Presenting Our New Podcast — Fish & Us

I know close to nothing about fishing. The practice of fishing, that is. If you gave me a fishing rod or put me on a fishing vessel, my hands would feel disoriented with the equipment. It would be like telling me to get behind a steering wheel at fifteen years old. I’m a self-proclaimed daughter of the ocean, but for me, that connection has come from sitting on the beach or swimming.

And so, I worried when I joined Ocean Conservancy as a RAY Fellow focused on fisheries policy that I was too far out of my depth. I asked myself, “What does this have to do with me? Do I belong here?” Fisheries policy can be wonky, technical and nuanced. A lot of it didn’t come intuitively to me at first. Awash in a sea of new acronyms, I was taking in a whole new language.

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But there are a few things I did know coming into this new space. I know how to be curious. I know how to read, both text and the room. I’ve been inquisitive since my mom introduced me to this magical place called the Chicago Public School Library. I know that I want to learn and listen, that I get to experience life and its lessons and share them with other people. And I know that I am drawn to stories, which I believe hold most of human wisdom and can transcend any linear construct of time.

As I dug into the work, it was the stories that drew me in. The people and communities that fish, and the scientists and managers that work with them, have a deep connectedness to marine ecosystems, and they have a passion for those places and fish that resonates deeply with me and my own story.

I know the world through my feet. They are drawn closer to soil and sand than they are to concrete. I know the world through my eyes. They have seen California droughts, Chicago blizzards and O‘ahu’s shifting landscapes. I trust that the environment is built in our bones and is everything we are.

The people I spoke with about fishing shared the same sensory language of place, meaning and purpose. And they all shared a concern about the future of fishing with climate change bearing down.

© Nicole Dornsife/ Rafeed Hussain

Fish & Us: Climate Stories from the Waterfront is a series of recorded interviews and stories about the impacts of climate change on marine fisheries, as told by the people who spend their days catching, managing and researching fish from the ocean. I talk with fishermen, researchers, policy experts, managers and everyday people that make fisheries what they are. As climate change hastens to seep into every corner of our lives, impacting the way we eat, the way we migrate, the way we ensure that fish are here from our ancestors to our descendants, this podcast calls attention to climate impacts on fisheries that are already affecting our lives.

My care for community and my love for telling stories and writing, mixed with my ecstatic curiosity for fisheries policy, is why I am here as the host of Fish & Us. Almost two years into my fellowship, I learned there is room—and need—for all of us to engage in fisheries policy. I found myself entranced by how fisheries represent this interconnected web: the fish, the people and relationships, and the ocean environment. Whether it’s through fishing or communing at the dinner table, most of us are connected to fish and to fishermen. And we should care deeply that fish and fishing are changing—have changed—because of climate change.

© Rafeed Hussain

For this first installment of the podcast, I met with four incredible individuals: three fishermen and one fisheries manager. I loved every minute with them. They shared with me their core identities, their upbringing, their homes, their memories with and dreams for loved ones, their life work, their observations of climate impacts, their disbelief and their hope.

Fish are valuable to each other, to us and to our ecosystems. When you throw climate change into the mix, their health and resilience are compromised, and can compromise the means of sustenance and living for communities that depend on fish. Our podcast guests taught me that some fish are having to find new homes, some fish are experiencing disruptions in decades-old patterns of wildlife interactions, some fish are decreasing in productivity and their metabolisms are changing, and some fish are experiencing more than a single shift due to climate change.

Tony, Dave, Michele and Hannah presented these challenges but ultimately made me return to the words of Mariame Kaba: “Hope is a discipline.” They taught me that it takes and will take hard decisions to prioritize climate in a fisheries management system with a track record of success but room for improvement. They expressed that when we work with the beauty of our multiple roles and differences, we are better and stronger together. These are the stories that helped me find my place in fisheries policy. I hope that this podcast helps you see your connections as well, as it takes all of us to fight for a healthy ocean for all of us who depend on it.

Fish & Us: Climate Stories from the Waterfront is available on Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, and most major podcast streaming platforms.

The post Presenting Our New Podcast — Fish & Us appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.

