Ocean systems are as challenged as ever, and the ocean remains essential as we plan for change. The World Ocean Observatory is a major utility for ocean communication, and we are dedicated to our work as a means to advance public awareness and political will. On this World Oceans Day--and every day--we advocate for the health of the ocean through education, public connection and relentless communications. We hope you will take a moment on World Oceans Day to think about the ways that the ocean is influenced by you, and the ways that you are influenced by the ocean. Enjoy this week's episode of World Ocean Radio: a celebration of World Oceans Day.
The Blue Economy is providing new investment in ocean resources. How might individual investors do blue economy investing the right way, and which investments meet the criteria for true blue investing? This week on World Ocean Radio, part 40 of the BLUEprint Series, host Peter Neill dives into the true meaning of the often over-used "blue economy" terminology and describes his recent discovery of a strategic initiatives portfolio conceived by JPI Oceans in Europe that strives to increase the impact of national investments in marine and maritime research and innovation. And he shares the values, goals and objectives that propose a structure around which specific investments could be made to achieve social and monetary return while achieving a commitment to sustainability and the ocean.
In this episode, part thirty-nine of the multi-part BLUEprint series, we follow up on last weeks' examination of China's response to the climate crisis and ask readers to consider whether a democracy as vocal and divided as the United States can make meaningful change. We discuss bottom-up solutions beginning at the local level, where real transformative action and societal regeneration toward sustainability begins.
In this episode, part thirty-eight of the multi-part BLUEprint series, we examine some statistics that show steps China is taking to confront the climate crisis—one of the only nations in the world whose government has recognized the realities of climate change and all of its manifestations as measured by environmental degradation, the corruption of land and water, and the inevitable decline in economy and community, and the steps the nation has taken to develop policy, incentive, and frameworks toward ecosystem health and sustainability.
In this episode, part thirty-seven of the multi-part BLUEprint series, we continue to discuss the take-aways from the recently published 2nd United Nations World Ocean Assessment, a report that looks at the social, environmental, demographic and economic trends, as well as a review of the integrated sustainable management of coasts and oceans as driven by science, technology and innovation. In this episode we look at the report through the lens of ecosystem service analysis, the ways in which we view and value Nature, and some examples of projects globally that are based ecosystem service accounting that are preserving places and biodiversity.
In this episode, part thirty-six of the multi-part BLUEprint series, we outline the key state of the ocean and ocean science take-aways from the recently published 2nd United Nations World Ocean Assessment, a report that looks at the social, environmental, demographic and economic trends, as well as a review of the integrated sustainable management of coasts and oceans as driven by science, technology and innovation. Additionally, we give credit to the Ocean Health Index, another important metric for providing baseline measurements and updates toward ocean sustainability year by year.
This week on World Ocean Radio: part thirty-five of the multi-part BLUEprint series. This week, as part of our focus on new approaches and ideas to simplify our strategies for living sustainably on earth, we are continuing our discussion of the ocean genome with an outline of the global protections required if we are to equitably protect natural resources derived from the ocean.
This week on World Ocean Radio: part thirty-four of the multi-part BLUEprint series. This week, as part of our focus on new approaches and ideas to simplify our strategies for living sustainably on earth, we are continuing our discussion of the ocean genome as well as the commercial interests, applications and marine drug and health discoveries made and yet to be discovered. We also warn that marine protected areas remain vulnerable to limited enforcement and over-exploitation of their natural resources.
This week on World Ocean Radio: part thirty-three of the multi-part BLUEprint series. This week, as part of our focus on new approaches and ideas to simplify our strategies for living sustainably on earth, we discuss RNA, DNA, the concept of the genome as an encyclopedic catalog for Nature as a way to provide guidance and explanations for how life works, and the various implications of eDNA on the ocean.
This week on World Ocean Radio: part thirty-two of the multi-part BLUEprint series. In the next few weeks we'll introduce new approaches that have the potential to bring order to the chaos around us: ideas to simplify our strategies for living sustainably on earth, fresh approaches, new technologies, novel ideas and examples of ingenuity and invention.
This week on World Ocean Radio we broadcast the 31st part of the ongoing BLUEprint series. In this episode we discuss the Blue Economy and the "business as usual" operations of The Ocean 100--the largest trans-national companies that account for the most profits from the ocean while also generating the most emissions, waste and other pollutants to the ocean. We describe what is known as the Blue Acceleration and argue that current economic activity is not meeting the requirements for economic growth and improved livelihoods while simultaneously preserving the health of the ocean ecosystem, and that these Ocean 100 companies could be a force for change of the Blue Economy with help from public awareness and consumer pressure.
This week on World Ocean Radio: part thirty of the multi-part BLUEprint series. In this episode we ask, "What is the natural capital value of our human connection to the Ocean?" and we provide ten declarations concluding that the ocean is the essential place for us to imagine, implement and design a sustainable future for humankind.
