News

The Ancient Art of Shipbuilding Naval architecture has, in one form or another, existed as a profession since at least the times of the Ancient Egyptians. Back then, carving pictures of ships into rocks was the equivalent of today’s computer-aided design. And while...

Managing a Vital Food Source Fisheries play an essential role by providing a vital source of food in a sustainable manner. Fisheries are also a source of employment, recreation, trade, and economic well-being for people throughout the world. Globally, fisheries feed...

The Sustainable Use of Resources and Conservation of Biodiversity Coastal environments contain a wealth of biodiversity and economic opportunity. Due to the interaction of terrestrial, marine, and atmospheric processes, they are one of the most complex environments on...

Senior fellows JoRee LaFrance and Kevin Patterson join the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast to discuss energy production and use in their tribal communities and the challenges and opportunities to make it more sustainable. You can listen here.

Making the Complex Understandable The rapidly changing scientific, medical and technical landscape requires the skills of a special type of journalist who can both understand and explain these changes to the general population. Science journalists take complicated...

The Week in Climate Change News A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. Trump Reverses Climate Policies on First Day in Office. The president pulled out of the Paris climate agreement...

Water, Water Everywhere Water is among the most important resources on our planet. Without it, life would not exist. Hydrologists study how water moves across and through Earth’s crust. They study how rain, snow, and other forms of precipitation impact river flows or...

2024 is confirmed by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) to be the warmest year on record globally, and the first calendar year that the average global temperature exceeded 1.5°C above its pre-industrial level. C3S is implemented on behalf of the European...

Most of us don’t know what we want to study in college or do when we get out of school or even what our options might be. So to give you a better idea of what’s out there, we created profiles for dozens of ocean-related jobs and professions. Each profile is a roadmap...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. L.A. Fires Show Limits of America’s Efforts to Cope With Climate Change. California has focused on fortifying communities against wildfires. But...

The Care and Conservation of Marine Mammals  Marine mammal science is a diverse field that includes the study of animal behavior, communication, evolution, physiology, ecology, and zoology. Marine mammal scientists (also called marine mammalogists) study the...

How does an internship at a prestigious university sound? What about a research fellowship at NASA, NOAA, or the National Institutes of Health?  Not only will these programs look great on your college application, but they will also give you a huge jump on starting...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. L.A. Fires Show Limits of America’s Efforts to Cope With Climate Change. California has focused on fortifying communities against wildfires. But...

The Art of Science While people tend to think of art and science as opposite ends of the spectrum, art has actually played a key role in the development of science and how scientific information and advancement are communicated. Scientific illustration, which lies at...

Pradnya Garud joins the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast to discuss the role of unions in climate and environmental justice. You can listen here.

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. Biden Expected to Permanently Ban Oil Drilling in Some Federal Waters. The move, expected as early as Monday, relies on a 70-year-old law that...

Finding Ways to Feed the World in a Sustainable Manner Fisheries play an essential role in the sustainability and health of our planet by providing much-needed food as well as other important services. Globally, fisheries feed billions of people and offer jobs and...

We certainly devote a lot of space on this website to explaining how to connect to the ocean, but not so much as to why you should connect. And that's because we all have our own, often unique, reasons for connecting. For some, it is an environmental imperative. For...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. As Earth dries out, countries fail to reach drought agreement. Countries including the US successfully resisted Africa’s push for a legally...

The Key to Understanding Climate Change Physical oceanography – one of the four main branches of oceanography – involves studying the properties (such as temperature and density) and movement (such as waves, currents, and tides) of ocean water. It also involves...

While there are lots of different definitions of climate justice, they all agree that climate justice "connects the climate crisis to the social, racial and environmental issues in which it is deeply entangled. It recognizes the disproportionate impacts of climate...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. Climate change is pushing some governments to the breaking point. One country offers a glimpse into the future of warming and unrest. (read the...

The Image as News Photojournalism is a form of journalism that uses images instead of words to tell a news story. Photographic images can reveal great truths, expose wrongdoing and neglect, and inspire hope and understanding through the language of visual...

When it comes to preserving the health and well-being of our single greatest resource, we can all do a little more (and, in some cases, a lot less). Here are five suggestions to get you started. Start a petition to get your town to ban the use of plastic bags. Cut...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. COP29 climate finance talks must have a strong adaptation focus. The new finance goal needs clear and enforceable adaptation targets to help...