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What is a Dolphinfish?

Chances are that most ocean lovers are familiar with the iconic marine mammal, the dolphin. But have you ever heard of the spectacular ocean resident known as the dolphinfish? Despite its shared name, it’s unrelated to the more well-known marine mammal. The dolphinfish is a jaw-droppingly beautiful pelagic (open ocean) fish species that also carries two other nicknames: dorado and mahi mahi (the latter translating to “strong strong” in Hawaiian).

These fish can be found in tropical and subtropical waters all over the world, spending most of their time in the open ocean at depths of between zero and 279 feet below the surface. Though they typically prefer open waters, they are occasionally spotted closer to shore, most often hanging out near floating collections of an algae called sargassum or following large ships in as they travel closer to the coast.

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It’s important to note that there are two species in the dolphinfish family (Coryphaenidae): the common dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) and the pompano (Coryphaena equiselis). They are very similar in appearance with long, streamlined frames, dorsal fins running nearly the entire length of their bodies and forked tail fins. They usually measure around three feet long and weigh close to 30 pounds but have been observed at records of more than six feet long and more than 80 pounds in weight!

Incredibly vibrant in color, most of these fish have stunning greenish-gold bodies with patches of blue and bright green that shimmer beautifully when they reflect sunlight. They also have blunt heads (especially males) that contain numerous tiny teeth as well as what’s known as a “tooth patch” on their tongues.

If you’re trying to distinguish the common dolphinfish from the pompano, there are a few ways to tell them apart, but the easiest is typically to take a look at the depth of their bodies, specifically examining the distance from the top (dorsal) side of the fish to the bottom (ventral) side. While the common dolphinfish typically has a measured body depth of less than 25%, the pompano is known to have body depths surpassing 25%. There is also a way to tell a younger dolphinfish from an older one; juveniles often have vertical bar-type markings, which fade over time as the fish mature. These markings are found on the sides of their bodies that stretch onto their fins.

© Queensland State Archives

Speaking of maturity, these fish grow extremely quickly! With an average lifespan of around four years, dolphinfish typically reach reproductive maturity by the time they are four to five months old. During spawning season (which occurs intermittently throughout the year in tropical waters), the fish will spawn every two to three days, with females releasing approximately 33,000 to 66,000 eggs each time they spawn. That’s a lot of mini-mahis!

Oh, and I’d be remiss not to mention that these animals are serious ocean athletes. Dolphinfish are impeccably agile swimmers, reaching potential speeds of up to 57 miles per hour. Thanks to their natural agility and aptly compressed bodies, mahi mahi rank among our ocean’s top predatory fish. They are diurnal hunters, meaning they’re mainly active during the day, and love to chase down their favorite pelagic snacks, including but not limited to triggerfish, flying fishand man-o-war, as well as larger juvenile fishes like tuna and billfishes such as sailfish and swordfish. It’s interesting they’re known sometimes to hunt in pairs, using teamwork to lock down their meals. Since males tend to be larger than females at around the same age, they do tend to eat more food in general than female dolphinfish, likely in an effort to support their speedy metabolism.

In mentioning the hunting patterns of dolphinfish, it’s also important to acknowledge the predators of dolphinfish themselves. Most often, large marine mammals and adult billfish are the animals mahi mahi must keep an eye out for. However, humans should be counted among these predators, too: These colorful creatures are also highly sought after as gamefish and are fished both recreationally and commercially.

© Wikimedia Commons

Because dolphinfish reach maturity at a young age and produce a large number of offspring (remember the tens of thousands of mini-mahis being spawned every few days?), many studies suggest that mahi populations are able to handle relatively high catch levels compared to other species, specifically when it comes to the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico fisheries. However, as with many ocean-going species, more research would help to understand the full impact of fishing and the status of the dolphinfish populations.

All in all, it’s safe to say that the dolphinfish is a captivatingly unique marine specimen. If you’re interested in learning more about the conservation work that’s being done to protect fish species like this one, be sure to visit our Sustainable Fisheries page to learn all about the fish conservation work we’re doing here at Ocean Conservancy—and , of course, how you can help!

