Category: Environment

Alaska Board of Fisheries Approves Octopus Fishery in Prince William Sound

1/2/2025 - By Nathan Strout. Commercial fishermen in Prince William Sound, Alaska, could soon be able to harvest octopus after the Alaska Board of Fisheries voted to allow a directed fishery at its recent December meeting. Commercial fishermen are already allowed to catch octopus as bycatch in both Prince William Sound and… SEE MORE

Image Credits: November 15, 2024: Shriveled leaves and bushes cover the ground at Brooklyn's Prospect Park as New York City and much of the Northeast saw a warm and dry November 2024, wrapping up the warmest fall in the U.S. on record. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Fall 2024 was Nation’s Warmest on Record

12/31/2024 - By noaa.gov. Last month wrapped up a record-warm meteorological fall across the U.S. This year-to-date period is also running as the nation’s warmest on record, according to scientists from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). Below are highlights from NOAA’s U.S. climate report for November 2024: Climate by the… SEE MORE

NOAA Releases Final Restoration Blueprint for Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

12/29/2024 - By noaa.gov. After years of devastating impacts to the marine environment in the Florida Keys, the long-awaited Restoration Blueprint for Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary will be published as a final rule in January, following today's release of the final environmental impact statement and management plan. The documents outline NOAA's regulatory… SEE MORE

How, Exactly, Could Deep-Sea Mining Benefit All of Humanity?

12/24/2024 - By Elham Shabahat. A tiny working group within the International Seabed Authority is wrestling with a daunting question. When Arvid Pardo, a Maltese diplomat, took the floor at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in 1967 and began speaking at length on international law, the room was sparsely populated. Pardo… SEE MORE

Building the Next Generation of Commercial Fishermen

12/23/2024 - By Carli Stewart. From Alaska's icy waters to the Gulf of Mexico's warm tides, commercial fishing is critical to the economy and to support coastal communities. With a graying fleet and evolving challenges, the industry’s leaders are stepping up to mentor, train, and inspire the next generation. The Workforce Development… SEE MORE

The Destructive Legacy of Failed Aquaculture

12/21/2024 - By Larry Pynn. Removing abandoned infrastructure is challenging, time-consuming, and costly. Aquaculture is big business in Canada. In 2023, open-net-pen salmon farming in British Columbia alone produced 50,000 tonnes of fish worth just over US $350-million. But on June 30, 2029, the federal government’s long-looming ban on open-net-pen salmon farming… SEE MORE

Negotiators are Urged to Get Down to Business as Climate talks in Baku Enter Second Week

11/27/2024 - By Sibi Arasu, Melina Walling and Seth Borenstein. United Nations climate talks resumed Monday with negotiators urged to make progress on a stalled-out deal that could see developing countries get more money to spend on clean energy and adapting to climate-charged weather extremes. U.N. Climate Change executive secretary Simon Stiell called for… SEE MORE

How to Produce Hydrogen Gas as Cleanly as Possible

11/26/2024 - By Brian Owens. Green hydrogen? More like electrification with extra steps. As humanity works to slash greenhouse gas emissions and stem the pace of planetary warming, scientists, governments, and industry leaders are looking for low-carbon alternatives to fuel the future. Alongside renewables such as solar and wind energy, hydrogen gas… SEE MORE

For an Ecosystem in Crisis, Recovery Can Take Ages

11/23/2024 - By Moira Donovan. A massive environmental calamity rocked the ancient Mediterranean. It took millions of years for the ecosystem to recover. In the late Miocene epoch, roughly 5.9 million years ago, calamity befell the Mediterranean Sea. In a period of roughly 600,000 years, tectonic uplift sealed the gateway between Europe… SEE MORE

Is Deforestation Supercharging Cyclones?

11/22/2024 - By Erica Gies. The airborne water cycle, destabilized by industrial logging and other land use, may be a hidden force behind growing superstorms. Hurricane Helene devastated the southeastern United States at the end of September 2024, dumping unprecedented levels of rain. Then, just two weeks later, Hurricane Milton rapidly revved… SEE MORE