The Last Unexplored Frontier The ocean contains 99% of the living space on earth, but less than 10% has been explored. We actually know more about the surface of Mars than we do about the deepest parts of the ocean. So, when it comes to unexplored frontiers, our vote...

Dr. Max Aung and Dr. Tracey Woodruff join the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast to how and why they use their science to drive policy change on harmful environmental chemicals. You can listen here.

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. COP29 climate finance talks must have a strong adaptation focus. The new finance goal needs clear and enforceable adaptation targets to help...

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) maintains a database of opportunities for students of any level — from kindergarten through high school, undergraduate and graduate, and even recent graduates. Opportunities include one-day events, summer...

The Interconnectedness of Living Things Environmental Science integrates natural and social sciences to study how the environment and man-made processes interact with one another. It is an interdisciplinary field that incorporates ecology, chemistry, biology,...

Jose Ramon Becerra Vera joins the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast to discuss arming residents in his native Inland Empire region of California with air pollution data to advocate for their health and community. You can listen here.

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. Weak gender focus at COP29 risks leaving women behind in greener future. In India, social barriers make it tough for women to work in the solar...

Creating the Tools for Ocean Discovery Ocean engineers are responsible for designing, building, and testing instrumentation and equipment that can withstand the harsh conditions of the ocean environment. It is a multidisciplinary field that combines mechanical,...

Dr. Timnit Kefela joins the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast to discuss the the specific ways microplastics harm urban communities and some of her tips for reducing plastic use and exposure. You can listen here.

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. Far From the Climate Talks: The Human Cost of Global Warming in 2024. Every month so far has seen floods, fires, smashed heat records or some...

The Business of Life Science Biotechnology, simply put, is a technology that utilizes the biological systems found in living organisms (or the living organisms themselves) to develop and make new commercial products. While cutting-edge developments in areas such as...

Check out our four-part video tutorial series Creating Your Own Opportunity. Creating Your Own Opportunity shows you how to create your own ocean-science-related internship or research opportunity when you have not been able to secure a spot in a more formal...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. Global warming tops milestone ahead of climate summit. 2024 is likely to be the hottest year ever recorded, with global warming already exceeding...

Lights, Camera, Action! The ocean has been the backdrop for some of the greatest movies. It has also been the backdrop for many mediocre movies, but hey, that’s not the ocean’s fault. The point is that for a filmmaker, the ocean provides you with an incredibly wide...

Wellington Onyenwe joins the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast to discuss using an environmental justice lens in looking at chemical exposure, and his passion for food and cooking. You can listen to the podcast here.

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. Global warming tops milestone ahead of climate summit. 2024 is likely to be the hottest year ever recorded, with global warming already exceeding...

The Science of Feeding the World According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, approximately 4.5 billion people get a significant source of their daily protein intake from fish. But that doesn’t mean billions of people are at the pier every...

Laura Diaz joins the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast to discuss the intersection of social and environmental stressors on children’s health. You can listen to the Podcast here.

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. EPA Gives Chicago Decades to Replace Lead Pipes, Leaving Communities at Risk. Advocates say vulnerable communities can’t afford to wait 20 years...

Whether through Twitter, Instagram, or your favorite blog, most of us now get our news online. We don’t have the time or patience to sit through a lengthy newscast or flip through pages of newsprint. Give us the headlines in 280 characters or a one-minute video, and...

What is the blue economy? It depends on whom you ask. Here are just some of the accepted definitions of blue economy: According to the World Bank, the blue economy is the "sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. The U.N.’s Verdict on Climate Progress Over the Past Year: There Was None. An annual assessment by the world body tracks the gulf between what...

Approaching the topic of “ocean sustainability” can be a rather sensitive endeavor. One reason for this is that there doesn’t seem to be a single accepted definition of the term “sustainability.”  So, depending on your scientific, political, or environmental...

Mokshda Kaul joins the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast to discuss the clean energy transition and how policymakers and other leaders can avoid mistakes of the past. You can listen here.

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. Federal Highway Officials Reach Agreement With Alabama Over Claims It Discriminated Against Flooded Black Residents. Homeowners in Shiloh say the...

