Monthly Archives: September 2014

Overfishing Remains Biggest Threat to Mediterranean Overfishing is still the most important threat to Mediterranean underwater ecosystems, “more than pollution, invasive species, or climate change” “Without these radical changes, we’re just going to reduce the Mediterranean Sea to a soup … Continue reading →

The Gulf of St. Lawrence is the sum total of everything that rolls downhill. It gathers from rivers whose finger streams begin hundreds of miles away—in cities like Montreal and in old-growth forests in New York State. It sweeps up … Continue reading →

A WORLD APART “If an alien had just one day on Earth and wanted to see a coral reef,” says National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Enric Sala, “I would show him Millennium Atoll.” What that alien would see is one part of … Continue reading →

These Invaders Came, Saw, Conquered—and Destroyed Aquatic invasive species are plants and animals that evolved in one location and are introduced through a variety of means into another location. 

Species have always used the oceans to move about the planet. … Continue reading →

Children play on the shore of Manila Bay in the Philippines, which is polluted by plastic waste. PLASTIC POLLUTION EXPLAINED Much of the planet is swimming in discarded plastic, which is harming animal and possibly human health. Can it be … Continue reading →

Centuries of Abuse Have Taken a Heavy Toll Trash litters the waters of a fishing village on Bonny Island in the Niger Delta. This impoverished region of Africa was supposed to be transformed for the better by the discovery in … Continue reading →

As the planet warms, the sea rises. Coastlines flood. What will we protect? What will we abandon? How will we face the danger of rising seas? By the time Hurricane Sandy veered toward the Northeast coast of the United States … Continue reading →

Warmer Oceans Have Far-Reaching Effects A woman inspects the wreckage of her Seabrook, Texas, home after Hurricane Ike roared through in 2008. Some climate models predict that higher sea temperatures caused by global climate change will lead to more frequent … Continue reading →

BIG FISH If the goliath grouper loses its legal protection, will the 800-pounder sink or swim? Off the coast of southwest Florida, a hundred feet below the water’s surface, a whump rolls through the sea. Another whump follows, like the … Continue reading →

JAPAN HALTS WHALING Japan Halts Whaling Program in Response to International Court Ruling Japan’s program to take minke, fin, and humpback whales in the Southern Ocean is not based on sound science, says court. Japan says it will abide by … Continue reading →