News
The Week in Climate Policy
A (non-comprehensive and quite random) list of climate change, climate policy and environmental justice stories from the past week. New files shed light on ExxonMobil’s efforts to undermine climate science. Executives privately sought to downplay link between fossil...
American Climate Corps
President Biden announced a new initiative to train young people in high-demand skills for jobs in the clean energy economy. The American Climate Corps is designed to put a new generation of Americans to work conserving our lands and waters, bolstering community...
Featured Connection: Hydrology
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...
EPA Watchdog Report: Refineries Can’t Police Themselves
As the Latin expression puts it, Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? This is a phrase from the Roman poet Juvenal, which is literally translated as “Who will guard the guards themselves?” Well, according to a new report from the Office of the Inspector General, the...
The Week in Climate Policy
A (non-comprehensive and quite random) list of climate change, climate policy and environmental justice stories from the past week. Shipping giant Maersk unveils world’s first vessel using green methanol. The new container ship, ordered in 2021, has two engines: one...
Featured Connection: Marine Mammal Science
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...
Ocean Connect Hits 20,000 New Monthly Users
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 -...
EVs as EJ?
From a forthcoming paper by Lisa Benjamin from Lewis & Clark Law School in the Harvard Environmental Law Review: Electric vehicles (EVs) are everywhere. And they are cool – consumers love them. But EVs have justice implications – both positive and negative. The...
The Week in Climate Policy
A (non-comprehensive and quite random) list of climate change, climate policy and environmental justice stories from the past week. Experts Warn of ‘Denialism Comeback’ Ahead of November’s Global Climate Talks. Even amid a disaster-filled summer marked by record heat,...
Biodiversity Conservation
The first-ever report between UNESCO and IUCN unveils a global assessment of species biodiversity in #WorldHeritage sites. The World Heritage Convention that protects these habitats is especially unique due to the ways in which it deals with both natural and cultural...
Featured Connection: Scientific Illustration
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...
How Bad is Climate Change for Polar Bears? Very.
A new study released this week reports that scientists can now measure the impact that greenhouse gas emissions have on polar bear cub survival. This is vital because although scientists have known for years that a lack of sea ice could be devastating for polar bears,...
The Week in Climate Policy
A (non-comprehensive and quite random) list of climate change, climate policy and environmental justice stories from the past week. African children bearing the brunt of climate change impacts. Children in 48 out of 49 African countries assessed were found to be at...
Electric Car Revolution Puts Native Communities at Risk
S&P Global Mobility forecasts electric vehicle sales in the United States could reach 40 percent of total passenger car sales by 2030, and more optimistic projections foresee electric vehicle sales surpassing 50 percent by 2030. According to the U.S. Bureau of...
Featured Connection: Fisheries Science
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 livelihoods for millions more. The global market value of...
The Week In Climate Policy
A (non-comprehensive and quite random) list of climate change, climate policy and environmental justice stories from the past week. Climate Risks Loom Over Panama Canal, a Vital Global Trade Link. Lack of rain and changing weather patterns are slowing the ship traffic...
Featured Connection: Documentary Filmmaking
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,...
The Week in Climate Policy
A selection of climate change and climate policy news from this past week. Unusual Pacific Storms Like Hurricane Hilary Could Be a Warning for the Future. A lack of data from the Eastern Pacific Ocean makes it hard to project whether global warming will increase...
Featured Connection: Environmental Protection
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,...
Ocean Action Newsletter
This month, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs has issued a new edition of the Ocean Action newsletter under the theme Sustainable Blue Economy. In this issue, you will find a message on the 4th International Conference on Small Island...
Montana Youths Get Historic Win in Landmark Climate Case
A state judge in Montana ruled on Monday that young people in the state have a constitutional right to a healthful environment, finding in a landmark case that the state’s failure to consider climate change when evaluating new oil and gas projects was causing harm....
How Much Air Pollution You Live With Depends on Your Skin Color
A study published in Environmental Health Perspectives found that, no matter which of the main types of air pollutants you look at, people of color are breathing more of it. And while great progress has been made in reducing deadly pollutants in the air in the US over...