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What is a Frilled Shark?

If you’re like me, the name “frilled shark” conjures up a dainty image of a shark in a fluffy dress. But if you tap that name into a Google search you’re in for a thrill because those frills can kill. The frilled shark gets its name from a row of six red-lined gills that look a little like an Elizabethan ruff seen in Shakespeare’s day. However, the sharks’ terrifying 300 teeth might distract people from admiring this decorative feature.

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While its common name comes from its gills, its Latin name (Chlamydoselachus anguineus) is inspired by its snake-like head and long, narrow body. A frilled shark looks more like an eel at first glance, giving off strong “swim away!” and “nope!” vibes. The Latin root of its species name, anguis, describes a snake, dragon or serpent. It does seem like the stuff of legend, especially since this shark has been on Earth for 80 million years. They first popped up in the Cretaceous period when all your favorite Jurassic Park stars like the Triceratops, Tyrannosaurs rex and Velociraptor roamed the land.

The first description of this shark dubbed it an “elusive creature, the serpent-like monster of the oceans.” Frilled sharks can grow up to six feet long with 25 rows of teeth. These teeth face inward, ensuring once prey get in, they don’t get out. No one has seen a frilled shark eat so we’re not sure how their prey meets their fate. Possibly they are lured near by the shark’s white chompers and are done in by a quick and powerful lunge forward that seal’s their fate.

Female frilled sharks are larger than males. These powerful mamas may have the longest gestation period on earth: 42 months. That’s over three years of carrying around an average of six pups in their bellies. While in the womb, they do not have a placenta like human babies, but live in egg capsules, nourished by the yolk.

Glimpses of frilled sharks are rare. In 2015 an Australian fisherman caught one and described the experience as something out of a horror movie. If all this talk about this scary shark is making you nervous to dip your toe into the ocean waves, don’t worry. These sharks typically live hundreds or even thousands of feet below the surface. The average person will be able to see a frilled shark only in pictures … or in your nightmares.

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3 Lesser-Known Women in Marine Science

This March we are celebrating Women’s History Month, a time to reflect on the significant contributions women have made to our lives and our culture. It’s also a time to recognize the contributions women are making across many sectors—and especially for our ocean.

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Today is doubly significant, as it marks International Women’s Day. I want to take this opportunity to recognize three lesser known, trailblazing women who have helped shape the way we view ocean science and policy today.

They are just a few of the numerous incredible women who have broken barriers to pursue their passion of caring for the ocean and laid the foundation for the science-based work we do today.

 

© Library of Congress

One such woman was Marie Tharp. Tharp made one of the most significant bathymetric discoveries ever regarding underwater depth when she found the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and proved the validity of continental drift. It was the 1950s, and her work at the time was largely diminished because of gender stereotypes. When she reported her discovery, her own supervisor Bruce Heezen notes that he “discounted it as girl talk and didn’t believe it for a year.” Despite not getting recognition at the time, Tharp’s renowned map still hangs in the offices of many ocean scientists today. And the current maps that NOAA makes are rooted in Tharp’s work.

© B.R. Strauss/Wikimedia

 

 

Another trailblazer was Rosa Smith Eigenmann, one of the first widely published female ichthyologists. She began her career collecting specimens for the San Diego Society of Natural History, during which time she met the famed ichthyologist David Starr Jordan who encouraged her to join him as a student at Indiana University. She spent the next few years touring Europe with the lab, collecting and documenting species of fish. She published almost 20 papers on her own and later collaborated with her husband on 15 more. Her work contributed greatly to our knowledge of fish species and lineages, despite the fact she faced many obstacles. She wrote, “In science as everywhere else in the domain of thought woman should be judged by the same standard as her brother. Her work must not simply be well done for a woman.”

 

© ASU HPS Repository

Last, but not least, there was Dr. Roger Arliner Young—the first African-American woman to receive a doctorate in zoology in 1940. She was a researcher and an activist who fought her entire career to overcome racism, sexism and classism. She was the first Black woman to publish in the prestigious journal Science, but was also excluded from authorship on numerous papers she contributed to throughout her master’s and Ph.D. studies. Her legacy is partially captured now in the Roger Arliner Young Fellowship Program—a year-long, paid fellowship for recent college undergraduates that focuses on increasing opportunities for historically underrepresented communities in the U.S. conservation sector, which has historically been overwhelmingly white.

