Quick Dips
Curated topical articles on the Blue Economy

'A Remarkable Story of Resilience and Hope': Renewable Energy Smashes Records in 2020

Kenny Stancil, Common Dreams Energy Solutions

Despite the difficulties associated with the Covid-19 pandemic, the world added a record amount of new renewable energy capacity in 2020, according to data released Monday by the International Renewable Energy Agency.

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How data is transforming the way we care for the ocean

Bjorn Tore Markussen & Kristian Teleki, World Economic Forum

Turning commitments and ideas into the actions needed for a sustainable blue economy will require evidence and data.

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Blue Carbon California: Incorporating Blue Carbon Science into Climate Policy Solutions

Laura Anderson, Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions Energy Solutions Fisheries & Aquaculture

California is home to a diversity of coastal ecosystems like tidal marshes, seagrass beds, and estuaries. These ecosystems provide flood and storm protection, healthy habitats for fish and birds, and recreational spaces. They may also play an important role in addressing climate change.

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How can we better dispose of PPE so it doesn’t keep polluting our oceans?

Talib Visram, Fast Company Plastics & Pollution

It’s another sad reality of the COVID-19 era that some of the steps we’re taking to stay safe and combat the coronavirus spread are often in opposition to hard-fought efforts to curb the use of plastics for a cleaner planet.

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Ocean energy: An important ally in the fight against climate change

Rémi Gruet, World Ocean Initiative / The Economist Group Energy Solutions

A guest blog by Rémi Gruet, CEO at Ocean Energy Europe, the trade association for ocean renewables in Europe.

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Move over, corn and soybeans: The next biofuel source could be giant sea kelp

Diane Kim, Ignacio Navarrete & Jessica Dutton, The Conversation Energy Solutions Fisheries & Aquaculture

Giant kelp, the world’s largest species of marine algae, is an attractive source for making biofuels. 

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“How do we build an aquaculture sector that is serious about SDGs 1 and 2?”

Rob Fletcher, The Fish Site Fisheries & Aquaculture

The development of global aquaculture over the course of the next 20 years must be more focused on helping to reduce poverty and hunger – the first two, and most important, of the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs).

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Seagrasses Turn Back the Clock on Ocean Acidification

Kat Kerlin, UC Davis Fisheries & Aquaculture

Spanning six years and seven seagrass meadows along the California coast, a paper from the University of California, Davis, is the most extensive study yet of how seagrasses can buffer ocean acidification.

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Urchinomics: Series A Fundraise by the ENEOS Group and Large North American Family Office Signals Global Expansion

Urchinomics Fisheries & Aquaculture

ENEOS Holdings, Inc. (“ENEOS”) a leading Japanese energy and metal conglomerate and a North American family office with a strong interest in ocean health have participated in the €4,85 million Series A for Urchinomics, the pioneering sea urchin aquaculture venture.

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Sustainable Fisheries and Well-Being

Laura Anderson, Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions Fisheries & Aquaculture

Here, Giron-Nava and co-lead author Andrés Cisneros-Montemayor, the Deputy Director of the Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Program, discuss the importance of social well-being in fisheries and future efforts toward a resilient blue economy.

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Food waste helps secure future fish

The University of Western Australia Fisheries & Aquaculture

Human food scraps could be used to create high-quality food for farmed fish, leading to a more sustainable global fish economy, according to a team of researchers at The University of Western Australia.

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Implementing SDG 14 with the Communities of Ocean Action

United Nations (DESA)

On 30 March 2021, UN DESA organized an online webinar to follow up on the over 1,600 voluntary commitments forged since 2017 in support of Ocean Action by governments and diverse stakeholders, and to understand the impact that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has had on their implementation.

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New surveys reveal heightened concern about ocean pollution

World Ocean Initiative, The Economist Group Energy Solutions Plastics & Pollution

The Economist Intelligence Unit surveyed more than 1,000 global executives and 3,000 consumers.

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Plastic pollution disproportionately hitting marginalized groups, UN environment report finds

UN News Plastics & Pollution

Vulnerable communities disproportionately bear the brunt of environmental degradation caused by plastics pollution, and action is urgently needed to address the issue and restore access to human rights, health and well-being, according to a new UN report published on Tuesday.

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How Virtual Reality Can Inspire Generation Cleanup

Julia Hansen, The Ocean Opportunity Lab (TOOL)

Can we bring people away from their COVID-couch and closer to the ocean? How can we use Virtual Reality (VR) and innovative technology to engage the public in ocean conservation? 

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Targeted ocean protection could offer 3X the benefits

Harrison Tasoff, Futurity / World Economic Forum

A new study is the first to map ocean areas that, if strongly protected, would help solve climate, food, and biodiversity crises.

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The U.S. is finally looking to unlock the potential of wave energy

Ysabelle Kempe, Grist Energy Solutions

After decades of false starts, the federal approval of a new testing site off the coast of Oregon could give wave energy a much-needed jolt.

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Has a new paradigm for ocean management finally arrived?

World Ocean Initiative, The Economist Group

The Ocean Panel's work has culminated in a set of recommendations and actions to enable better ocean management.

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How otters, urchins and kelp help to gauge the fragility of ecosystems

Victoria Masterson, World Economic Forum Fisheries & Aquaculture

Scientists investigating declines in California’s kelp forests credit otters with helping to protect kelp - a species of seaweed - through their fondness for eating sea urchins.

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Farming fish in fresh water is more affordable and sustainable than in the ocean

Ben Belton, Dave Little & Wenbo Zhang, The Conversation Fisheries & Aquaculture

A tidal wave of interest is building in farming the seas. It’s part of a global rush to exploit oceanic resources that’s been dubbed the “blue acceleration.”

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