The Power to End Climate Change When it comes to preserving the health and well-being of the environment, there is no greater imperative than ending our dependence on fossil fuels. The environmental evils caused by fossil fuels are well-documented – global warming,...

Dr. Maria Jose Talayero Schettino joins the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast to discuss why she switched careers from physician to environmental health research, and how she’s using this new training to advocate for environmental justice in Mexico....

Shipwrecks, Underwater Cities and Adventure! Marine archaeology just sounds exciting. Spending your life sailing the high seas in search of legendary shipwrecks. Diving among treasure-laden ships in search of sunken riches. If only it were true! Marine archaeologists...

Check out our four-part video tutorial series , Creating Your Own Opportunity. Creating Your Own Opportunity shows you how to create your own ocean-science-related internship or research opportunity when you have not been able to secure a spot in a more formal...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. Why Hurricane Helene Could Finally Change the Conversation Around Climate Change. The massive personal and economic toll of unexpected inland...

The Scientific Study of Plants Plants are essential to our lives. They provide – either directly or indirectly – all of our food and the oxygen we breathe. They are a source of important medicines (aspirin developed due to the study of rotting tree bark, and...

Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast brings you the voices and stories of next generation environmental health and justice leaders from underrepresented backgrounds. Recent episodies include: Elijah Hutchinson joins the Agents of Change in Environmental...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. The Hague becomes world’s first city to pass law banning fossil fuel-related ads. Legislation makes it illegal to advertise fossil fuel products...

Life in the Ocean Among all the ocean sciences, marine biology is one of the most popular among high school students. We are not sure if this is because of all the ocean sciences, it is the one typically offered at the high school level, or because students think...

Elijah Hutchinson joins the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast to discuss New York City’s first comprehensive study on environmental inequality and how communities can use it to advocate for themselves. Hutchinson, executive director at New York City’s...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. California Slashed Harmful Vehicle Emissions, but People of Color and Overburdened Communities Continue to Breathe the Worst Air. New research...

Preserving our Greatest Resource Marine conservation is the protection of marine species and ecosystems in oceans and seas. And while the definition of marine conservation is fairly straightforward, the field of marine conservation is as vast as the ocean...

The Stan and Toba Kaplowitz Distinguished Lecture Series kicks off next month with a presentation from Dr. Robert D. Bullard.   Dr. Bullard will speak on “Environmental Justice: From Footnote to Headline” at 3 p.m. Wednesday October 9 at the Kellogg Center...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. Bigger share of COP29 badges for Global South NGOs upsets rich-country groups. The UNFCCC has changed quota allocations for observers in a bid to...

The Smallest Inhabitants of the Ocean Marine microbiology is the study of microorganisms that exist in saltwater environments, including the deep ocean, coastal waters, estuaries, marine surfaces, and seafloor sediments. Too small to be seen with the naked eye, these...

The Grist 50 is a list of 50 people across the U.S. who are tackling some of the most pressing problems of today in innovative and exciting ways. On this year’s list, you’ll find creatives bringing powerful stories to new audiences, advocates pushing for healthy and...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. Fossil fuel transition back in draft pact for UN Summit of the Future after outcry. The new text of a UN pact for the high-level event brings back...

The Politics of Place Communities populated primarily by ethnic minorities and economically disadvantaged people have long been burdened with a disproportionate number of environmental hazards such as garbage dumps, toxic waste facilitates, scrap yards, factories, and...

For the first time, scientists have found evidence of microplastics in human blood. The study, published in the journal Environmental International, found traces of tiny plastic particles in 80% of the people tested. Microplastics, defined as small pieces of degraded...

Studying Our Greatest Resource Because the ocean covers over 70 percent of the planet and contains 99 percent of the living space on Earth, its composition (e.g., its physical, chemical, and biological makeup) has a significant impact on all life. This is true whether...

Most of us don’t know what we want to study in college or do when we get out of school or even what our options might be. So to give you a better idea of what’s out there, we created profiles for dozens of ocean-related jobs and professions. Each profile is a roadmap...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. Extreme heat increasingly disrupting child health, UNICEF warns. “Extreme heat is increasing, disrupting children’s health, wellbeing and daily...

The Greatest Threat to the Ocean is Ignorance Ocean literacy is defined as an understanding of the ocean’s influence on you and your influence on the ocean. The idea of creating a more “ocean-literate” society is, in many ways, the central theme that runs throughout...