The Week in Climate Policy
A roundup of climate policy stories from the past week: The world is likely to face major disruption to food supplies well before temperatures rise by the 1.5C target, the president of the UN’s desertification conference has warned, as the impacts of the climate...
Understanding Coral Bleaching
Corals across several countries are bleaching and dying en masse from unprecedented levels of heat stress, prompting fears that an unfolding tragedy in Central America, North America, and the Caribbean could become a global event. US government scientists have...
Featured Connection: Biological Oceanography
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...
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global extinction risk status of animal, fungus, and plant species. Open to all, it is used by governmental bodies, non-profit organizations, businesses, and...
The Week in Climate Policy
A roundup of climate policy stories from the past week: The United Nations (U.N.) Chief Antonio Guterres declared that “the era of global boiling has arrived.” This comes as scientists “confirmed that July is set to become Earth’s hottest month on record.” (click here...
Ocean Sustainability Reading List
Ocean sustainability is all about approaching ocean management in a way that protects the ocean and the services it provides. It is, in short, a balancing act between what is good for the health and well-being of the ocean and what is good for the economic well-being...
Featured Connection: Renewable Energy
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, air pollution, water pollution,...
Global Fund for Coral Reefs
The Global Fund for Coral Reefs acts as an investment vehicle to fund innovative business models that increase the resilience of coral reefs and the communities that depend on them. The Global Fund for Coral Reefs provides grant funding and private capital to support...
The Week in Climate Policy
Since climate policy stories don't often make the front pages (except for the extreme heat we have all been suffering with this summer), we are highlighting important stories from the past week. US Republicans oppose climate funding whilst almost 90 million Americans...
Ocean Connect Reaches 10,000 New Monthly Users
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...
Did You Know?
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...
Featured Connection: Maritime Transportation
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...
Climate Change and Heat Waves
A study published by the World Weather Attribution, an international group of scientists who measure how much climate change influences extreme weather events, reported that human-induced climate change has played an "absolutely overwhelming" role in the extreme...
Ocean Warming
A really insightful article on ocean warming was just published in Scientific American. It is by Katharine Hayhoe, the chief scientist for the Nature Conservancy, a distinguished professor at Texas Tech University, and the author of Saving Us: A Climate Scientist's...
Featured Connection: Ecology
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...
Environmental Justice Suggested Reads
Extreme weather events. Rising sea levels. Water scarcity. Melting polar ice. Warming oceans. Extended heat waves. Declining biodiversity. Flooding. Catastrophic storms. Drought. Wildfires. All these environmentally damaging activities disproportionately impact...
Marine Heat Wave Threatens Coral Reefs
A marine heatwave is a period of unusually high ocean temperatures and is defined by its duration and intensity. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) defines a marine heat wave as a period with persistent and unusually warm ocean temperatures,...
EPA Scraps a Civil Rights Investigation on Louisiana’s Cancer Alley
The recent decision by the U.S. DOJ to cancel an investigation into environmental racism is a blow to communities in Cancer Alley and environmental justice advocates. Residents in Cancer Alley have been exposed to various toxic chemicals for years that have had deadly...
Featured Connection: Environmental Justice
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 other sources of...
UN Ocean Decade as an Instrument of Peace
A new paper co-authored by Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions Wallenberg Postdoctoral Fellow Jean-Baptiste Jouffray and Lead Scientist Colette Wabnitz explores considerations for 'A Peaceful Ocean. You can access the article here.
Bolstering the Natural Resiliency of Coastal Regions
There is a new opinion piece by Jenna Flemma, the Director of the Ocean Defense Initiative, in the Summer issue of ECO Magazine about the importance of the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act coastal restoration investments that will...
Future of Deep-Sea Mining Hangs in the Balance
As reported by the Associated Press, the International Seabed Authority — the United Nations body that regulates the world’s ocean floor — is preparing to resume negotiations that could open the international seabed for mining, including for materials critical for the...
Marine Conservation Reading List
Here's a great list from a site called Bex Band: Marine Biology: A Very Short Introduction (2013) by Philip V. Mladenov Providing a brief overview of life in the marine environment and how humans are impacting it’s fine balance. This is a good book to provide you...
Featured Connection: Underwater Photography
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...
