Are you always in a good mood, cheerful and seeing the glass half-full?
People may perceive you as ignorant, naive or not capable of critical thinking.
I think people that really don’t want to be perceived this way, and always take a sceptical view on even the most obvious good news, are annoying.
Why not try to balance things? What is there to lose to have a positive attitude, and at the same time keep a critical view?
Anyways, every week I will post a snippet of good news on how we look after our ocean, by far the largest common good on planet Earth.
I am not sure if “climate deniers” is a helpful way to describe individuals or groups of people. It may feel good to say it, and maybe some will say “hey, I am not a denier” and start questioning how they approach life. The fact that climate change affects our mental health and that the human brain is not very well equipped to act on what is perceived as abstract is real.
Therefore, some good news every week can be of some relief in the midst of all the doomsday reports on lack of political action and destruction of our ocean. And maybe it can make those who close their eyes for the destruction of our natural world to change their view.
25. – 31 December: The ocean may be storing more carbon than estimated
Plankton gobble up carbon dioxide and, as they grow, convert it into organic tissue via photosynthesis.
When they die, part of the plankton is transformed into particles known as ‘marine snow’. The new estimate of carbon storage capacity is around 20% more compared with previous studies
18. – 24. December: Rethinking atoll futures: local resilience to global challenges
Ecological restoration may save coral atoll islands from the rising seas of climate change, according to an international team of scientists, conservationists, and an indigenous leader.
11. – 17. December: World leaders finally use the F word, COP28
In a First, Nations at Climate Summit Agree to Move Away From Fossil Fuels. Nearly 200 countries convened by the United Nations approved a milestone plan to ramp up renewable energy and transition away from coal, oil and gas.
4. – 10. December: ‘I’m not buying new stuff any more’
The young people getting into ‘degrowth’ Amid the cost of living crisis and threats to the climate, many are pledging to consume less and spend sustainably
27. November – 3. December: $250 million from coalition of Philanthropic Funders
A coalition of philanthropic funders unveiled $250 Million toward a new Ocean Resilience and Climate Alliance (ORCA) that will advance ocean-based solutions to climate change across 7 key areas over a 5-year period.
20. – 26. November: Deep-frozen corals are growing up
“It’s like if you see Captain America buried in snow and, after so many years, he’s alive,” she says. “It’s so cool!”
13. – 19. November: Sunlight to make non-fossil fuels
Automated floating factories that manufacture green versions of petrol or diesel could soon be in operation thanks to pioneering work at the University of Cambridge.
6-12. November: Isis sugar mill plans to use wastewater to grow algae for human food and fuel
While you might recognise algae growing in your fish tank or floating on a lake, it can be transformed into a human food source that can also power your car.
30. October – 5. November: Portugal just ran on 100% renewables for six days in a row
For nearly a week, the country of 10 million met customer needs with wind, hydro and solar — a test run for operating the grid without fossil fuels.
23-29. October: waste cotton from the textile industry might power our devices
Mining the lithium and other minerals we need for batteries is taking an increasing toll on the environment. There are alternative materials all around us though.
16 – 22. October: Ocean Generation
We can put fast fashion out of style.
More than ever, our clothes are made of plastic. Just washing them can pollute the ocean. Consumers are demanding sustainable clothing and calling out the true cost of the fashion industry. As a result, we’re starting to see some changes in the fashion industry, but there’s a long way to go.
9. – 15. October: The Deepest Map
In The Deepest Map, Laura Trethewey documents this race to the bottom, following global efforts around the world, from crowdsourcing to advances in technology, recent scientific discoveries to tales of dangerous dives in untested and costly submersibles.
2. – 8. October:
The creation of the first-ever green shipping corridor across the Pacific is taking shape. In September, the green shipping corridor between Los Angeles and Shanghai was launched. Carrier partners supporting this plan have set goals to begin deploying reduced or zero lifecycle carbon capable ships on the corridor by 2025.
25. September – 1. October: UK launches green corridor fund
The UK government will allocate £1.5m for green corridor feasibility studies. The UK is involved in at least two important green corridor projects that are still in their development phase, however a lack of alternative fuels and vessels that can run on such fuels is stalling progress.
18. – 24. September: Fiberglass turned into concrete and asphalt
40 million tons of fiberglass from wind turbines to top-performing reinforcement fiber that increases the strength and overall durability of concrete and mortar applications such as pavement, slabs-on-grade, and precast products.
11. – 17. September: Marine sand watch
One million lorries of sand a day are being extracted from the world’s oceans, posing a “significant” threat to marine life and coastal communities. The global platform launched last week monitors large vessels dredging sand, sediment and rock in the marine environment all around the world.
