Good news! The 2016 Arctic Drilling Rule—an important federal regulation designed to protect the Arctic Ocean from the potentially catastrophic impacts of exploratory oil drilling—is no longer under threat.
Last year, the Trump administration proposed regulatory changes that would have stripped away vital safety and environmental protection standards, substantially weakening the 2016 Arctic Drilling Rule. This misguided proposal would have made it easier and cheaper for oil companies to drill in U.S. Arctic waters. At a time when we need to shift away from polluting fossil fuels toward renewable energy sources, a plan to make it easier to conduct risky drilling in Arctic waters would have been exactly the wrong approach.
Fortunately, the Trump administration failed to finalize its proposed changes before President Biden took over. In February, the Department of the Interior—now under new leadership—gave the public more time to comment on the proposed rule changes. Members of the public, including thousands of Ocean Conservancy members and supporters, took advantage of the extended comment period and urged the agency to withdraw the proposed rule change.
The Department of the Interior got the message.
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Earlier this month, the agency announced it was dropping the Trump administration’s plan to weaken the 2016 Arctic Drilling Rule. In doing so, it recognized what was obvious all along: the 2016 Rule is “critical to ensuring adequate safety and environmental protections for this sensitive ecosystem and Alaska Native subsistence activities.”
Make no mistake: this is a big win for the Arctic. It also marks an important turning point. Now that we’ve defeated the Trump administration’s last-ditch effort to strip away Arctic safeguards, we can focus on convincing the federal government to chart a path away from dirty, risky fossil fuels and toward a safe, renewable sources of energy.
The Department of the Interior is ready to listen. Earlier this year, it kicked off a comprehensive review of the federal oil and gas program, including offshore oil and gas activities. This gives members of the public—like you—an important opportunity to urge the Department of the Interior to be a better steward of our ocean. Join us:tell the Department of Interiorto lead a rapid, just and equitable transition away from fossil fuels and toward a renewable energy future.
At the end of April, my wife and I went away for a couple of nights, a welcome change of scenery in the era of COVID-19. We stayed near the 22-mile-long Matanuska Glacier, in the Chugach Mountains of southern Alaska. In addition to relaxing somewhere other than in our home, we toured the glacier by helicopter and on foot. A massive body of ice dozens of miles inland may not seem connected to the ocean, but, of course, everything is connected on our beautiful planet.
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The Matanuska Glacier is one of thousands of glaciers in southern Alaska, all contributing to the Alaska Coastal Current that flows clockwise around Alaska. This current helps produce abundant salmon runs and flourishing coastal fisheries and ecosystems. Some of the water comes from last winter’s snow, but some has been locked in the glacier for hundreds of thousands of years. And now it rejoins the world’s water cycle.
The glacier is stunningly beautiful, and we feel fortunate to spend time here. However, not all is well. Alaska’s glaciers are melting faster than the snow can replenish them. Water that has been stored as ice on land is rejoining the sea and, as a consequence, sea levels are rising. Alaska is warming quickly, so its glaciers are contributing more than their share to sea-level rise. Nonetheless, the amount of water in Alaska’s mountains is a small fraction of what is stored in the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets.
In other words, what we are seeing in Alaska is a small symptom of a global problem, an early indicator of what is in store if global warming continues. We still enjoy the sights and the experience of our day on the Matanuska Glacier but wish our pleasure was not tinged with worry about our planet.
For those of us at Ocean Conservancy, Earth Day was less of a day and more of a week-long event this year, and we couldn’t be happier with the outcomes. Ocean-based climate solutions were at the heart of the discussions during Ocean Conservancy’s and the United Nations Foundation’s event How Ocean-Based Solutions Contribute to Net-Zero.
At President Biden’s Leaders Summit on Climate, President Biden announced the United States’ new Nationally Determined Contribution, which is the country’s climate commitment as part of the Paris Agreement, to reduce U.S. emissions by 50-52% compared to 2005 levels. After the last four years, this is the type of action we want to see more of from the Biden-Harris administration. Within this new climate commitment, the administration specifically calls out ocean-based solutions such as offshore wind, blue carbon and unlike in many climate plans and events, shipping didn’t get off the hook this time and was similarly included.
For a sector that accounts for as much greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution as a G7 country like Germany or Japan, it’s a welcome sign that greater attention and action is focused on the shipping industry and that it’s setting us on a better course at last. Let’s talk through all of the new action on shipping we heard during Earth Week, and what it all means for climate action overall within the industry.
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It’s important to note that neither of these targets are “net-zero” targets, but are absolute-zero targets. While net-zero by 2050 is a great starting point, considering the long lifespan of marine ships, shipping companies need clear signals that our ultimate priority rests with preventing emissions before they happen rather than something to be offset after the fact. We also recommend plenty of actions we can start taking today to meet this goal or surpass it.