EU Committee Votes in Favor of Increased Fisheries Regulation
The European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee has voted overwhelmingly in favour of an agreement to revise the EU’s Fisheries Control Regulation, which can increase transparency around catches at sea and combat illegal activities and hidden overfishing. Five years...
Featured Connection: Ocean Sustainability
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...
Sustainable Products from Ocean Plastic
It’s no secret that the ocean is suffocating with plastic waste. Some scientists predict that by 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean. We discovered one company – #tide ocean material – that is collecting ocean-bound plastic waste in Southeast Asia...
Featured Connection: Aquaculture
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...
Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool
EJScreen is an EPA's environmental justice mapping and screening tool that provides EPA with a nationally consistent dataset and approach for combining environmental and demographic socioeconomic indicators. EJScreen users choose a geographic area; the tool then...
What is Ocean Literacy?
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...
Restoring Endangered Species Protections
The Biden administration proposed bringing back rules to protect imperiled plants and animals as officials moved to reverse changes under former President Donald Trump that weakened the Endangered Species Act. The proposals include the restoration of the so-called...
Air Quality Equity in US Climate Policy
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 new study from the...
Featured Connection: Marine Conservation
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 itself. Marine conservation ranges from...
United Nations Adopts High Seas Treaty
The UN’s 193 Member States adopted a landmark legally binding marine biodiversity agreement this past Monday following nearly two decades of fierce negotiations over forging a common wave of conservation and sustainability in the high seas beyond national boundaries –...
Celebrate Freedom
“Struggle is a never-ending process. Freedom is never really won, you earn it and win it in every generation.” — Coretta Scott King
Current Research Database
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...
Featured Connection: Marine Biology
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...
A Landmark Youth Climate Trial Begins in Montana
The US’s first-ever trial in a constitutional climate lawsuit kicked off on Monday morning in a courtroom in Helena, Montana. The case, Held v Montana, was brought in 2020 by 16 plaintiffs between the ages of five and 22 from around the state who allege state...
Intersectional Environmentalism
Intersectional Environmentalism (IE) focuses on achieving climate justice, amplifying historically excluded voices, and approaching environmental education policy and activism with equity, inclusion, and restorative justice in mind. In other words, IE is an inclusive...
Ocean Connect – The Book
We are excited to announce the publication of Ocean Connect: A Step-by-Step Guide to Finding Your Ocean-Related Career. The Ocean Connect website has over 12,000 individual resources to help students find their unique connection to an ocean-related career. But we...
Blue Foods & Climate Policy Brief
A new policy brief from the Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions . . . To meet global climate targets, climate decision-makers will need to harness the opportunities for blue foods to contribute to net-zero food systems while protecting blue food systems from the...
It’s Time to Put the Ocean First
A healthy ocean is essential to our existence. But it is no secret that the ocean is under tremendous threat. It has never been hotter or more acidic. It is losing oxygen at an alarming rate. And pollution, especially plastic waste, is negatively impacting almost...
Featured Connection: Ecotourism
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...
Marine Protected Areas
According to the Coral Reef Alliance, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are designated areas of the ocean that are set aside for conservation and management purposes. These areas are intended to preserve and protect the marine life and their habitats within them. They...
Creating Your Own Opportunity
We are happy to announce we have added the first two videos of 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...
Featured Connection: Digital Media
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...
Fenceline Communities
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...
Deep-Sea Mining May Affect Thousands of New Species
According to a newspaper published in the peer-reviewed journal Current Biology, Scientists have discovered more than 5,500 entirely new species living on the seabed in the mineral-rich Clarion--Clipperton Zone (CCZ) of the Pacific Ocean, an area targeted by deep-sea...
Featured Connection: Biotechnology
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...
EPA Proposes to Expand Regulation of Toxic Coal Ash
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its proposal to expand the regulation of coal ash, which is the toxic byproduct of coal combustion. The Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) rule finalized by EPA in 2015 exempted coal ash stored in legacy ponds and...
Turning off the Tap: How the world can end plastic pollution and create a circular economy
Plastic pollution could be slashed by 80 percent by 2040 if countries and companies use existing technologies to make significant policy shifts and market adjustments, according to a new UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report. “The way we produce, use, and dispose of...
