Environmental News June 25 to July 8, 2016

Quote for the week

“What's the use of a fine house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?”
— Henry David Thoreau

Who’s Behind A Stealth Ad Against the Marine Monument Expansion?
Date: July 8, 2016
Burgeoning grass-root groups are ramping up their campaigns for and against the proposed expansion of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument as President Obama weighs whether he should single-handedly create the world’s biggest marine reserve around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
Supporters are pushing the president to decide by September when Hawaii hosts the World Conservation Congress during a 10-day international event that’s expected to draw thousands of people. But critics say that’s not enough time to thoroughly evaluate the proposal and they warn of its impacts to the commercial fishing industry.
Read more here.

Biggest ever die-off of ocean forests triggered by warming seas
Date: July 7, 2016
By: Daily News, New Scientist
Help the kelp. Rising sea temperatures have already wiped out 100 kilometres of kelp forest along the south coast of Western Australia – and this unprecedented loss looks set to worsen.
Read more here.

Sea worm fossil gives clues to ‘common ancestor’
Date: July 7, 2016
By: BBC News, Science and Environment
Fossils of a sea worm that lived on the ocean floor about 500 million years ago are giving new insights into how early creatures evolved.
Read more here.

UN: Global fish consumption per capita hits record high
Date: July 7, 2016
By: Mark Kinver, BBC News
Global per capita fish consumption has hit a record high, passing the 20kg per year mark for the first time, United Nations data has shown.
Read more here.

‘The Blob’ overshadows El Nino: Research identifies earlier ocean warming as dominant effect off West Coast
Date: July 6, 2016
By: NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region, Science Daily
El Niño exerted powerful effects around the globe in the last year, eroding California beaches; driving drought in northern South America, Africa and Asia; and bringing record rain to the U.S. Pacific Northwest and southern South America. In the Pacific Ocean off the West Coast, however, the California Current Ecosystem was already unsettled by an unusual pattern of warming popularly known as "The Blob."
Read more here.

“Living Shorelines” Will Get Fast Track to Combat Sea Level Rise
Date: July 6, 2016
By: Erika Bolstad, ClimateWire
Wetlands, sand dunes and mangroves could protect shorelines more inexpensively than walls of bulkheads.
Read more here.

Experts listen in on noisy Falmouth seas
Date: July 6, 2016
By: University of Exeter
A long-term plan for managing noise in shallow parts of the ocean such as Falmouth Bay is needed to protect the environment, scientists say. Humanmade noise in the marine environment can increase stress in animals, alter their behavior, and displace them from habitats important to their daily lives.
Read more here.

Acid attack: Can mussels hang on for much longer?
Date: July 5, 2016
By: Society for Experimental Biology, Science Daily
Scientists have found evidence that ocean acidification caused by carbon emissions can prevent mussels attaching themselves to rocks and other substrates, making them easy targets for predators and threatening the mussel farming industry.
Read more here.

California droughts caused mainly by changes in wind, not moisture
Date: July 5, 2016
By: University of Texas at Austin, Science Daily
Droughts in California are mainly controlled by wind, not by the amount of evaporated moisture in the air, new research has found. The research increases the understanding of how the water cycle is related to extreme events and could eventually help in predicting droughts and floods.
Read more here.

Singapore’s celebrity urban otter family
Date: July 5, 2016
By: Rebecca Bailey, BBC News
They’re known as the Bishan 10 – and they’re possibly Marina Bay’s most famous residents. They’re a family of ten smooth-coated otters, and like many celebrities, they exude an aura of mystery, occasionally making an appearance to the delight of their many local fans. Like true stars though, when they do show their faces, they’re extremely comfortable in front of the camera
Read more here.

Fukushima and the oceans: What do we know, 5 years on?
Date June 30, 2016
By: Goldshmidt Conference
A major international review of the state of the oceans five years after the Fukushima disaster shows that radiation levels are decreasing rapidly except in the harbor area close to the nuclear plant itself where ongoing releases remain a concern.
Read more here.

Ocean Circulation Implicated in Past Abrupt Climate Changes
Date: June 30, 2016
By: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University
There was a period during the last ice age when temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere went on a rollercoaster ride, plummeting and then rising again every 1,500 years or so. Those abrupt climate changes wreaked havoc on ecosystems, but their cause has been something of a mystery. New evidence shows for the firs time that the ocean’s overturning circulation slowed during every one of those temperature plunges – at times almost stopping.
Read more here.

Ocean acidification affects predator-prey response
Date: June 29, 2016
By: Science Daily, UC Davis
Ocean acidification makes it harder for sea snails to escape from their sea star predators, according to a study. The findings suggest that by disturbing predator-prey interactions, ocean acidification could spur cascading consequences for food web systems in shoreline ecosystems.
Read more here.

UK’s oldest deep-water Marine Protected Area successfully protects coral reefs
Date: June 29, 2016
By: Science Daily, National Oceanography Centre
Deep, cold-water corals are very slow to recover from damage, a new, unique study shows. Therefore, say researchers, deep-water Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) protect vulnerable marine ecosystems most effectively when they are put in place before that damage occurs.
Read more here.

Revealing Europe’s Submarine Secrets – in 3D
Date: June 27, 2016
By: Ocean News
Ruins and sunken cities, ancient ports and shipwrecks – while these sound like the setting for a children’s novel, these various scenes do all exist off various European coasts. Although these hidden treasures have been preserved to some extent over the centuries, much would have been lost without the dedicated work of marine archaeologists.
Read more here.

Tragic Image Will Make You Rethink Everything You Know About Sharks
June 27, 2016
By: Kate Good, One Green Planet
Sharks are portrayed as man-eating vicious animals that exist for the sole purpose of instilling an overwhelming sense of fear in humans. Every year, an estimated 100 million sharks are pulled from the oceans, either as the unfortunate victims of bycatch from the commercial fishing industry or for the sake of the shark fin soup trade.
Read more here.

10 Signs Whales and Dolphins Do NOT Belong in Tanks
Date: June 25, 2016
By: Jenna Bardroff, One Green Planet
Parks such as the famous SeaWorld try to convince the public that their cetaceans are content with their “spacious aquariums, restaurant-quality fish, exercise, quality veterinary care, and enrichment,” ultimately, profit is priority. Here are a few signs cetaceans were born to be wild: Collapsed Dorsal Fins; Aggression Amongst Tank “Pod” Members; Abnormal Repetitive Behaviors; Broken Teeth Due to Extreme Boredom Suicide Attempts.
Read more here.