Climate change has become the defining environmental issue of our time. Virtually every day there is news about its impacts on the oceans, from whale deaths due to lack of food, to potential coral destruction from increased ocean acidity, to the disappearance of cold water species because of warming ocean temperatures. The oceans are suffering from climate change and more than ever before we all need to do our part to step up and protect them.

Oceana Climate Campaign News

Conservation Coalition and States Will Sue EPA to Reduce Global Warming Pollution from Ships and Planes: A coalition of conservation groups and state attorneys general filed formal letters warning of impending lawsuits over the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's failure to address global warming pollution from ocean-going ships and aircraft. The conservation groups' notice of intent to sue was filed by Earthjustice on behalf of Oceana, Friends of the Earth and the Center for Biological Diversity.
Read Oceana's Press Release
Read the Letter of Intent to Sue the Environmental Protection Agency
Read Oceana's Report Shipping Impacts on Climate: A source with solutions
To find out more about how shipping contributes to climate change, click here.

No More Free Ride for Shipping: Oceana has petitioned the EPA to regulate global warming pollution from the shipping industry. The global shipping fleet is a major emitter of carbon dioxide and other global warming pollutants, pumping as much carbon dioxide into the air as all the cars used in the United States put together. In fact, ships emit more carbon dioxide worldwide than most individual countries emit from all sources - only six countries crank out more CO2 than the global shipping fleet. Yet these ship emissions are entirely unregulated. Oceana and its partners, Earthjustice, Friends of the Earth and the Center for Biological Diversity have told EPA to stop giving shippers a free ride - our oceans are suffering from climate change and regulating shipping is one way to control it.
Click the following links for more information on shipping and climate change or to read the Petition or Oceana's Press Release.

No More Free Flying for Aircraft: Recently Oceana petitioned the EPA to regulate global warming pollution from ships. Now Oceana has petitioned the EPA to regulate airlines as well. The United States is responsible for nearly half of the worldwide carbon dioxide emissions from aircraft. Aviation represents one of the fastest growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to the significant contribution of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, there is mounting evidence that aircraft emissions have a significantly greater impact on global warming due to their release at high altitudes than emissions that are produced on land. The significant contribution of aviation to global warming and the lack of regulation to prevent this serious form of pollution have prompted Oceana and its partners, Earthjustice, Friends of the Earth and the Center for Biological Diversity to petition the EPA to stop allowing aircraft to fly and pollute for free.Click the following links for more information on aircraft and climate change or to read the Petition or Oceana's Press Release .

To find out more about what Oceana is doing to fight climate change, click here.

 
What is global warming?   What is global warming doing to the oceans?   Who are the victims of global warming?   What are the solutions to global warming?
 

BLEAK OUTLOOK FOR THE FUTURE OCEANS

Owing to the combined effects of climate change, overfishing and pollution, the future of marine ecosystems may appear bleak if these destructive forces continue unchecked.  In a new paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (subscription required), Dr. Jeremy Jackson analyzes the threats to marine ecosystems and categorizes them according to their overall environmental impacts. Coral reefs, coastal areas and estuaries, he concludes, are in a state of critical endangerment, while continental shelves are endangered and the open ocean is threatened. Coral reefs are simultaneously one of the most diverse and most threatened ecosystems in the oceans, in fact Jackson states that the threats are so dire that coral reefs may "virtually disappear within a few decades." Currently, one-third of corals are listed as threatened under IUCN criteria (see Archived Hot Topics, "One-third of reef forming corals at escalated risk of extinction") due to overfishing and increased sea surface temperatures, which have resulted in a decline in reef grazers and a reduction in coral reproductive success, respectively.  In the Caribbean, a reduction in herbivorous fish has caused thick mats of macroalgae to replace living corals at an alarming rate, yielding a decline from 55% to 5% live coral cover over the past thirty years.  Despite this dire outlook for coral reefs and other marine ecosystems, all is not lost for the oceans. A two-pronged approach to saving the oceans is needed; local threats, such as pollution and overexploitation must be reduced to boost the resilience of ecosystems allowing them to deal with the current threats of climate change, and a serious effort must be made to mitigate climate change, so that future threats of climate change are averted.

To read the Mongabay.com news article regarding Dr. Jackson's startling new report, click here.


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