Executive Order on Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to advance environmental justice, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. Policy. To fulfill our Nation’s...
EPA Proposes New Carbon Pollution Standards for Fossil Fuel-Fired Power Plants
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed new carbon pollution standards for coal and natural gas-fired power plants that will protect public health, reduce harmful pollutants and deliver up to $85 billion in climate and public health benefits over the...
Climate Refugees
Every day vulnerable people are forcibly displaced due to impacts generated by climate change. This isn’t something that will happen, this is something happening now. As reported by the Environmental Justice Foundation in its 2021 report, No Shelter From the Storm,...
International Court of Justice Starts Building Historic Opinion on Climate Change
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has begun the process of delivering an advisory opinion on States’ obligations concerning climate change following the adoption of a recent resolution by the UN General Assembly (29/03). The request for an advisory opinion was...
Featured Connection: Ocean Literacy
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...
The Invention of Green Colonialism
A really insightful and interesting book review from the Inquisitive Biologist about this really insightful and interesting book by French author Guillaume Blanc: You would think that wildlife conservation organisations are a force for good in the world. Yet, despite...
Chemical Giants Versus Grassroots Organizers
According to reporting in the Guardian, after residents of America’s “Cancer Alley” in Louisiana put a national spotlight on their fight for a healthy environment, the state’s economic interests and petrochemical giants are backing the creation of a new...
What is Green Colonialism?
Green Colonialism, also known as Eco-colonialism, Environmental Colonialism or Climate Colonialism refers to the Global North living at the ecological expense of the Global South for their green agendas. The actions of the already-developed and industrialised nations...
Microplastic on the Mind
Plastic is already found in our blood, and now it may be in our brains. Scientists at the University of Vienna have discovered particles of plastic in mice’s brains just a mere two hours after the mice ingested drinking water containing plastic. Once in the brain,...
Topical Database
For each feature connection, the Ocean Connect website offers links to an abundance of resources that are designed to help you become an “expert” in the field. These resources include: Books Videos Podcasts Blogs Publications Journals Societies Schools Professional...
Featured Connection: Naval Architecture
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...
President Biden Establishes Office of Environmental Justice
President Biden signed an executive order Friday aimed at ensuring federal decisions consider "environmental justice," which addresses higher pollution burdens often faced by communities of color and people living in poverty. The new executive order directs agencies...
Happy Earth Day!
Our world needs transformation. It’s time for the people of the world to hold governments and the private sector accountable for their role in our environmental crisis while also calling for bold, creative, and innovative solutions. This will require action at all...
EPA Awards $177 Million to Environmental Justice Groups
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday that it’s investing $177 million to create 17 technical assistance centers around the country to help environmental justice organizations successfully apply for federal funds. Better training on how to...
What we need to know to ensure aquaculture in offshore US waters is done right
The Environmental Defense Fund recently posted an Expert Q & A, which is a must-read for anyone interested in ocean sustainability issues. Read answers from: Matthew Thompson, Aquaculture Programs Manager at the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life (New England...
Featured Connection: Botany
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 penicillin came from mold). They are the...
Finding Your Direction
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...
Blue Growth and Blue Justice
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)...
Featured Connection: Creative Writing
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...
Panama Achieves 50% Ocean Protection with Expanded Marine Protected Area
Panama recently expanded the limits of the Banco Volcán Area of Managed Resources (Banco Volcán AMR) to further protect and steward important marine ecosystems, endangered flora and fauna, and important fishing resources found within Panama's territorial waters in the...
UN Agrees on Role for Int’l Court of Justice in Climate Change
Thank you, Vanuatu! The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution proposed by the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu to seek an opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on what legal obligations nations are under to protect climate...
Featured Connection: Marine Archaeology
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...
Racial Discrimination in Cancer Alley
The 85-mile stretch of land along the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans that contains over 200 oil refineries, plastics plants, chemical plants, and other petrochemical factories that emit significant amounts of harmful air pollution is officially...
Help Update the Key Climate Literacy Guide
As part of the U.S. Global Change Research Program, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is requesting suggestions on structure, topics, and content to help update a key national climate literacy guide used by educators, policymakers, and...
