• Ocean

Now’s the Time for NOAA

• climate change
• healthy ocean
• National Climate Assessment
• NOAA
• ocean
• ocean acidification
• science
• scientific integrity

by Margaret Spring and Justin Kenney Preparing to take office on January 20, President-elect Joe Biden is building the most qualified and experienced team of experts that any president has assembled to address the climate change crisis. As excited and hopeful as we are about the Biden Administration’s extraordinary climate team, there is a major […]

• Climate Change

World Meteorological Organization Sounds Alarm On Climate, But Is Anyone Listening?

• climate change
• global warming
• greenhouse gasses
• ice melting
• ocean acidification
• World Meteorological Organization

This week, in the midst of the global pandemic, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) issued its 2019 annual report assessing a range of so-called global climate indicators such as land temperatures, ocean temperatures, greenhouse gas emissions, sea-level rise and melting ice.

Why This Matters:  Every day that goes by we are losing precious time to both keep our warming under control and to prepare for the impacts of the warming that is now inevitable.

• Ocean

Ocean Acidification Will Cause Big Economic Losses in the U.S.

• coral reefs
• fisheries
• jobs
• king crab
• ocean acidification

A new report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released last week as part of a Congressionally-mandated review of ocean acidification, states that increasing acidity in the U.S. ocean waters could cause “billions of dollars in damage to the U.S. economy,” with detrimental impacts on Alaskan fisheries and tourism due to degraded coral reefs in Florida and the Caribbean.

Why This Matters:  Climate impacts are costing our economy already due to severe weather events such as wildfires and hurricanes.  Even though increasing ocean acidification may not be visible to the eye, its costs are just as devastating.

• Ocean

Ocean Acidification Happening Twice As Fast in California

• California
• climate change
• ocean acidification
• oysters

According to a new study published in the journal Nature Geoscience this week, the waters off California are acidifying twice as rapidly as elsewhere on Earth. As NBC News reported, Oceans play an important role in the planet’s delicate carbon cycle, acting as a crucial reservoir that absorbs and stores carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. […]

• Ocean

Oyster Farmers Fight the Ticking Clock of Ocean Acidification

• climate change
• ocean acidification
• oysters

Millions of oysters are consumed in the United States each year but these trendy bivalves are coming under increasing threat from ocean acidification resulting from climate change. Animals like shellfish, corals and sea urchins need carbonate ions to build their shells and other structures yet the more oceans acidify, the scarcer those essential building blocks […]

• Politics

Landmark Bills on Ocean Acidification Pass in the House of Representatives

• bipartisan
• Congress
• House of Representatives
• ocean acidification

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed The Ocean Acidification Innovation Act, landmark legislation to enable institutions to compete for $50 million annually in federally funded prize money for research dedicated to ocean acidification. The House also passed the Coastal Communities Ocean Acidification Act, which directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to work with state and local experts to assess the likely impacts of acidification on coastal communities, prepare a public report on which communities are most exposed to the problem, and support state efforts to assess their own vulnerabilities.  Both bills had overwhelming bi-partisan support – but whether the Senate will take them up remains to be seen.