Another fantastic signal was sent by the United Kingdom’s commitment to include shipping and aviation in their national climate accounting, with a plan to cut the sectors’ overall emissions by 78% by 2035. By bringing shipping under the fold, nations can finally take ownership of all climate impacts associated with their economy. It’s a great marker for other nations to follow, especially if they’re pairing it with international action at the IMO.
Other countries pledged spiritually similar actions. For example, Norway’s Minister of Climate and Environment Mr. Sveinung Rotevatn also reiterated their commitment to reducing domestic shipping emissions by 50% by 2050.
Outside of new commitments, we also heard exciting announcements that touched on the technology or policy we need to see to help achieve an emissions-free future for the shipping industry. Japan’s Deputy Director-General for Engineering Affairs, Maritime Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Hideaki Saito pledged a zero-emission commercial vessel on the water by 2028. This is another key piece of the decarbonization puzzle for shipping. Zero emissions ocean-going vessels need to be produced as soon as possible and they must be capable of running on truly zero-emissions fuels produced by renewable resources. As the World Bank reiterated in April, this is a huge opportunity for developing countries like Chile with abundant renewable resources.
Building the overall framework for these fuels to take off commercially may require a market-based measure, and His Excellency President David Kabua of the Marshall Islands signaled what an ambitious proposal to tackle this price should look like. The Marshall Islands and the Solomon Islands have submitted a proposal to the IMO’s next meeting in June for a levy of 100 dollars per tonne of CO2. By placing a price on carbon that ratchets up over time, the Marshall Islands offer a framework that could fund both the research and development shipping companies want, as well as provides funds for climate adaptation efforts that these Pacific Island nations need in the face of rising sea levels and fiercer storms.
Taken together, the commitments and announcements countries made during Earth Week set the table for a hearty meal of ocean-based climate actions. With a target of zero emissions by 2050, ships on the water, a full accounting of shipping emissions and backed by the kind of levy to help green fuels soar, we have a clear course charted to tackle this challenging sector. We’re excited to work with all these countries to make their commitments in Earth Week a reality.
Through Ocean Conservancy’s participation in the Sport Positive Summit in the Fall of 2020, we were privileged to meet with Dr. Jessica Murfree, Ph.D. and learn about her interest in the subject of climate impacts on sports. For her Spring 2021 Sport and the Environment class in the University of Louisville’s Sport Administration Program, she invited us to sit in on her students’ final project presentations. The class showed an understanding of the interconnectedness between what happens in our ocean and how it can have an effect on professional, collegiate and individual athletics. From harmful algal blooms in the Great Lakes impacting the Ohio River and leading to cancellations of an Iron Man race to the more frequent postponements and rescheduling of summer sports due to extreme heat, the class demonstrated an understating of these challenges and an eagerness to come up with different types of solutions.
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Out of the many outstanding projects from the class, three examples from students Dwayne Depp, Spencer Stone and Amanda Barr stood out for their creativity, detailed plans and geographic relevance. Here is a look at their ideas:
When Dwyane Wade and LeBron James led the Miami Heat to consecutive NBA Titles in 2012 and 2013, they inspired a generation of young fans from across the country. One of those fans was Dwayne Depp. Depp, a former track star who traveled with Team USA for the Down Under Tour in 2016, credits Dr. Murfree with opening his eyes to the ways the environment can impact sports. During his trip with Team USA in 2016, one of the stops was Australia, where he was able to get certified and dive the Great Barrier Reef. It was a life-changing experience for him and he credits that time underwater and his passion for the Miami Heat in crafting his idea.
For Heat fans, he proposed a reusable bag for use both inside and outside the arena. He tapped into nostalgia, using the team’s throwback logo from the 1990s, a tip of the cap to the Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway days. There is no shortage of Heat legends, from the aforementioned Mourning and Hardaway to Team President Pat Riley, Wade, Shaq, Udonis Haslem and more. Depp proposed working with those players and the current roster to do a series of cleanups along Biscayne Bay. Few NBA teams share as strong a connection to the water as do the Heat and by connecting those dots, Depp’s idea hits the mark.
Spencer Stone – Class of 2021
Major: Sport Administration Hometown: Bellevue, Washington Project Idea: Green Gunner Season Ticket Promotion with Arsenal Football Club
If you’ve ever been to or known anybody from the Pacific Northwest, you’ll understand how important nature and environmental stewardship is for locals. Spencer Stone is a member of that club, growing up in Bellevue, Washington, where weekend activities included hiking, white water rafting and a lot of time outside. In grade school, Stone and his classmates worked on a project around the sea-level rise in Alaska and its impact on those communities. That background traveled with him to Louisville, where he would combine his interest in the outdoors and his passion for sports.