The 50 States of Climate Change
How does climate change impact your state? This informational guide from Outside magazine lists the impacts of climate change in all 50 states and how you can get involved.
Every Drop Matters
World Water day is celebrated on March 22 every year to spread awareness about the water crisis all over the world. World Water Day aims to achieve the vision of sustainable water and sanitation for all by 2030. The UN's World Water Development Report is an overview...
On the Brink of a Man-Made Climate Disaster
The world is on the brink of a man-made climate change disaster. More than a century of burning fossil fuels as well as unequal and unsustainable energy and land use have led to global warming of 1.1°C above pre -industrial levels. This has resulted in more frequent...
Mapped: The World’s Minority Indigenous Peoples
A fascinating new map by Bhabna Banerjee uses data from the Indigenous World 2022 report to show the population distribution of the roughly 476 million minority Indigenous groups worldwide. Generally, the term indigenous peoples refers to social or cultural groups...
Examining Disparities in Environmental Grantmaking
A new report by Dorceta Taylor and Molly Blondell from the Yale University School of the Environment, examines the environmental grantmaking practices of 220 foundations that distributed more than 30,000 grants totaling $4.9 billion that were distributed over three...
Ocean Connect Named Ocean Guardian
We are proud to announce that Ocean Connect has been named an "Ocean Guardian" by the Ocean Culture Life organization. The Ocean Culture Life Guardians is a community of organizations, charities, brands, conservationists, campaigners, and ocean experts who share a...
Featured Connection: Atmospheric Science
The Dynamics of Weather and Climate Atmospheric scientists consider problems that are both scientifically challenging and critical for the health and well-being of modern society. Atmospheric science is an interdisciplinary field that touches upon mathematics,...
Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities
The Biden-Harris Administration continues to build on early efforts to integrate environmental justice with federal agency actions through a new Executive Order 14091, Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal...
The 12 Principles of Plant Biology
We are just finishing up a new snapshot on Botany and came across the 12 Principles of Plant Biology courtesy of the American Society of Plant Biologists (makes sense, right?). We thought it a fascinating take on the importance of plants to the biosphere, our health...
What Does it Mean to Be an Environmental Justice Community?
Communities most impacted by environmental harms and risks are typically referred to as “environmental justice (EJ) communities” or, as the US Environmental Protection Agency defines them, “overburdened communities.” A few factors go into identifying EJ communities,...
Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool
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,...
High Seas Treaty Announced
After over a decade of tough negotiations, more than 100 United Nations member countries have agreed to the first-ever treaty to protect the world's oceans outside national boundaries. The UN High Seas Treaty places 30% of the world's oceans into protected areas, puts...
Climate Pollution Reduction Grants
The Biden-Harris Administration is making $250 million available to develop innovative strategies to cut climate pollution and build clean energy economies. These planning grants, through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), are the first tranche of funding...
Justice Department Takes Action Against Cancer Alley Petrochemical Plant
Cancer Alley is an 85-mile-long area along an industrial stretch of the Mississippi River known for its abundance of petroleum plants and, as the name implies, cancer cases. Research shows that there are higher-than-normal amounts of lung, stomach, and kidney cancer...
Featured Connection: Microbiology
Life at the Microscopic Level Microbiology is the study of organisms that are too small to be seen with the naked eye. These microorganisms (or “microbes”) include viruses, bacteria, algae, fungi, slime molds, and protozoa. Microbes are everywhere, and we mean...
Environmental Injustice
The recent train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, involving a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials, is only the most recent example of the dangers faced by vulnerable and often non-white communities that live close to train lines. Even in the absence...
Life Below Water
The Sustainable Development Goals are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone everywhere. The 17 Goals were adopted by all UN Member States in 2015, as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable...
Featured Connection: Renewable Energy
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, air pollution, water pollution,...
World Day of Social Justice
"The equal rights of all peoples, and the opportunity for all human beings, without discrimination, to benefit from economic and social progress in all parts of the world." United Nations
EPA Announces Effort to Curb Emissions and Stem Environmental Injustices
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced initial guidance on the design of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) program, which was created by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. EPA published two Federal Assistance Listings outlining key...