These three women represent a small sample of the expansive, diverse contributions of women to science that have been historically overlooked in the field of marine conservation.

They blazed a path for future generations of female scientists, researchers, oceanographic cartographers and more to follow their passions of ocean exploration and conservation.

We know that our fates are intertwined with the ocean, and it’s imperative that every person who aspires to save it—regardless of gender, race or identity—has the opportunity to pursue their passion. As we celebrate Women’s History Month, I invite you to reflect on the women who have served as mentors and role models in your conservation journey.

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Learning From and Standing With Climate Justice Communities

In his 2007 essay, Derrick Christopher Evans, a grassroots community organizer and environmental justice activist from Mississippi, candidly expressed his opinions about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina:

“Unfortunately, no thoughtful and coordinated response will ever occur without a compelling grassroots push for community visibility, multi-issue awareness, and broad social justice for Gulf Coast survivors.”

More than a decade later, this sentiment still rings true for coastal communities on the frontlines of climate change.

Climate change continues to drive rising ocean temperature and fuel coastal storms. We’ve seen proof of this with the landfall of Category-4 Hurricane Ida on the sixteenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina last August. Natural disasters are threatening communities, infrastructure and ecosystems in the coastal zone. We must reevaluate and reform the ways our institutions help communities adapt to climate impacts.

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For instance, an Executive Order signed in the first days of the Biden-Harris administration dedicated more federal resources to confront the climate crisis. It’s imperative that the allocation of these resources prioritizes local grassroots and community-driven initiatives in systemically marginalized communities. Groups leading these initiatives are best suited to make decisions about what is needed in their own communities.

This truth is illustrated in Derrick Evans’ fight to protect communities and ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico. I first learned about his efforts in the film Come Hell or High Water: The Battle for Turkey Creek, which documents the compounding and seemingly-endless threats faced by Evans’ community in Mississippi. The residents of Turkey Creek are all too familiar with the traumatic effects of systemic anti-Black racism that have accumulated for centuries. Climate disasters like Hurricanes Katrina and Rita only made matters worse, exacerbating issues like housing insecurity and public health complications.

Turkey Creek is a predominately Black community originally founded by formerly enslaved people during the Reconstruction period after the Civil War. They settled along the creek, about three miles north of the Gulf Coast, in their first years of freedom. For generations, their descendants have called the land home, and the nearby creek has been used for time-honored traditions and recreation from fishing to baptisms.

Turkey Creek’s residents are deeply connected to the ecosystems that have sustained their livelihoods and community legacy.

However, maintaining these historic lands has been a struggle for those living there. One challenge that the documentary followed was Mississippi’s priority expansion of the city of Gulfport in the early 2000s. Noticing that the lands around Turkey Creek were mostly green and undeveloped, developers in nearby Gulfport continued to expand their projects northward toward the community. Roads and commercial hubs carved into the wetlands that once dominated the region. When the community pushed back, city officials insinuated the residents, many of them elderly, could start anew in another location.

Evans would not stand by and let generations of history be drowned in concrete. Through tremendous effort and coordination with scientists and the National Audubon Society, Evans managed to have Turkey Creek and its wetlands designated as a critical bird habitat. This action saved ecosystems that provide a protective barrier against climate impacts, like heavy rains that cause flooding. Despite this huge win, the harm of the already-encroaching new developments could not be undone. In the film, Evans is seen comforting a neighbor whose son’s grave had a building constructed right over it.

This power grab incited by politicians and developers wasn’t the last challenge the Turkey Creek community would face. They were hit by the devastating intensity of both Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Hurricane Rita hit in late September 2005 while many communities were still reeling from the impacts of Hurricane Katrina a month before. These intense hurricanes also damaged oil refineries, chemical corridors and other industrial sites. These toxic sites are disproportionately, but not coincidentally, placed in Black and brown communities. The pollution stemming from these disasters wreaked further havoc on frontline and “fenceline” communities.

