The health of the world’s oceans is deteriorating even faster than had previously been thought, a report warns. “We are entering an unknown territory of marine ecosystem change. The next mass extinction may have already begun.”
Oceans
Covering almost three-fourths of the earth’s surface, the oceans are the salt water habitat for 230,000 known species, with the unexplored depths carrying potentially 2 million more marine species. Ocean pollution, acidification, and climate change pose significant dangers in the coming years.
Sharkwater: Sea Shepherd Battles Shark-fin Poachers in the Pacific
Rob Stewart’s beautifully shot documentary “Sharkwater,” set in the Galapagos and Isla del Coco of the Pacific Ocean, refutes those who vilify the shark as a killer of humans, insisting they do not wish to eat us. He also films Sea Shepherd Captain Paul Watson’s attack on the Costa Rican shark fin poachers, which has led to international charges for the famous defender of the sea.
Plastic Ocean: Deep Sea Garbage Endangers Marine Ecosystem
While the Great Pacific Garbage Patch continues to grow, a paper by researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute shows that trash is accumulating in the deep sea, particularly in Monterey Canyon, off the coast of California. This causes dire impacts to the marine ecosystem and humans who thrive from it.
Biofuels from Seaweed: A More Sustainable Energy Source?
Many millions are being invested in seaweed research from Vietnam to Israel to Chile because producing biofuels in the sea overcomes many of the serious problems with conventional biofuels.
Edison’s Reef: A Not So Glowing Report — By Jerry Collamer
While large fish fail to thrive at Southern California Edison’s artificial reef off the coast of San Clemente, California, mitigation mandated by the California Coastal Commission to repair destroyed kelp beds at their San Onofre Nuclear Plant (called SONGS), a wider marine mammal crisis is ongoing. Could radiation released from SONGS be the culprit in both cases?
Midway Atoll: The Plastic Plight of the Albatross
A short film follows artist Chris Jordan to investigate the thousands of albatrosses dying from ingestion of plastic from the Pacific Garbage Patch. The Albatross journey across the sea takes them over the world’s largest dump: slowly rotating masses of partially-submerged trash between San Francisco and Hawai’i.
Bangladesh: A Flooding, Mega-Urbanizing, Climate Trap
In Dhaka, climate change refugees are moving from the countryside and into squalid slums due to repeated monsoonal floods that have rendered traditional farmland unusable. A new documentary by Ami Vitale from the Knight Center for International Media wades through the floods, looking for solutions.