Advancing Antiracism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in STEMM Organizations
Today The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released a report which provides recommendations for advancing antiracism, diversity, equity, and inclusion in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM) organizations....
Sea Level Rise May Be Way Worse than Projected in Developing Nations
According to a new study published last week in Earth’s Future, a journal of the American Geophysical Union, rising seas will swamp farmlands, pollute water supplies, and displace millions of people much sooner than expected. Sea level rise keeps speeding up, and...
Invisible Threat, Inequitable Impact
According to a new study by the Union of Concerned Scientists, more than 14 million Americans live within just five miles of 104 cancer gas-emitting facilities. The study found that these commercial plants release large amounts of ethylene oxide. Ethylene oxide, a...
Indigenous Science Reading List
Indigenous science is a distinct, time-tested, and methodological knowledge system that can enhance and complement Western science. According to the Indigenous Science Network, "like Western science, Indigenous science relies upon direct observation for forecasting...
Atlas of Environmental Justice
The environmental justice atlas documents and catalogs social conflict around environmental issues. Across the world, communities are struggling to defend their land, air, water, forests and livelihoods from damaging projects and extractive activities with heavy...
Climate Justice – A Key Pillar of Climate Action
According to the Environmental Justice Foundation, we live in an era of extraordinary climate injustice. The impacts of the climate crisis are deepening already existing vulnerabilities and inequalities within and across generations, communities, and countries...
EPA’s Environmental Justice Government-to-Government Program
The EPA's Environmental Justice Government-to-Government (EJG2G) program provides funding at the state, local, territorial, and tribal levels to support government activities that lead to measurable environmental or public health impacts in communities...
Climate and Environmental Justice Organizations
Once you do any reading about climate and environmental justice issues, you tend to get the urge to roll up your sleeves and do something about the rampant injustices that continue to exist in our society. To help you find your way along that path, we have compiled a...
Finding a Great Opportunity
I am pleased to announce that Ocean Connect's first video tutorial series - Finding a Great Opportunity - is now up in the Resources section of the Ocean Connect website. The Opportunities Database contains information on ocean-related academic programs, awards,...
Featured Connection: Climate Science
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...
Featured Connection: Investigative Journalism
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...
Plastic Pollution in the Oceans is an Equity Issue
A less recognized byproduct of plastic pollution is how marine plastic waste affects human populations and the unequal burden on different communities. A report, "Towards an Equitable Approach to Marine Plastics Pollution," outlines the current situation and attempts...
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2023
White House Releases First-of-a-Kind Indigenous Knowledge Guidance for Federal Agencies
On December 1, 2022, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) jointly released new government-wide guidance and an accompanying implementation memorandum for Federal Agencies on...
EPA Unveils $100M for Environmental Justice
The Environmental Protection Agency announced it is awarding $100 million in competitive grants for projects that advance environmental justice in communities disproportionately affected by industrial pollution and other hazards. The EPA will offer the grants in two...
Featured Connection: The Science of Aquaculture
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...
Microplastics Deposited on the Seafloor Triple in 20 Years
According to a study developed by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB) and the Department of the Built Environment of Aalborg University (AAU-BUILD), the total amount of microplastics deposited on...
Higher Concentrations Of Arsenic, Uranium In Drinking Water In Black, Latino, Indigenous Communities
A study published in Nature Communications analyzed the county-level association between racial/ethnic composition and public water arsenic and uranium concentrations from 2000–2011. The study found that higher proportions of Hispanic/Latino and American...
Ocean University
We are very pleased to announce that Ocean Connect's "Ocean Shot" submission - Ocean University: A Model Internship Program to Increase Diversity in Ocean Science - was accepted by the U.S. National Committee for the Ocean Decade. From 2021 to 2030, the UN Decade of...
Featured Connection: Physical Oceanography
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 studying the interaction between the ocean and...
Nearly 10% of Marine Life Threatened with Extinction
The effects of human activity from climate change to pollution, are "devastating" marine life, with nearly a tenth of underwater plants and animals assessed so far threatened with extinction, the latest Red List of Threatened Species showed on Friday. More than 1,550...