This week on World Ocean Radio: part twenty-nine of the multi-part BLUEprint series. In this episode we discuss the March 2021 release by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs announcing a new statistical framework entitled the "System of Environmental/Economic Accounting" (SEEA EA) which would ensure that natural capital (the contributions of forests, oceans, and other ecosystems) are integrated into economic reporting. This move may reshape decision- and policy-making toward sustainable development: natural capital calculated as equal to financial capital, as a mandatory inclusion in the budgets and estimates for all new development projects and corporate initiatives.
This week on World Ocean Radio: part twenty-eight of the multi-part BLUEprint series. In this episode we talk about batteries, increasingly in demand as we push toward a carbon-neutral future. There is a quandary built into this solution: the extraction of rare metals, the push for mining permits on land and sea, the waste and by-product, the emissions, and the collateral damage to the environment is all reminiscent of the fossil fuel paradigm. Is this old strategy, dressed in new clothing, a mistake?
This week on World Ocean Radio: part twenty-seven of the multi-part BLUEprint series. In this episode we talk about a carbon-free future: one that requires batteries that currently rely on rare metals such as nickel, copper, cobalt and molybdenum being extracted from the sea floor in the central Pacific Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone, threatening biodiversity and the nearby Pacific small island states. Will the short-term financial profit over the long-term social and ecosystem loss be worth the trade off?
This week on World Ocean Radio: part twenty-six of the multi-part BLUEprint series. In this episode we introduce listeners to Molly Burhans, a young activist and founder of GoodLands, who is using geographic information systems (GIS) to map the worldwide holdings of the Catholic Church as an inventory of ownership and potential investment for society, health, security and ecological justice. Burhans and her group are mapping archived Vatican holdings that have never been recorded using GIS software--a revolutionary step toward committing them to ecological planning, environmental protection, climate mitigation, sustainability of natural resources, and a potential contribution to a global renaissance.
This week on World Ocean Radio: part twenty-five of the multi-part BLUEprint series. In this episode: the importance of ocean literacy and ocean education to transform our understanding of the ocean's contributions to human health and survival. We discuss the seven principles of Ocean Literacy and some perspectives that we can use to expand those principles into a set of curricular approaches that pertain to science, climate impacts and solutions for our future.
This week on World Ocean Radio: part twenty-four of the multi-part BLUEprint series. In this episode: the myriad ways that UNESCO World Heritage Sites—on land and at sea—are an essential part of a strategy to conserve and protect the ocean’s vast contributions to our scientific knowledge, and also their importance for our cultural history, for protection, conservation, diversity, sustainability, survivability, and as treasured pieces of our cultural heritage that connect us for generations to come.
This week on World Ocean Radio: part twenty-three of the multi-part BLUEprint series. In this episode: the importance of including true accounting costs for natural resources extracted or exploited; for the downstream effects of industry and enterprise; for loss of revenue by destroyed habitats; and much more. We argue that ecosystem services can be easily estimated and added as we begin to calculate the true costs of all externals for inclusion in future analyses and development.
This week on World Ocean Radio: part twenty-two of the multi-part BLUEprint series. In this episode we discuss the history of resource extraction on land and sea and the ways that new modes of thinking and new alternative energy generation technologies are leading us away from old paradigms toward new sustainable patterns of production, consumption and distribution--mapping the way toward a very different future.
This week on World Ocean Radio: part twenty-one of the multi-part BLUEprint series. In this episode we introduce listeners to the concept of ocean mapping and the GEBCO Seabed 2030 project which promises to develop a high res 3d bathymetric map of the entire world ocean. And we share some new and exciting oceanographic research discoveries made by the Schmidt Ocean Institute in the waters off Australia.
This week on World Ocean Radio: part twenty of the multi-part BLUEprint series. In this episode we discuss natural capital and the true cost of things both financial and social. And we argue that the price we pay must include the cost of irreplaceable raw materials, waste, the harvest and exploitation of natural resources, workforce health, and community impacts.
This week on World Ocean Radio: part nineteen of the multi-part BLUEprint series. In this episode we discuss the financial tools such as subsidies, regulation and private investment that have historically been used to advance conventional change in the economy. We ask listeners to consider these same tools of finance used to sustain natural capital, releasing value for the benefit of all mankind.
Our annual gift to fellow ocean lovers: a reading of "At the Fishhouses" by Elizabeth Bishop, a poem from 1955 that distills Bishop's seaside meditations and evokes the clarity of meaning contained in personal encounters with the ocean. A perennial favorite of ours, with profound relevance for the New Year.
This week, as we lean into the holiday season of giving and gratitude, World Ocean Radio host Peter Neill asks us to consider the concept of reciprocity--a give and take with the land and sea. And he provides us with three examples of ways that we can give back to Nature as part of our obligation and contribution.