Robert Bullard Any list of environmental justice luminaries has to start with Dr. Robert Bullard, the man many consider the “Father of environmental justice.” Dr. Bullard was one of the first to understand the unequal environmental burdens faced by vulnerable...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. The Aspen Institute Is Calling for a Systemic Approach to Climate Education at the University Level. Arizona State and UC San Diego will begin...

The Search for Extraterrestrial Life Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, and existence of life in the universe. The search for life beyond Earth requires a wide-ranging understanding of not only the nature of the types...

The Environmental Justice Leadership Forum on Climate Change established the following Principles of Climate Justice: Establish a zero carbon economy and achieve this by limiting and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the levels advocated by the...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. Canada’s Olympics kit provider hit with greenwashing complaint in France. Lululemon is accused by environmental group of using “misleading”...

The Science Behind Climate Change Climate change is by far the most pressing issue facing our generation. Extreme events such as flooding, heat waves, and widespread crop failures are becoming much more common. As a result, climate change has an impact on global...

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is committed to fulfilling the federal trust responsibility to federally recognized Indian tribes. In addition, NOAA strives to build and strengthen its relationships with Indian tribes, Alaska...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. Canada’s Olympics kit provider hit with greenwashing complaint in France. Lululemon is accused by environmental group of using “misleading”...

Ocean Acidification and Climate Change Chemical oceanography is considered a niche area within the broader field of oceanography. Along with biological, physical, and geographical oceanography, it is one of the four main oceanographic areas. It is said that chemical...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. Tribes and Environmentalists Press Arizona and Federal Officials to Stop Uranium Mining Near the Grand Canyon. Activists hope to shut down an...

Telling Stories That Matter There’s no question that the invention of the smartphone camera has, at one time or another, turned us all into amateur documentary filmmakers. And with the professional-grade movie editing software that often comes pre-loaded on computers,...

According to a recent study, climate change is altering the temperature and chemistry of the ocean, which could amplify underwater noise. The study, Predicting the contribution of climate change on North Atlantic underwater sound propagation, has determined that:...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. Plastics Pollution Has Become a ‘Crisis,’ Biden Administration Acknowledges. The White House strategy aims to cut pollutants, not cap production,...

Restoring Nature to its Natural State The negative effects of human activity on the environment are certainly there for all to see. Air pollution, deforestation, plastic pollution, warming oceans, rising sea levels, species extinction, intensifying storms,...

Whether you want to have a direct impact on the environment — or work behind the scenes to support such work — EDF internships are designed to provide current and recent undergraduate and graduate students with a wealth of opportunities. EDF internships support...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. Global goal of tripling renewables by 2030 still out of reach, says International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). The renewable energy agency...

In a new Ocean Connect feature, we are going to recommend a worthwhile podcast every Friday (until we run out of podcasts!). We are going to start with the Conservation Careers Podcast. Conservation Careers is a conservation careers center for aspiring and experienced...

The Interaction between Marine Life and the Ocean  Because the ocean contains 99% of the living space on Earth and covers over 70% of Earth’s surface, its composition significantly impacts all life. This is true whether you live on the coast or thousands of miles...

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) maintains a database of opportunities for students of any level — from kindergarten through high school, undergraduate and graduate, and even recent graduates. Opportunities include one-day events, summer...

Climate Corps® is an innovative fellowship program that trains talented and passionate graduate students and pairs them with companies and public institutions dedicated to meeting their climate and energy goals. Climate Corps® exists to build and mobilize a diverse...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. The Supreme Court Just Pushed Environmental Justice Even Further Aside. The recently paused “good neighbor” rule was the Environmental Protection...

Movement of Goods and People For many people, the idea of a life at sea has always held a certain romanticism. Setting out on the open ocean for unknown adventures, visiting exotic ports of call. There is also the excitement that comes from working in a potentially...

We like to think that everything we offer on Ocean Connect is a fantastic resource that will help you make your unique connection to the ocean but based on the feedback we have been receiving, our database of professional societies, organizations, and institutes is...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. For Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley,’ Study Shows An Even Graver Risk From Toxic Gases. Levels of ethylene oxide more than 1,000 times higher than...

