The world’s transition to net-zero emissions will cost trillions of dollars and present new kinds of risks. Here’s the role insurers can play. — A special thanks to McKinsey & Company for permission to reprint this article in its entirety. Learn more at mckinsey.com. The world is at an inflection point in its climate transition efforts. As governments and companies worldwide pledge to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, the transition is poised to spark…

15 Big Issues to Marine and Coastal Biodiversity — Some twenty years ago, as I contemplated the founding of the World Ocean Observatory, I asked a scientist I met over launch at my first ocean conference, “What is the most pressing challenge to ocean health and sustainability?” His response was immediate, without hesitation. …

Recommendations and actions to redress the plastic pollution crisis — Last week in part one of A Plan for Plastic I introduced a report prepared by the Pew Foundation and SYSTEMIQ that surveyed one of the ocean’s most pressing problems: the increasing and pervasive presence of plastic being disposed into our rivers and streams, and finally into the ocean in…

Coherent and provocative ways forward toward a plastic-free future — How many times have we addressed the critical problem of plastic in the ocean? Despite constant coverage by the press, with images of plastic debris piled on beaches, flowing in rivers, swallowed by birds and fish, floating in massive accumulations in the open sea, ground into micro-beads by waves and…

An innovative company in Iceland has developed a product from fatty acid-rich cod skin to treat chronic wounds so that new skin can grow. — Called Omega 3 Wound and developed by Kerecis Limited, this FDA-approved skin is grafted onto damaged human tissue such as a burn or a diabetic wound, and is ultimately converted into living tissue. …

Connecting us all for generations to come — This summer we are revisiting some of our favorite posts that highlight optimism for the ocean. This week we outline the myriad ways that UNESCO World Heritage sites both on land and at sea are an essential part of a strategy to conserve and protect the ocean’s vast contributions to…

Changing the Way We See the World — How do we change the way we see the world? We have been schooled to visualize and understand our global arrangement by maps and projections, specifically the Mercator projection that aligns the hemispheres, west and east, in a relationship that has informed our relations, conflicts, and cultures as apposite, often…

Written by Sofia Perez for ReefBites.com (Edited by Matthew Tietbohl) The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is one of the most iconic marine landmarks of the world. Not only is it a hot tourist destination on many travelers’ bucket lists, but it is also a symbol of biodiversity, natural beauty, and…

Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity consumes from Nature more than the planet can provide, either as natural or renewable resources in a year. For 2022, the date is July 28, meaning that from today, and all days after, we will be living in debt, in debt for our needs next week and the rest of the year, value subtracted from earth’s total resource capacity. That’s one day earlier than last year, and five months earlier than 1970, the time this calculation was first created. There is no solace in these statistics.