White House Releases First-of-a-Kind Indigenous Knowledge Guidance for Federal Agencies
Last week, the White House released first-of-a-kind guidance for Federal Agencies on recognizing and including Indigenous Knowledge in Federal research, policy, and decision-making. According to the White House website, Indigenous Knowledge is a body of observations,...
Vanuatu Seeks Climate Justice
The Pacific island nation Vanuatu and 17 other countries recently published a draft resolution asking the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to clarify what responsibilities governments around the world have to protect future generations from climate change. The...
Digital Nation
Tuvalu, a group of nine islands halfway between Hawaii and Australia, is building a digital version of itself, replicating islands and landmarks and preserving its history and culture as rising sea levels threaten to submerge the tiny Pacific island nation. Tuvalu's...
Featured Connection: Environmental Science
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, hydrology, earth and soil sciences, atmospheric...
While the World Burns
If you focus on the headlines coming out of the recently concluded COP27 climate summit in Egypt, you might just believe that great progress has been made in helping vulnerable countries deal with the devastating impacts of global warming. The word that appears most...
Environmental Justice Reading List
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 other sources of...
Featured Connection: Oceanography
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 that life is in or out of the...
Last 8 Years Hottest on Record
According to the World Meteorological Organization’s provisional State of the Global Climate in 2022 report released to coincide with the COP27 climate summit, the past eight years were the hottest on record, leaving the climate goals set out in the 2015 Paris Climate...
Halloween Terror? Afraid Not.
I didn't see this question on last week's PSATs, but it should have been: What's more terrifying than a beach covered in garbage? (a) Two beaches covered in garbage. (b) No plan to stop the toxic runoff, industrial, agricultural and residential waste polluting our...
Heat Waves Cost Poor Countries the Most
According to a recent study published in the journal Science Advances, heat waves, exacerbated by human-caused climate change, have cost the global economy at least 16 trillion dollars in the last 30 years. This burden has disproportionately fallen on the world's...
Promises, Promises
A new report from UN Climate Change shows that countries around the world are failing to live up to their commitments to fight climate change. According to the report, countries are "bending the curve of global greenhouse gas emissions downward but underlines that...
How Long Until this Reaches the Ocean?
What is the obsession with balloons and mailboxes? Does anyone past the age of five still get excited about seeing their mailbox festooned with colorful objects for the 24 hours they actually stay inflated? I mean, just look at this - it's depressing. And worse yet,...
The Father of Environmental Justice
Environmental justice is the principle that all people and communities - regardless of race, color, national origin, or income - have a right to equal enforcement and equal protection of environmental laws and regulations. The environmental justice movement is a vital...
Featured Connection: Ocean Sustainability
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...
Code Red for the Planet
Populations of monitored animal species have plummeted nearly 70 percent in the last 50 years, according to a landmark assessment released today by the WWF (World Wide Fund For Nature). The report highlights “devastating” losses to nature due to human activity. The...
Conservation Careers
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...
The 17 Principles of Environmental Justice
Drafted and adopted in 1991 at the National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit, the Principles serve as a guidepost for the environmental justice movement. Anyone interested in pursuing a career in environmental justice should be familiar with these...
October 10, 2022
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...
Featured Connection: Astrobiology
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 of environments that may support life and the different planetary...
EPA to Make Racial Equality a Bigger Factor in Environmental Rules
In a historic move, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that it is establishing a new national office charged with advancing environmental justice and civil rights. The creation of the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights is part of...
Clean Shipping Act
Earlier this year, Congressman Alan Lowenthal ((California), who represents the Port of Long Beach--one of the nation's busiest cargo ports--introduced the Clean Shipping Act, legislation aimed at zeroing out pollution from all ocean shipping companies that do...
Featured Connection: Renewable Energy
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, air pollution, water pollution,...
Historic Coral Restoration News
They said it couldn't be done, but they did it. Scientists at the Florida Aquarium have made a major breakthrough in the restoration of the endangered Caribbean elkhorn coral. Until this latest development, elkhorn coral had been impossible to reproduce in an aquarium...
Environmental Justice Day
The States of Washington and Nevada have proclaimed August 29th as Environmental Justice Day to highlight the human cost of pollution and climate change. Each state has compiled resources for its citizens to address environmental issues in their communities and learn...
Featured Connection: Ecology
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...