In the weeks and months after the storms, the Gulf state governments went to work dispersing federal disaster relief funds. These funds were meant to repair critical infrastructure and help devastated communities get back on their feet. However, the investments were not received in most Black communities.

© JournoJen/flickr

In the immediate aftermath, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) distributed trailers to shelter stranded families. Three years after the storms, approximately 16,000 families were still occupying FEMA trailers even though the states they lived in received relief funds to invest in affordable housing. To make matters worse, occupants began experiencing respiratory illnesses and other health concerns. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigated these reports and found that the trailers contained extremely high levels of formaldehyde, a cancer-causing gas.

So, what did the governor of Mississippi do with the remaining federal relief funds intended for affordable housing? He spent it to further expand the port of Gulfport. Derrick Evans was outraged that some residents of Turkey Creek, including his own mother, had been living in the toxic trailers for years. He organized a unique protest to force the nation to pay attention to the often-ignored experiences of Katrina and Rita survivors.

Two years after the disaster, Evans and other grassroots organizers kicked off the “KatrinaRitaVille Express Tour.” The group, named “Gulf Coast Peoples’ Movement for Full and Fair Recovery,” toured the country with two FEMA trailers. These trailers became traveling billboards with brightly colored messages that highlighted the failures of FEMA and the government. They stopped at presidential debates, using the 2008 election as an opportunity to push for political action.

The organizers also used the tour to unite overburdened communities throughout the Gulf Coast region. It was an opportunity for people to share their experiences of relying on community-driven recovery efforts in the face of government neglect. This movement not only provided witnesses with an education about prevalent issues that had been overlooked and ignored, but also elevated the voices of struggling survivors who didn’t have the means to travel and share their own experiences. A similar network lives on today in the form of the “Bridge the Gulf Project.” This multimedia storytelling project lifts and connects the voices of Gulf Coast communities working toward justice and sustainability.

From creatively protecting their natural resources to organizing a national movement, Evans and his collaborators demonstrate that grassroots groups and environmental justice community members are the true experts and are proven hubs of climate mitigation and adaptation solutions. To quote the anthology, All We Can Save;

“When you’re close to the problem, you’re necessarily close to the solutions.”

What these communities needed most was adequate resources to support their recovery. Frontline communities across the country remain the most impacted by the climate crisis and the most knowledgeable about how to address local climate challenges. Yet, they receive the least investment when it comes to climate preparation and recovery efforts, and for too long, they have been left out of important conversations deciding how funds are invested in their communities. With the aim of alleviating these stark disparities, the Biden-Harris administration’s Justice40 Initiative sets an ambitious and necessary goal to ensure that federal resources end up in the hands of those who need them most. It’s up to all of us to hold government officials accountable for delivering resources to grassroots and community-driven efforts.

One organization working for environmental justice on the ground in the Gulf of Mexico is the New Orleans-based nonprofit, the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice. Combining a mandate for environmental justice with an environmental conservation imperative, this organization is working to help shape a healthy and just environment for children and families throughout the Gulf of Mexico region.

We cannot solve the climate change crisis without putting environmental justice at the forefront.  Click here to learn about how Ocean Conservancy is working to promote accountability through the Justice40 Initiative.

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What the America COMPETES Act Means for Our Ocean

Congress is working hard on legislation to bolster the United States’ leadership in science and technology and support a clean energy economy that is “made in America.” This is great news for our ocean because a healthy ocean is essential to our ability to thrive as a nation, grow our economy and advance climate solutions.

So, what has Congress been working on? Earlier this year, the House passed the America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology and Economic Strength Act of 2022 (also known as the America COMPETES Act). This bill aims to boost United States competitiveness by investing in infrastructure that enables research and by making training more accessible and affordable. These investments include many important ocean and climate provisions.

