National Geographic: Global Ocean Commission calls for sweeping international reforms
An international panel of former heads of state, government ministers and prominent business leaders is calling for world leaders to protect the ocean by adopting a sweeping five-year “rescue package.” The report released Tuesday by the Global Ocean Commission recommends that the United Nations and national governments restrict fishing in international waters, eliminate fishing subsidies, […]
10 Commitments from Our Ocean 2014
This summit witnessed some incredible commitments from global leaders that recognize the value of the world’s oceans and importance of improving management of ocean resources.
Phys.org: Report supports shutdown of all high seas fisheries
Fish and aquatic life living in the high seas are more valuable as a carbon sink than as food and should be better protected, according to research from the University of British Columbia. The study found fish and aquatic life remove 1.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year, a service valued […]
VICE Motherboard: Deep Sea Fishing Threatens to Wipe Out a $150 Billion Carbon Sink
Marine life in the high seas soak up an amount of carbon equivalent to 30 percent of the US’s annual emissions. This carbon-sequestering service is worth about $148 billion a year, according a new study from the Global Ocean Commission At the same time, increased fishing activity threatens the whole process, according to the researchers. […]
FIS: High seas should be closed to all fishing, study suggests
Fish and aquatic life living in the high seas are more valuable as a carbon sink than as food and should be better protected, according to research from the University of British Columbia. The study found fish and aquatic life remove 1.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year, a service valued […]
Scientific American: How Fish Cool Off Global Warming
Next time you eat fish for dinner, consider that your meal is probably worth more money as a carbon capture and storage device. By assigning a dollar value to carbon stored in ocean ecosystems, two recent scientific reports are attempting to make nations reconsider the true worth of their fishing activities. The first, a new […]
Ode to a struggling industry
Businesses that adopt a practice of self awareness will be more prepared to adapt to new and changing values of global workers and consumers in the years and decades to come.
UBC News: 25 years after Exxon Valdez: Raising the flag for tanker safety
Re-posted from UBC News: Twenty-five years ago on this day, a supertanker carrying over 200 million litres of crude oil ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska, resulting in one of the most publicized environmental tragedies in history. Within five hours of the incident, over 40 million litres of oil had spilled from the ruptured […]
Metro News: Northern Gateway could be B.C.’s Exxon Valdez, experts warn
With the federal government expected to announce its decision on the Enbridge Northern Gateway oil pipeline in June, economic and environmental experts are warning the public of the potential pitfalls that could come with it, even comparing it to the Exxon Valdez disaster of 1989. UBC fisheries economist Ngaio Hotte has ran the numbers looking […]
Economic instruments for adaptation to climate change in coastal areas
Adapting to climate change can be difficult because risks are uncertain and changing; however, even when we know what actions need to be taken to address climate change, it can be challenging to motivate governments, businesses or individuals to take action.