Ecology is the study of the relationships between living organisms – including humans – and the world around them. Ecologists seek to understand the complex connections between these living organisms and their habitats. Ecologists study plants and animals at various...

It depends on whom you ask. Here are just some of the accepted definitions of "blue economy: According to the World Bank, the blue economy is the "sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs while preserving the health...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. Federal Dams Harm Native American Communities, U.S. Acknowledges. In a report released Tuesday, the Biden administration said that federal dams in...

No doubt, underwater photography is an exhilarating and fun experience. When most people think of underwater photographers, they picture someone in full scuba gear treading water in the ocean’s depths (usually among sharks or the wreckage of a ship). And while this is...

ocean-related academic and career opportunities between students from underrepresented communities and those from communities that traditionally have had access to greater resources. Ocean Connect is committed to providing students from all backgrounds an equal...

The Business of Feeding the World According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, approximately 4.5 billion people get a significant source of their daily protein intake from fish. But that doesn’t mean billions of people are going down to...

60 to 70 percent of residents in those neighborhoods also reside in communities of color or low-income areas, defined by the city as disproportionately impacted “environmental justice” communities. The 2024 Environmental Justice Report, published by the Mayor’s Office...

Check out our four-part video tutorial series Creating Your Own Opportunity. Creating Your Own Opportunity shows you how to create your own ocean-science-related internship or research opportunity when you have not been able to secure a spot in a more formal program....

On World Oceans Day, people everywhere can unite to celebrate and take action for our shared blue planet, with one ocean and one climate, which connect us all. Get together with your family, community, and /or your company, and join with millions of others around our...

As a multi-trillion-dollars business, travel, and tourism is a vitally important part of the economy. Pre-COVID, the travel and tourism industry was responsible for over 330 million jobs and contributed over 10 percent to the global gross domestic product.  But...

The Opportunities Database contains information on ocean-related academic programs, awards, contests, enrichment programs, externships, internships, fellowships, grants, research projects, scholarships, summer programs, and training programs available to students from...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. In a historic move, Vermont becomes 1st state to pass a law requiring fossil fuel companies to pay for climate change damages. Vermont has passed...

Technology Comes Alive Biotechnology, simply put, is technology that utilizes the biological systems found in living organisms (or the living organisms themselves) to develop and make new commercial products. While cutting-edge developments in areas such as cloning...

A recent study found that the increasing frequency of droughts, heatwaves, storms, and floods is threatening the availability of water and its quality across the world. Researchers from Utrecht University in the Netherlands analyzed 965 cases of river water...

New internships, research programs, fellowships and acdemic programs are being added to the Ocean Connect Opportunities Database on a daily basis. Some of the recent additions include research programs in the following areas: Sustainability Environmental Science...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. Alaskan rivers turning orange due to climate change, study finds. As frozen ground below the surface melts, exposed minerals such as iron are...

The Power of Words Creative writing has been around since the time we could first put a chisel to a stone tablet and carve out glyphs, wedges, and runes and people have been writing about the ocean for probably just as long. And why not? The ocean makes for both a...

Most of us don’t know what we want to study in college or do when we get out of school or even what our options might be. So to give you a better idea of what’s out there, we created profiles for dozens of ocean-related jobs and professions. Each profile is a roadmap...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. Ron DeSantis signs bill scrubbing ‘climate change’ from Florida state laws. State, which just had its hottest year since 1895, will ban offshore...

I highly recommend Yale Professor Dorceta Taylor's book Toxic Communities: Environmental Racism, Industrial Pollution, and Residential Mobility. The book analyzes the forces that constrain, compel, or encourage the movement of minorities. It examines the expulsion of...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. World’s top climate scientists expect global heating to blast past 1.5C target. Planet is headed for at least 2.5C of heating with disastrous...

The Ancient Art of Shipbuilding Naval architecture has, in one form or another, existed as a profession since at least the times of the Ancient Egyptians. Back then, carving pictures of ships into rocks was the equivalent of today’s computer-aided design. And while...

The Environmental Justice Leadership Forum on Climate Change established the following Principles of Climate Justice: Establish a zero carbon economy and achieve this by limiting and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the levels advocated by the...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. Seismic shifts are underway to find finance for loss and damage. The new UN fund can channel taxes and other innovative ways of raising money to...