A Treaty to Preserve Marine Biological Diversity
For the next two weeks, representatives from Member States have gathered at the United Nations to try and reach a consensus on a legally binding instrument regarding the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national...
A Treasure Trove of Information
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...
Featured Connection: Environmental Justice
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 other sources of...
Nine Million New Ocean Connections
According to a study conducted by the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, over the next decade, nine million new clean jobs will be created as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. We look at it like that's also...
Discovering Your Opportunity
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...
Featured Connection: Underwater Photography
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...
Why Isn’t Climate Change Taught in School?
In most public schools, climate change is not a standard part of the school curriculum. This is primarily due to a lack of resources, a lack of teacher expertise, and the efforts of climate change deniers to push back against this type of education. So students are...
Latin America & Caribbean Climate Week
Last year, regional collaboration emerged as a driver of global climate progress. The Glasgow Climate Pact agreed at COP26 recognizes Regional Climate Weeks as a platform for governments and stakeholders to foster a credible and durable response to climate change....
Featured Connection: Chemical Oceanography
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 oceanographers work at the "boundaries...
Helping the Ocean by Reducing Single-Use Plastic
On June 30, 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law the most ambitious single-use plastic reduction policy in the nation. California — which already has some of the most broad-reaching product stewardship and extended product responsibility (EPR) laws...
Facing A Hostile Obstacle Course
According to a recent paper published in Nature Geoscience that studied the structural barriers to inclusiveness in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM), geoscience remains one of the least diverse disciplines with persistent...
New Study Identifies Rapidly Emerging Threats to the Ocean
A recently published global study of issues impacting marine and coastal biodiversity conservation in the journal Nature, Ecology & Evolution outlines new, potentially unexpected threats to ocean ecosystems and vulnerable coastal communities. These threats are in...
Supreme Court Limits E.P.A.’s Authority on Emissions
In a significant blow to addressing the causes of climate change, today the Supreme Court stripped the federal government of a crucial tool to combat air pollution. Not being either environmental or constitutional lawyers (or lawyers of any kind, for that matter), we...
Featured Connection: Marine Conservation
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 itself. Marine conservation ranges from...
Why Connect?
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...
Celebrate Freedom
“Struggle is a never-ending process. Freedom is never really won, you earn it and win it in every generation.” — Coretta Scott King
Featured Connection: Marine Biology
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...
Phasing Out Single-Use Plastic
On World Ocean Day, the Secretary of the Interior issued an order which aims to reduce the procurement, sale, and distribution of single-use plastic products and packaging with a goal of phasing out single-use plastic products on Department-managed lands by 2032. The...
World Ocean Day 2022
On World Ocean 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...
Carbon dioxide now more than 50% higher than pre-industrial levels
Carbon dioxide measured at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Mauna Loa Atmospheric Baseline Observatory peaked for 2022 at 421 parts per million in May, pushing the atmosphere further into territory not seen for millions of years, scientists from...
Featured Connection: Ecotourism
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...
Transforming Ocean-Bound Plastic into Sustainable Products
It's no secret that the ocean is suffocating with plastic waste. Some scientists predict that by 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean. We discovered one company - #tide ocean material - that is collecting ocean-bound plastic waste in Southeast Asia...
Why Sharks Matter: A Deep Dive with the World’s Most Misunderstood Predator
With more than one-third of the world's shark and ray species now facing the threat of extinction, this new book by marine conservation biologist Dr. David Shiffman could not have come at a better time. Overfishing and unsustainable bycatch numbers are the biggest...
Featured Connection: Digital Media
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...
The State of the Global Climate 2021
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) report on the state of the global climate revealed that four key climate change indicators – greenhouse gas concentrations, sea level rise, ocean heat and ocean acidification – set new records in 2021. According to the WMO...
Featured Connection: Marine Microbiology
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 resilient microorganisms (or...
Mass Extinction of Marine Life
A new study by two Princeton University researchers has concluded that ocean warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions could result in the extinction of marine life on par with the mass extinction of the dinosaurs. Tropical waters would suffer the largest loss of...
Happy Earth Day!
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.
Microplastics Found in Human Blood
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...
5 Things You Can Do to Help the Ocean
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 down...