Happy Monday!
As you might already know, I’ve been up in Glasgow for my first COP and (despite not having access to the Blue Zone), I feel like I need to sleep for a week.
So, before hopping into the latest ocean news, let’s take a glimpse at what actually came out of the Cop. (And if you didn’t read last week and are wondering what Cop26 is and why it’s so important, give my blog post a quick read).
🌏 COP26
Bold action needed: the foreign minister of Tuvalu gave his address knee-deep in the ocean to remind negotiators of rising sea levels (CNBC)
Phase down but not out: a deal was made with, for the first time, an explicit mention of reducing coal (BBC)
Cop out: the language around coal, though, was watered down by countries including India and China (Guardian)
1.5 no longer alive: so the pledges are not enough to limit temperature rises to 1.5 degrees (Washington Post)
A fragile win: Alok Sharma’s concluding address argues 1.5 is still alive but its pulse is weak (COP26)
What’s the verdict? Campaigners are torn with some feeling betrayed and others seeing this moment as a stepping stone (inews)
🐳 Whales & dolphins
That’s good sh*t: More whales = more poo = more plankton = carbon sequestration (Scuba News)
Nom, nom, nom: Whales eat three times as much as we thought they do (Business Insider)
About time: Expedia has stopped selling trips to captive whale and dolphin shows (One Green Planet)
🦈 Sharks
Jaw-some: there are sharks in the Thames… hooray! (CNN)
Chunky monkey: the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy has seen a biiiiig shark in the Atlantic (Independent)
Ouch: This shark has been through the wars… are the injuries the result of boat strikes? (Daily Mail)
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🎣🚯 Threats
Staggering scale: map shows where human poo is entering oceans around the world (IFL Science)
Say no to Cambo: Environmentalists say hundreds of species could be affected by the oil field (Energy Voice)
Pandemic-associated plastic waste: study estimates 26,000 tons of PPE have entered oceans (Business Insider)
💰 How you can help
50 ideas: here are several simple ways to be kinder to the planet (Guardian)
Appy to help: apps to help you in your journey to become more green (pebble)
Christmas gifts: can you make your cards and wrapping more sustainable this year? (Metro)
🐚🐠 Ecosystems
Blue carbon: mangroves, salt marshes and seagrass are in urgent need of conservation (Guardian)
Cold water coral: experts remind us not to forget about Scotland’s coral reefs (The Conversation)
Widespread bleaching: less than 2% of the Great Barrier Reef’s corals have avoided bleaching since 1998 (Guardian)
Thanks as always for reading. I’m off for a mega-long post-COP nap - see you in two weeks!
Melissa
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