Stone, an avid football fan, chose Arsenal (his favorite English Premier League club) for his sustainable season ticket project. Arsenal fans are passionate about their club and the Gunners are one of the leading clubs when it comes to environmental action and sustainability, finishing second in the Sport Positive Sustainability Table. Stone’s idea connects the fan base and the club’s environmental work, with a promotion for season ticket holders to get a piece of Emirates Stadium, via commemorative seats made from ocean plastic. He also proposed working with Arsenal players and legends to wear green kits, made from recycled ocean plastics. The project doesn’t end with the fans, it also brings in the stadium vendors, encouraging action on their part to make match day single-use plastics free.
Major: Sports Administration Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky Project Idea: Recycling Nights with the Milwaukee Brewers
Louisville is home to Louisville Slugger, the official bat of Major League Baseball (MLB) and also home to the Louisville Bats, the Cincinnati Reds Triple-A affiliate, so it’s no wonder that Louisville-native Amanda Barr chose a baseball team for her project. Barr, who is currently interning with the Bats, didn’t think much about the connections between sports and sustainability growing up. It wasn’t until her class with Dr. Murfree that she realized the opportunities for sports to get on the field and play a role in climate action.
The Milwaukee Brewers are one of the most active MLB clubs when it comes to sustainability and it was that background that led Barr to choose them for her project. Fan nights are common throughout sports and are a great way for teams to interact with their supporters. Barr proposed taking this existing program with the Brewers and making it into a sustainably focused event for fans, where they could bring in their plastic debris from home or work and turn it in for the club for disposal and repurposing. In return, fans would get a reusable Brewers bag for use in their daily lives. Like Depp in utilizing Biscayne Bay, Barr also would encourage Brewers players to join fans for select cleanups along Lake Michigan which is only 3.9 miles from the ballpark.
As you can see, when these students enter the workforce, they will be bringing ideas and enthusiasm to this growing sector. The common thread between all of these is the impact that one person can make and in this case, it was Dr. Murfree’s energy, knowledge and mentorship that led them to these outstanding ideas and will surely stay with them throughout their careers. Dr. Murfree will begin a new chapter this summer as a visiting professor at Texas A&M University where she will continue to focus on the intersection of climate and sports and we wish her and all of her students the very best. To follow Dr. Murfree’s work, please check in here.
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Lemon sharks might not be as famous as other shark species (looking at you, white sharks and hammerheads), but they’re an important part of the Atlantic and eastern Pacific ecosystems. Today we’re giving lemon sharks (Negaprion brevirostris) some much-deserved love by diving into five fun facts about these animals.
At the very least, you’ll have some new shark trivia to impress your friends. But who knows, perhaps lemon sharks will turn out to be your new favorite shark species!
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Lemon sharks get their name from their yellow hue
Lemon sharks are, unsurprisingly, named after lemons. They have a yellowish tint to their skin, which is darker on their dorsal (back) side and lighter on their belly. This helps them blend into the sandy habitats where they like to search for food.
You can find these sharks in shallow marine ecosystems like coral reefs and mangroves, or even around docks. Sometimes they’re spotted resting on the seafloor, where they use a technique called buccal pumping to push fresh, oxygen-rich water over their gills.
Lemon sharks are from a famous family
Lemon sharks are part of the family Carcharhinidae, which contains some of the most well-known sharks around the world. Other family members include tiger sharks, blacktip reef sharks, silky sharks, oceanic whitetip sharks and bull sharks. Carcharhinids are also called requiem sharks and are found in tropical and temperate waters. Carcharhinidae is one of the largest families of sharks, and its members have the quintessential “shark” look (hammerheads, for example, with their unusually-shaped heads, are in a different family called Sphyrnidae).
Many sharks don’t do well in captivity, especially large species that like to move long distances. But the lemon shark does very well in captivity, meaning scientists can ask all kinds of questions about their behavior and physiology that they might not be able to otherwise. The Bimini Biological Field Station in the Bahamas has been studying lemon shark populations for decades—both in the field and in captivity—which has contributed greatly to our understanding of lemon sharks and shark biology more broadly.
Lemon sharks are at risk
Lemon sharks were recently reclassified from “near-threatened” to “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. Although near-threatened means it could be at risk of extinction without conservation measures, vulnerable means they’re “facing a high risk of extinction in the wild”. Like many sharks, they are slow-growing and it takes a while for them to reach sexual maturity, meaning they are sensitive to fishing pressure. Lemon shark populations are threatened by fishing, including being caught as bycatch, and habitat degradation.
Want to learn more shark facts? Check out our fact sheets:
On my first beach trip this season, I noticed a beautiful bird sailing across the shore, wings outstretched, skimming the water. I was struck with an appreciation for its grace and skill.
But I also realized how few species of seabirds I am able to identify!
I feel as though puffins, pelicans, penguins and seagulls get all the love (well, not seagulls, really … but at least they get beach snacks!) so I did some research. I quickly discovered many incredible varieties and wanted to take some time to spotlight a lesser-known, but equally worthy, majestic marine bird: the great shearwater.