NOAA’s National Weather Service and the CDC teamed up to create the new nationwide experimental heat forecasting system, known as HeatRisk. The interactive dashboard allows users to plug in their zip code to learn what the heat threats are for an upcoming week,...

Managing a Vital Food Source Fisheries play an essential role by providing a vital source of food in a sustainable manner. Fisheries are also a source of employment, recreation, trade, and economic well-being for people throughout the world. Globally, fisheries feed...

There is a great new resource created by the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Sustainability Initiative at the Yale School of the Environment. The Environmental Professionals of Color Database currently has about 240 profiles of People of Color Environmental...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. We might be closer to changing course on climate change than we realize. Greenhouse gas emissions might have already peaked. Now they need to fall...

The Truth is Out There Throughout history, investigative journalists have been revered, reviled, and repressed, often simultaneously and resulting from the same story. That should not be all that surprising, as exposing the truth often pleases one constituency at the...

I recently found an interesting article called Blue Growth and Blue Justice that examines the social justice implications of the rapid and unchecked development of ocean resources. The article highlights ten injustices that can be produced by blue growth: (1)...

The Sustainable Use of Resources and Conservation of Biodiversity Coastal environments contain a wealth of biodiversity and economic opportunity. Due to the interaction of terrestrial, marine, and atmospheric processes, they are one of the most complex environments on...

Making the Complex Understandable The rapidly changing scientific, medical and technical landscape requires the skills of a special type of journalist who can both understand and explain these changes to the general population. Science journalists take complicated...

Europe's top human rights court ruled on Tuesday that the Swiss government had violated the human rights of its citizens by failing to do enough to combat climate change, in a decision that will set a precedent for future climate lawsuits. The European Court of Human...

This week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced its selections for $20 billion in grant awards under two competitions within the historic $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), which was created under the Inflation Reduction Act as part of...

Water, Water Everywhere Water is among the most important resources on our planet. Without it, life would not exist. Hydrologists study how water moves across and through Earth’s crust. They study how rain, snow, and other forms of precipitation impact river flows or...

The Care and Conservation of Marine Mammals  Marine mammal science is a diverse field that includes the study of animal behavior, communication, evolution, physiology, ecology, and zoology. Marine mammal scientists (also called marine mammalogists) study the...

I came across an interesting article by Lisa Whitley Coleman in the EHS Daily Advisor (a newsletter for environmental, health, and safety professionals). Ms. Coleman engages in an in-depth analysis of the administration’s progress in delivering Environmental Justice....

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. World’s first-ever global emissions tax takes a step closer to reality. “The UN is on the edge of adopting the world’s first-ever global emissions...

The Art of Science While people tend to think of art and science as opposite ends of the spectrum, art has actually played a key role in the development of science and how scientific information and advancement are communicated. Scientific illustration, which lies at...

The world’s main system for warning about heat stress on the planet’s coral reefs has been forced to add three new alert categories to represent ever-increasing temperature extremes. The changes introduced by the US government’s Coral Reef Watch program come after...

Finding Ways to Feed the World in a Sustainable Manner Fisheries play an essential role in the sustainability and health of our planet by providing much-needed food as well as other important services. Globally, fisheries feed billions of people and offer jobs and...

Ocean Connect's Opportunities Database contains information on ocean-related academic programs, awards, contests, enrichment programs, externships, internships, fellowships, grants, research projects, scholarships, summer programs, and training programs available to...

The Key to Understanding Climate Change Physical oceanography – one of the four main branches of oceanography – involves studying the properties (such as temperature and density) and movement (such as waves, currents, and tides) of ocean water. It also involves...

From a recent paper by Lisa Benjamin from Lewis & Clark Law School in the Harvard Environmental Law Review (volume 47, Harvard Environmental Law Review, 2023): Electric vehicles (EVs) are everywhere. And they are cool – consumers love them. But EVs have justice...

The Image as News Photojournalism is a form of journalism that uses images instead of words to tell a news story. Photographic images can reveal great truths, expose wrongdoing and neglect, and inspire hope and understanding through the language of visual...

As reported on the WWF website: Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) are the poster child for the impacts of climate change on species, and justifiably so. To date, global warming has been most pronounced in the Arctic, and this trend is projected to continue. There are...

