Experts say booming demand for holidays afloat mean ocean liners’ burden on the environment is growing
The huge passenger vessels sometimes known as “cruisezillas” are getting bigger than ever, according to new research which has found that the world’s biggest cruise ships have doubled in size since 2000.
If the industry’s growth does not slow, the biggest ships in 2050 will be eight times larger, in terms of tonnage, than the Titanic – the largest ship on the seas before it sank a century ago, according to the campaign group Transport & Environment (T&E). The group also found that the number of cruise ships has risen 20-fold since 1970.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
08/07/2024 - 17:01
08/07/2024 - 13:08
Study shows average platform has four times the level of pollution exposure deemed safe by EPA
New York City subway riders are breathing in hazardous air, with Black and Hispanic commuters exposed to higher levels of pollution, a new study shows.
New York University researchers found that the average subway platform had four times the particulate pollution (PM2.5) exposure standard deemed safe over a 24-hour period by the Environmental Protection Agency, and nine times the exposure guideline set by the World Health Organization.
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08/07/2024 - 13:00
Even those who are concerned about climate crisis were influenced by false claims, showing how ‘insidious’ repetition is, researcher says
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Repeating false and sceptical claims about climate science makes them seem more credible – including to people who accept the science and are alarmed by the climate crisis – new research has found.
The study’s lead author, Mary Jiang, from the Australian National University, said: “The findings show how powerful and insidious repetition is and how it can influence people’s assessment of truth.”
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08/07/2024 - 13:00
Only 40% of birds survive collisions with windows, researchers say, suggesting that mortality rates are far higher than previously thought
Less than half of stunned or injured birds survive a collision with a window, research has found, pushing up estimates that more than 1 billion birds may die each year from flying into buildings in the US.
In a new study published on Wednesday in Plos One, researchers examined how many birds recovered in rehabilitative care after a building collision. Older estimates had assumed that most stunned birds would recover, but researchers found about 60% died, meaning the number killed by building strikes may be far higher than previously thought.
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08/07/2024 - 10:05
Community landmark is now thriving and bearing fruit after about half its branches died due to intense heat
When a deadly wildfire tore through Lahaina on Maui last August, the wall of flames scorched the 151-year-old banyan tree along the historic town’s Front Street. But the sprawling tree survived the blaze, and thanks to the efforts of arborists and dedicated volunteers, parts of it are growing back – and even thriving.
For generations, the banyan tree served as a gathering place along Lahaina’s waterfront. By many accounts, it was the heart of the oceanside community – towering more than 60ft (18m) high and anchored by multiple trunks that span nearly an acre.
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08/07/2024 - 10:00
Exclusive: Watchdog says it ordered disposal of more than 600 tonnes of soil fill, fined three facilities and is considering ‘significant changes’ to rules following Guardian investigation
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The New South Wales environment watchdog has vowed to crack down on the waste industry after new tests found asbestos at seven of 13 facilities producing or handling cheap landscaping products.
A 15-month Guardian Australia investigation revealed earlier this year that the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) had failed to act after compliance campaigns in 2013 and 2019 found potentially contaminated products had been distributed across the state – including at childcare centres, schools, residential areas and parks – thanks to widespread breaches by the industry.
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08/07/2024 - 10:00
Researchers say coral analysis shows recent extreme temperatures would not have happened without greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels
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Ocean temperatures in the Great Barrier Reef are now the hottest in at least 400 years and are an “existential threat” to the planet’s unique natural wonder, according to new scientific research.
Scientists analysed long-lived corals in and around the reef that keep a record of temperature hidden in their skeleton and matched them to modern observations.
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08/06/2024 - 23:00
npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 07 August 2024; doi:10.1038/s44183-024-00076-4
Buckley and Cooper’s1 estimates of surfing’s economic contributions via enhanced mental health were extrapolated from national park visitation. We extend their argument by distinguishing benefits from green and blue spaces, and the particularities of surfing, both as therapy and recreation. Personal Wellbeing Index scores reveal improved outcomes among Australian surfers, compared to the national population. These diverse well-being effects highlight the value of surfing as an ocean-based ecosystem service.
World Ocean Explorer Wins Gold Medal Serious Simulation Award from Serious Play Annual International Competition
10/26/2023 - 14:35
For Immediate Release October 19, 2023
Sedgwick, Maine USA World Ocean Explorer, a 3D virtual aquarium and educational simulation, was recently cited for excellence, winning a Gold Medal Award in the 2023 International Serious Play Awards Program.
World Ocean Explorer is an innovative 3D virtual aquarium designed for educational exploration of the world’s oceans. With interactive exhibits and a lobby space, visitors can immerse themselves in realistic marine environments, including a DEEP SEA exhibit funded by Schmidt Ocean Institute, showcasing unprecedented deep-sea discoveries off Australia. Targeted at 3rd graders and beyond, this immersive experience offers a range of perspectives on the ocean environment and can be explored through guided tours or user-controlled interfaces. Visit DEEP SEA at worldoceanexplorer.org/deep-sea-aquarium.html.
Serious Play Conference brings together professionals who are exploring the use of game-based learning, sharing their experience, and working together to shape the future of training and education. For more information on Serious Play Award Program visit seriousplayconf.com/international-serious-play-award-programs.
World Ocean Explorer is a transformative virtual aquarium designed to deepen understanding of the world ocean and amplify connection for young people worldwide. Organized around the principles of Ocean Literacy and the Next Gen Science Standards, World Ocean Explorer brings the wonder and knowledge of ocean species and systems to students in formal and informal classrooms, absolutely free to anyone with a good Internet connection. As an advocate for the ocean through communications, World Ocean Observatory believes there is no better investment in the future of the sustainable ocean than through a new approach to educational engagement that excites, informs, and motivates students to explore the wonders of our marine world and to understand the pervasive connection and implication for our future, inherent in the protection and conservation of all aspects of our ocean world.
World Ocean Explorer presents an astonishing 3-dimensional simulated aquarium visit, organized to reveal the wonders of undersea life, with layers of detailed data and information to augment the emotional connection made to the astonishing beauty and complexity of the dynamic ocean. Within each of the virtual exhibits, students visit exemplary theme-based sites with myriad opportunities to understand the larger perspectives of scientific knowledge as organized and visualized to dramatize the impact and change on ocean life as a result of natural and human-generated events. Through immersion among displays, mixed media and 3D models, the experience of an aquarium visit will be brought into classrooms or home school environments as a free, accessible, always available opportunity for teaching and learning. All of this will be available to a world audience without physical limitation or cost. World Ocean Explorer, a project of the World Ocean Observatory, receives support from the Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation, Visual Solutions Lab, the Climate Change Institute, the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, and The Fram Museum Oslo. To learn more about the current and future exhibits of World Ocean Explorer, visit worldoceanexplorer.org.
media contact
Trisha Badger, Managing Director, World Ocean Observatory | [email protected] +12077011069
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