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Here are some cool facts about what makes this species (Ardenna gravis) so special:
1. They have an incredibly long and unique migratory pattern.
Great shearwaters are one of the only species to travel from breeding grounds in the Southern Hemisphere to the Northern Hemisphere, the normal pattern being the other way around. They follow a circuitous migration route, moving north up the eastern seaboard of first South and then North America, before crossing the Atlantic in August. They then take a nice tour of Great Britain and Ireland before heading back to South America. What a life!
They forage for food by plunging into water from the air, diving down to depths more than 200 feet! The prey caught underwater is then brought to the surface and devoured. They can even feed by diving from the surface and swimming underwater to seize fish and squid, their main choice for dinner.
3. Their conservation status is ideal.
Thankfully, great shearwaters are not threatened or endangered in any way. Currently, they are abundant with enormous total populations in remote islands of the Atlantic Ocean. 5 million breeding pairs live on Tristan da Cunha, 600,000 to 3 million pairs live on Gough Island and some pairs live on the Falkland Islands.
4. These birds need a running start to become airborne.
They run along the water surface before taking flight, aided by webbed feet to facilitate takeoff.
Bonus fact: A group of shearwaters is collectively known as an “improbability” of shearwaters.
This large seabird can be recognized by its distinctive plumage. Check for a dark cap and brown belly patch, in addition to dark markings on its underwings, which remain straight and stiff in flight. Although I can’t say for certain if the bird I saw was a great shearwater, my beach encounter led me to learn all about these incredible creatures of the sea and sky. Hopefully, as the weather heats up and visitors flock to the beaches along the eastern coast of the United States, these facts and photos can help you identify a great shearwater yourself this summer!
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May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, which is a time to celebrate the rich culture and history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and their deep cultural connections with the ocean. The month of May is significant—it commemorates the first Japanese immigrant to the United States, who arrived on May 7, 1843, and the completion of the transcontinental railroad in May 1869, which was primarily built by Chinese immigrants.
The history of this country is rich with Asian American stories, culture and contributions—even if they aren’t always recognized in the way they deserve. From contributions to science and technology—Chinese-American physicist Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu was instrumental in the field of atomic science and Indian-American computer scientist Ajay Bhatt developed the USB—to challenging outdated and racist laws, Asian Americans have helped shape this country into what it is today. These accomplishments were often in the face of cruel racism and prejudice, including the Chinese Exclusion Act, which prohibited immigration from China, and Japanese Internment camps in World War II, which incarcerated 120,000 Japanese-Americans in an act Congress later called based on “race prejudice, war hysteria and a failure of political leadership.”
We are still living in the shadow of those actions today, and the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light long-simmering anti-Asian racism. There has been a disturbing increase in anti-Asian violence, including the devastating shooting in Atlanta that primarily targeted Asian American women. From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, there have been 3,800 reports of anti-Asian violence, and 68% of those were against women. In light of these findings, the Senate recently passed an anti-Asian hate crimes bill, which is expected to pass the House and be signed into law. While I’m optimistic, I know there is much more to be done.
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This is one of many crises facing Asian and Pacific Islander people. The majority of people living in high-risk climate zones live in the Asian Pacific and South Asian regions. For many, ignoring the effects of climate change is simply not an option as seas rise and storms increase. In 2018, about half of all the natural disasters worldwide occurred in the Asian Pacific region.
Among the somber climate change effects in the Asian Pacific and South Asian regions, we’re seeing passionate individuals and groups pave the way to action with strong climate leadership. One example is Nainoa Thompson, president of the Polynesian Voyaging Society and a Pwo navigator. As a Pwo navigator, Thompson has been recognized through a sacred ritual as a master navigator of traditional voyaging. Nainoa Thompson was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and has helped inspire a revival of traditional Polynesian voyaging practices. He has spoken extensively about the art of voyaging and the unique bond one forges with the ocean. “What’s good about the deck of the canoe, because we’re not sailing with instruments,” he stated, “[is that] it requires the navigator to constantly be observing. They’re looking at the surface of the oceans all the time.” The rich history of sea navigation and the health of our ocean are undeniably linked. By sharing his intimate knowledge of our ocean with people around the world, Thompson helps inspire people to not only protect our ocean but also to continue to build their own relationships with the sea.
“My draw to the ocean is because I fell in love with it. I fell in love with it because of just the infinite beauty of life itself. It was the definition for me.” –Nainoa Thompson
Thompson is one of many people taking action around the country and around the world for our ocean. All month we will be sharing more stories of Asian/Pacific Americans in ocean conservation, and we hope you will join us! I also encourage us all to learn more about the historic and current injustices faced by the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, and celebrate their history, culture, art and achievements through this month and beyond.