A fenceline community is a neighborhood immediately adjacent to highly polluting facilities (such as oil refineries, chemical factories, concrete factories, industrial parks, military bases, or other large manufacturing facilities) and is directly affected by the...

The State of Finance for Nature annual report series tracks finance flows to nature-based solutions (NbS) and compares them to the finance needed to maximise the potential of Nature based Solutions to help tackle climate, biodiversity and degradation challenges. For...

The Last Unexplored Frontier The ocean contains 99% of the living space on earth, but less than 10% has been explored. We actually know more about the surface of Mars than we do about the deepest parts of the ocean. So, when it comes to unexplored frontiers, our vote...

The Ocean Connect website contains two great databases - the Opportunities Database and the Current Research Database (https://www.ocean-connect.org/resources/). The Opportunities Database contains information on a wide range of ocean-related programs available to...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. Amazon rainforest could reach ‘tipping point’ by 2050, scientists warn. ‘We need to respond now,’ says author of study that says crucial forest...

The US Water Alliance has developed a Racial Equity Toolkit to enable water utilities to work to improve their racial equity practices. For too long, the water sector has been operating within systems in which race is a predictor of water access, affordability,...

The Biden-Harris Administration finalized a significantly stronger air quality standard that will better protect America’s families, workers, and communities from the dangerous and costly health effects of fine particle pollution, also known as soot. By strengthening...

Creating the Tools for Ocean Discovery Ocean engineers are responsible for designing, building, and testing instrumentation and equipment that can withstand the harsh conditions of the ocean environment. It is a multidisciplinary field that combines mechanical,...

A wetland is an area of land saturated with water. Given their importance to the ecosystem, wetlands are well worth celebrating today and every day. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, wetlands provide habitat for thousands of species of aquatic and terrestrial...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. ‘Literally off the charts’: global coral reef heat stress monitor forced to add new alerts as temperatures rise. Three new levels added by US...

The Business of Life Science Biotechnology, simply put, is a technology that utilizes the biological systems found in living organisms (or the living organisms themselves) to develop and make new commercial products. While cutting-edge developments in areas such as...

As all aspiring marine scientists know, participating in internships, research projects, and similar opportunities is a prerequisite for success in the field. The hands-on experience, working with experienced marine scientists, and the resulting networking...

Lights, Camera, Action! The ocean has been the backdrop for some of the greatest movies. It has also been the backdrop for many mediocre movies, but hey, that’s not the ocean’s fault. The point is that for a filmmaker, the ocean provides you with an incredibly wide...

Whether through Twitter, Instagram, or your favorite blog, most of us now get our news online. We don’t have the time or patience to sit through a lengthy newscast or flip through pages of newsprint. Give us the headlines in 280 characters or a one-minute video, and...

As the United States tries to meet its climate goals and address environmental justice issues, cutting greenhouse gases alone might not help communities of color dealing with air pollution. In some cases, it might even hurt them, according to a study from the...

The Opportunities Database contains information on ocean-related academic programs, awards, contests, enrichment programs, externships, internships, fellowships, grants, research projects, scholarships, summer programs, and training programs available to students from...

As recapped by Katie Hawkinson in the Independent: Below are some of the best climate books published December 2022 – December 2023, as well as the books to look out for in the new year. The most important thread that unites these books is their analysis of how the...

A recent study found that the increasing frequency of droughts, heatwaves, storms, and floods is threatening the availability of water and its quality across the world. Researchers from Utrecht University in the Netherlands analyzed 965 cases of river water quality...

The Power to End Climate Change When it comes to preserving the health and well-being of the environment, there is no greater imperative than ending our dependence on fossil fuels. The environmental evils caused by fossil fuels are well-documented – global warming,...

Shipwrecks, Underwater Cities and Adventure! Marine archaeology just sounds exciting. Spending your life sailing the high seas in search of legendary shipwrecks. Diving among treasure-laden ships in search of sunken riches. If only it were true! Marine archaeologists...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories.  Cop28: China ‘would like to see agreement to substitute renewables for fossil fuels’. But country’s climate envoy, Xie Zhenhua, would not say...

The Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool is a geospatial mapping tool that indicates disadvantaged communities nationwide facing significant burdens. These burdens are organized into eight categories: climate change, energy, health, housing, legacy pollution,...

Historically, we recognize that there has been a significant disparity in the availability of ocean-related academic and career opportunities between students from underrepresented communities and those from communities that traditionally have had access to greater...