The America COMPETES Act is a companion bill to the United States Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) that the Senate passed in May of 2021. The USICA aims to boost America’s global competitiveness by reauthorizing programs at the National Science Foundation and National Aeronautics and Space Administration, expanding federal support for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) initiatives in higher education, other research sectors and more. However, the USICA did not include many of the important ocean and climate provisions that were included in the America COMPETES Act.

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At Ocean Conservancy, we know that a healthy ocean and climate are critical to our competitiveness as a nation. We have an opportunity to grow a clean energy economy and ensure that the ocean is a central part of the solution to mitigating climate change. The America COMPETES Act includes necessary steps to mitigate climate change, adapt to worsening impacts and protect our marine ecosystems and coastal economies. Here are some of the benefits for our ocean and coasts that we are the most excited to see included:

• Protection for marine life: Marine life, from coral reefs to marine mammals and seabirds, face continuing threats from climate change, ecosystem loss and disease outbreaks. The America COMPETES Act provides support by expanding Arctic marine rescue and response capabilities for marine mammals, creating a platform to collect and report data about the death of marine mammals, establishing new programs for coral research and conservation, and conducting an assessment to measure the impact of oil spills and plastic ingestion on sea life.
• Climate resilience for coastal communities: Coastal communities and economies are at risk from some of the unavoidable impacts of climate change like sea level rise and more frequent and severe storms. The America COMPETES Act authorizes grants for shovel-ready projects to restore marine, estuarine, coastal and Great Lakes habitats. This effort will create jobs and aid in climate change adaptation.
• Better fisheries data and ocean acidification monitoring: The U.S. shellfish industry is suffering from impacts of ocean acidification. This industry is also in direct competition with exports from other nations, like China. The America COMPETES Act includes programs that will advise on coastal and ocean acidification research and monitoring and that will provide better access to that data.
• Advancing offshore wind for climate mitigation: The United States must make investments in responsible offshore wind development to be a leader in clean energy production. President Biden made a commitment to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy in the United States by 2030, and the America COMPETES Act solidifies this commitment into law. It also restores the Department of the Interior’s ability to hold offshore wind lease sales in federal waters off the coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.

Support in Congress for these important provisions for our ocean and climate is an important first step. But our work is not done.

So, what’s next? The U.S. House and Senate are working together to write a final bill that combines the pieces of the USICA and the America Competes Act that they can agree on. The USICA, unfortunately, did not include many of the important ocean and coastal provisions that were included in the House-passed America COMPETES Act. Ocean Conservancy is working hard to make sure that Congress keeps these important ocean and climate provisions in the final bill. We must take these steps to mitigate climate change, adapt to worsening climate change impacts and protect our marine ecosystems and coastal economies to support U.S. competitiveness for years to come. Your support of our work to accomplish this goal is greatly needed and appreciated.

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3 Questions to Ask After the New IPCC Climate Report

The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report released this week details how future climate impacts are going to affect our society, and many of us may be wondering what the future holds. It is increasingly obvious that stability and security, justice and peace, food and shelter—basic necessities and human rights—are not a given. We must demand them of our leaders and align our own actions to secure them.

While all the news this week has been difficult to absorb, I am confident that we as individuals and our leaders know exactly what we need to do regarding climate change. Climate change is a problem which has a known solution: We must dramatically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and prepare now for intense climate impacts.

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As the CEO of Ocean Conservancy, I naturally look to our ocean. There, we can tackle shipping emissions, which are projected to generate 18% of all global emissions by 2050. We can decrease production of virgin plastic that comes from fossil fuels and pollutes our ocean as well. We can find opportunities for alternative energy like offshore wind and other marine renewables. We can protect coastal habitats, like mangroves and sea grasses, which can serve as critical tools to guard communities from intensifying storms while also safely storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. We can upgrade and relocate our coastal infrastructure to ensure we provide safe drinking water to families and keep wastewater out of rivers and bays. While we are staring down possibly the biggest challenge humans have ever faced, we also have solutions ready to be implemented.

This IPCC report, based on research by 270 of the world’s leading scientists, clearly lays out that we have choices to make. If we continue on our current path, we will see our ocean deteriorate before our eyes. If we want to save our planet, our coastal communities and our ocean, we must take action now. Some of the changes in our ocean will be irreversible. For every day we wait, we will lose more of the incredible habitats and creatures in the ocean.

