ice looking like?

This year, Arctic sea ice appears to have shrunk to its smallest extent of the year on Sept 15th, marking 2020 as having the second lowest extent on record (see 2020 Arctic sea ice minimum map below). That metric is highly significant and cause for concern, but what we are seeing on the decadal scale (every 10 years) is perhaps even more alarming.

© Ocean Conservancy

What’s so alarming about this?

Climate measures such as seasonal air temperatures and sea ice conditions vary from year to year, but some variation is expected and normal. When you aggregate those changes over time, however, variability within and between years is smoothed out. This is where long-term trends emerge.

What do these comparisons over decades tell us about changes to Arctic sea ice?

When it comes to the quality and quantity of Arctic sea ice over the 42-year satellite record thus far, a few things are important to note. For one, the average minimum extent has decreased dramatically, shrinking at a rate of six to 19% per decade (see animation below, showing decreases in sea ice extent standardized as circles).

© Ocean Conservancy

Standardized sea ice area circles were derived using data from: NSIDC Sea Ice Index, Version 3

For those not familiar with just how big the Arctic is, the average areal extent of Arctic sea ice present in September prior to 1990 would have covered most of the contiguous United States. In contrast, the extent of Arctic sea ice for that same month in 2020 would cover less than half of that area. This is like going from a blanket that fully covers you from chin to toe to one that just covers you from the waist down!

Why is sea ice so important to Arctic ecosystems?

Although we don’t generally think of ice as a form of insulation, it does indeed function that way, shielding cold Arctic surface waters from the 24-hour sunlight that occurs from late spring to early fall. This blanket of sea ice—which keeps heat out rather than in—plays an essential role in the physical and biological oceanography of the Arctic Ocean and its surrounding seas.

Are there other measurements of sea ice other than the sea ice extent?

Sea ice volume is another measure we can aggregate by decade for long-term comparisons, and Arctic sea ice volume is declining at an even faster rate than sea ice extent! As the graph below shows, average sea ice volume on September 1 has decreased at rates of 13% to 44% per decade, and the period of 2011-2020 has seen 66% less sea ice volume than we had 30 years ago.

© Ocean Conservancy

Decadal averages for sea ice volume were calculated using data from: PIOMAS ice volume data, version 2.1

What exactly is included in the term ‘sea ice volume?’

As a metric, sea ice volume captures both ice extent and thickness. This is important because thick ice is much more resistant to seasonal melting than thin ice. To go back to the blanket analogy, the ice blanket that insulates Arctic waters through the summer is not only much smaller than it used to be, but much thinner as well.

What does this mean for the future of both the Arctic and our planet as a whole?

It’s important to note that High Arctic conditions this spring and summer were not intensely favorable to sea-ice loss. While it was unusually hot in parts of northern Russia this summer and fall, we did not have the powerful storm events and atmospheric conditions that are generally associated with record-breaking melt years. With sea ice being thinner and covering less of the Arctic than in the past, we can only guess as to what a perfect storm of melt-inducing conditions might do to the ice that blankets the north. What we do know is that the continued loss of summer sea ice in the Arctic, whether on a gradual or catastrophic scale, will have significant consequences. These consequences will affect not only the complex biological and physical oceanography of the region, but also the wildlife and communities that depend on them … and the global climate as a whole.

© Rowan Romeyn/Alamy

At Ocean Conservancy, we’re working every day to protect the Arctic and areas all across the globe from the consequences of climate change. Rising temperatures and other ocean impacts are disrupting ocean ecosystems now—causing loss of important habitats, changing food webs and species distributions, and threatening fisheries, frontline communities and ocean industries.

It’s clear that climate change and its ocean impacts are here now, and will promise to get worse if we don’t act. Join us by taking action today and asking your members of Congress to enact climate policies that will protect our ocean—our blue planet is depending on us.

The post 7 Questions about the Arctic Sea Ice Minimum, Answered appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.

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