Among all the ocean sciences, marine biology is one of the most popular among high school students. We are not sure if this is because of all the ocean sciences, it is the one typically offered at the high school level, or because students think being a marine...

The Biden-Harris administration announced approximately $2 billion in funding available to support community-driven projects that deploy clean energy, strengthen climate resilience, and build capacity for communities to tackle environmental and climate justice...

The Ocean Connect website contains two great databases – the Opportunities Database and the Current Research Database (https://www.ocean-connect.org/resources/). The Opportunities Database contains information on a wide range of ocean-related programs available to...

Anyone interested in pursuing or just learning about a career in conservation should check out the Conservation Careers website (www.conservation-careers.com). It is full of helpful resources no matter what stage of your career – student, intern, job seeker, early...

We certainly devote a lot of space on this website to explaining how to connect to the ocean, but not so much as to why you should connect. And that’s because we all have our own, often unique, reasons for connecting. For some, it is an...

The Opportunities Database contains information on ocean-related academic programs, awards, contests, enrichment programs, externships, internships, fellowships, grants, research projects, scholarships, summer programs, and training programs available to students from...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories. Environmental Groups Cut Programs as Funding Shifts to Climate Change. The Natural Resources Defense Council is eliminating its longstanding...

Another way we are creating a more inclusive ocean community is by narrowing the gap in experiential knowledge between students from better-resourced areas and those from under-resourced communities. Our student community page – oceanXchange – will give you the chance...

A (non-comprehensive) list of interesting and relevant climate change, climate policy, and environmental justice stories from the past week.   America’s Stewardship of one of its most precious resources, groundwater, relies on a patchwork of state and local rules so...

A (non-comprehensive and quite random) list of climate change, climate policy and environmental justice stories from the past week.     More than 200 medical journals are calling on the World Health Organization to deem two overlapping...

A (non-comprehensive and quite random) list of climate change, climate policy and environmental justice stories from the past week. A Shadowy Corner of International Law Is Threatening Climate Action, U.N. Expert Warns An obscure but far-reaching system allowing...

A (non-comprehensive and quite random) list of climate change, climate policy and environmental justice stories from the past week.    Why the hydrogen tax credit has become a lightning rod for controversy. One of the most generous tax credits in Biden’s landmark...

Indigenous People’s Day honors the past, present, and future of Native peoples throughout the US. The holiday recognizes the legacy and impact of colonialism on Native communities, and it also celebrates the cultures, contributions, and resilience of contemporary...

Well, we went from 10,000 new monthly users to 20,000 in just a few months - we didn't even have time to celebrate reaching the 15,000 mark (woot woot). We just keep adding information, and the new users keep coming. And we will continue doing what set out to do -...

We are pleased to announce that for the first time we hit 10,000 new users this month. We keep adding information and the new users keep coming. We will continue on with our mission to end the disparity in access to ocean-related opportunities for students from...

Every minute, the equivalent of one garbage truck of plastic is dumped into our ocean, and every year, 11 million metric tons of plastic enter our marine environments—enough to circle the Earth four times! Plastic kills marine life, destroys sensitive ocean...

The Ocean Connect website contains two great databases - the Opportunities Database and the Current Research Database (https://www.ocean-connect.org/resources/). The Opportunities Database contains information on a wide range of ocean-related programs available to...

Our mission is to inspire students from underrepresented backgrounds and communities to find their unique way to connect with the ocean and provide them with the resources they need to turn those connections into reality. To support this mission, we have prepared over...

We are big fans of Professor April Baptiste, who teaches Environmental Studies and Africana and Latin American Studies at Colgate University. A few months back, we recommended watching a video of her lecture on climate justice and the Caribbean (here is a link to that...

The upcoming Indigenous People's Day honors the past, present, and future of Native peoples throughout the US. The holiday recognizes the legacy and impact of colonialism on Native communities, and it also celebrates the cultures, contributions, and resilience of...

We like to think that everything we offer on Ocean Connect is a fantastic resource that will help you make your unique connection to the ocean but based on the feedback we have been receiving, our database of professional societies, organizations, and institutes is...

And shouldn't every day be Earth Day? Thank you to all those dedicated people and organizations that do so much to keep our planet liveable.