What can we do to tackle the climate crisis?

Each IPCC report brings grim headlines that may leave all of us feeling hopeless. We still have a chance to tackle the climate crisis, but we need action on a grander scale than anything we’ve done to date. You play a vital role in changing our future as an ocean advocate. When thinking about what you can do, it might be helpful to ask three questions:

1) What should the government be doing?

We need bold plans and execution at all levels of government to combat climate change. In the U.S., Congress must pass the climate elements of the Build Back Better Act. We must hasten the transition to renewable energy, end fossil fuel subsidies and investments in related projects and invest in coastal restoration and protection. You can take action with Ocean Conservancy today.

You can also go a step further by calling and meeting with your congressional representatives to urge them to support legislation to address the climate crisis. This is an opportunity to tell your story about why climate change is important to you as their constituent. Was your community hit by an unprecedented weather event? Do you live in a coastal community at risk from sea level rise? No matter what your experience is, your voice can be a powerful tool to get your elected officials to prioritize climate action and understand the urgency in which we must act.

2) What can corporations do?

Just 100 companies are responsible for 70% of global emissions. It is important that we hold corporations accountable through government rules and regulations and by using our purchasing power as consumers, board members or employees.

You can support companies taking meaningful climate action with your purchasing choices. You can also look into your bank or investment accounts to see if they are invested in fossil fuel companies and choose options that support greener companies. It’s important if you’re canceling a service or switching to a new product to tell the company why you are switching. Enough people taking this step can be a powerful motivation for these companies to rethink their practices. You can also look at how your own workplace contributes to climate change and advocate for changes that reduce carbon emissions. These actions might feel like a drop in a bucket, but they can add up and force companies to make significant change.

3) What can I do?

While any one person cannot “fix” climate change, there are things we all can do to tackle this huge challenge. There are ways we can minimize our climate impact, like reducing our energy and water consumption, composting food waste or choosing to take public transit, bike or walk instead of driving. We can also look beyond ourselves and find ways to help our friends, family and neighbors get involved in putting pressure on government and corporations. One of the best ways of doing this is simply talking more about it. Discussions about climate change can engage other people in the movement and help them find ways to take action in their own lives. This work is hard and having climate buddies by our sides can provide support and push us to act on climate together.

The IPCC report not only provides the foundational science we need to understand climate change, it also serves as the warning call we need to take action. It is up to all of us to hear this siren and demand a drastic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change is a problem with clear solutions, and the time is now to make those bold, sweeping changes to save our ocean, our planet and our communities.

The post 3 Questions to Ask After the New IPCC Climate Report appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.

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What is the IPCC?

What is the IPCC?

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the leading scientific authority on climate change. Every six or seven years, scientists from around the world organize into expert working groups and review thousands of the latest studies on climate change. They then distill this information into reports that provide policymakers and advocates with the information they need to combat the climate crisis. Each report they release offers us more insight into the drivers of global warming, how climate change is impacting our planet and our communities, and how we can address those impacts to protect communities and ecosystems.

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The IPCC has sounded the alarm on climate change since their first report in 1990. Their work paved the way for international agreements to tackle the crisis like the Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement. Over the years, these reports have analyzed the research to confirm that global warming is occurring, that humans are the cause and that we need to reduce carbon emissions to address it. More recently, IPCC reports have assessed how climate change is affecting human communities as well. The IPCC provides critical insights that can help communities adapt to predicted changes and develop new tools to reduce or sequester carbon.

Why is the IPCC report important?

The IPCC shows us what our future looks like if we don’t tackle the climate crisis. It also assesses the possible paths to avoid the most catastrophic possibilities. This assessment provides the information that decision-makers need to take swift and decisive action. The IPCC has sketched out the array of possible futures ahead (referred to as “scenarios”) that depend on what policies are put in place to cut carbon emissions. It is a clear demonstration for how our future depends on society’s choices and the political will of those in leadership positions. To avoid the worst impacts of climate change, the science is clear: Drastic carbon emissions cuts are required.

The first part of the Sixth Assessment Report released in August found that climate impacts are already widespread, rapid and intensifying. The planet Earth has already warmed more than 1 degree Celsius. Even with the international commitments made at COP26 in Glasgow, we are still on track to see 2.0 degrees warming by 2050 and as much as 2.7 degrees by 2100. This level of warming would lead to devastating losses in habitats, increased risk of sea level rise in extreme heat and other weather impacts that would put many communities at risk. IPCC reports use the best available science to show what we will lose if we don’t act now.

What’s in the latest IPCC report?

On February 28, 2022, the IPCC released Working Group II’s contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report. This report focused on the climate impacts, adaptation needs and vulnerabilities resulting from our warming climate.

• There is a greater than 50% chance that global warming will exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius warming by 2040. Impacts of an overshoot depend on how far and for how long we overshoot 1.5 degrees, but any overshoot this century will result in irreversible impacts on ecosystems with low resilience including polar, mountain and coastal ecosystems.
• There is high confidence that climate change has already caused irreversible losses in terrestrial, freshwater and coastal and open ocean marine ecosystems. Projected climate change, in combination with other drivers, like unsustainable development, will cause further loss by 2040 of much of the world’s forests, coral reefs and low-lying coastal wetlands and the biodiversity they contain.
• Increasingly frequent and severe heat extremes, including marine heatwaves, have resulted in losses in the ocean of hundreds of species locally, mass mortality events and kelp forests. Half of the species on the planet have already shifted poleward or, on land, to higher elevations.
• As many as 3.6 billion people are already highly vulnerable to climate change with at least 1 billion at risk from coastal-specific climate hazards. By 2040 continued and accelerating sea level rise will encroach on coastal communities and infrastructure and submerge and destroy low-lying coastal ecosystems. These risks rapidly increase in the mid- and long terms if warming continues.
• Food security, food safety and supply chains are already at risk from climate change. Risks to food security and safety will be compounded by increasing contamination of seafood from harmful algal blooms, mycotoxins and chemical contaminants.
• Adaptation planning and implementation have increased globally; however, there is a significant gap between current levels and what is needed to respond to and reduce climate impacts. Filling this gap cannot be done with more of the same; it will require a transformation shift in investment and implementation for climate resilience.

Near-term mitigation and adaptation actions can influence the extent and severity of predicted climate impacts. However, the window for action is closing even faster than previously predicted, and we must act now to save ourselves and the planet as we know it from the worst-case scenarios.

What does this mean for the ocean?

The ocean is both a victim of climate impacts and a vital part of climate solutions.   Each IPCC report gives us more insights into how our ocean is changing and how those changes might impact the wildlife and communities that depend on it. We know from previous reports that the ocean is getting warmer, becoming more acidic and losing oxygen at a faster rate than ever recorded—so fast that species, including humans, may not be able to adapt to these changes. We can see clearly with this report just how severe the increasing threats from sea level rise, changes in food systems and coastal flooding will be. Simply put, climate change is putting the ocean at risk in more drastic ways than we’ve ever seen before.

Is there room for hope?

The last several years of intensifying climate-driven disasters have shown that more people than ever understand that climate change is happening in their own communities. In 2020, just one-quarter of the American population was dismissive, doubtful or disengaged on climate change. That means that three out of four Americans are taking the threat of climate change seriously, and they are ready for climate action.

Communities everywhere are adapting to the initial impacts of climate change and planning ahead for what’s to come. The newest IPCC report assesses the adaptations that communities have tried already and shows the common features of the most successful adaptation activities. Specifically, it underlines how inclusive, coordinated adaptation actions that rely on multiple types of knowledge tend to produce the most robust outcomes with the most benefits for ecosystems and people. This report creates a more detailed picture of the adaptation solutions we have and identifies gaps where transformative changes are still needed.

This latest report makes clear that we can no longer hit “snooze” on the alarm that the IPCC is sounding. If we continue to doze through the warnings, we will begin to miss out on more opportunities to have a healthy ocean and thriving coastal communities.

The post What is the IPCC? appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.

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