4. – 10. September: Clean a football field of plastics every 5 seconds
Last week, The Ocean Cleanup organization that has been tackling the Great Pacific Garbage Patch deployed their System 03 for the first time—nearly three times larger than the previous technology and capable of cleaning the area of a football field every five seconds.
28. August – 3. September: How acid is my home water?
The GOA-ON in a Box is a low-cost kit used for collecting weather-quality ocean acidification measurements. These kits have been distributed to scientists in sixteen countries in Africa, Pacific Small Island Developing States, and Latin America.
21. – 27. August: Culture change for the energy transition in oil and gas
Oil and gas companies are starting to
recognize that their social license to operate is under threat. They need fast, deep, and broad change to navigate the energy transition effectively.
A well-thought-out, deliberate program of change management will help companies shift to a sustainability-focused business model. DNV GL report.
14. – 20. August: The Clean Energy Future Is Arriving Faster Than You Think
The United States is pivoting away from fossil fuels and toward wind, solar and other renewable energy, even in areas dominated by the oil and gas industries. New York Times.
7. – 13. August: Fossil fuel phasedown within reach
Coal, oil and gas are being pushed out of power grids by a record expansion of wind and solar, according to climate think tank Ember. Rapidly expanding renewables mean that the “phasedown” of gas as well as coal power required for this transition is “now within reach”.
31. July – 6. August: Milestone for Ocean Plastic Bracelets producers
In June, 4Ocean announced that it has recovered a historic 30 million pounds of plastic waste and man-made debris from the world’s oceans, rivers, and coastlines since the company began in 2017. “4ocean is incredibly proud to have accomplished this record-setting feat,” said Alex Schulze, 4ocean CEO and co-founder.
24. – 30. July: Youth Ocean Action Toolkit
Created by youth and for youth, the toolkit contains a collection of stories and case studies of Marine Protected Areas around the world that illustrate the power of collaboration, education, and community action, from the Arctic to the South Pacific and beyond.
17. – 23. July: Barclays Ditched over Oil and Gas Financing
UK charity Christian Aid said it would be moving its banking to Lloyds over Barclays’ fossil fuel links.
The 78-year-old charity has kept its money with Barclays since 2015. Between 2016 and 2022, Barclays financed some $190 billion in fossil fuel projects, according to an analysis by the Rainforest Action Network. Those included projects for fracking and for drilling in the Arctic.
10. – 16. July: Pacific Seabed Mining Delayed
Efforts to extract the metals used in car batteries have been pushed off amid pressure from environmentalists and nations that oppose them.
The action by the International Seabed Authority, which had set a July goal for finalizing seabed mining rules, came after pressure from environmentalists and nations that oppose the effort.
3. – 9. July: Opposition grows to Indonesia’s resumption of sea sand exports
Marine and fisheries activists in Indonesia are ramping up their calls for the revocation of a new government regulation allowing the export of sea sand, saying the policy will benefit foreign interests more than local fishers and marine ecosystems.
26. June – 2. July: Must read report on Ocean economy
New forms of finance such as debt for nature swaps and blue bonds, to name but two, offer enormous potential to harness vast pools of capital.
A World Wildlife Fund (WWF) study
estimated the annual economic value of ocean-based industries to be at least $2.5
trillion, making oceans the world’s seventh largest economy. Report from Citi GPS.
19 – 25. June: Four tech companies to watch
Four cutting edge ocean tech companies brought to the attention to the UN to raise awareness of this vital area of the blue economy: Aquatic Labs, Hohonu, Jaia Robotics and Sofar Ocean.
12-18 June: High Seas Treaty adopted
On Monday 19 June, the Treaty of the High Seas was adopted by consensus and standing ovation during the United Nations meeting in New York. “The ocean is the lifeblood of our planet, and today, you have pumped new life and hope to give the ocean a fighting chance,” the UN Secretary-General António Guterres told delegates.
5. – 11. June: Fossil workforce on the move
Clean energy now provides more employment than the fossil fuel industry, reflecting the shift that efforts to tackle climate change are having on the global jobs market, according to the International Energy Agency.
29. May – 4. June: Global Fishing Watch Marine Manager
This site is great. It provides near real-time, dynamic and interactive data on ocean conditions, biology and human-use activity to support marine spatial planning, marine protected area design and management, and scientific research.
22 – 28. May: Seven out of 10 people support global rules to end plastic pollution
Poll of over 20,000 people across 34 countries shows overwhelming support for world’s first ever plastic treaty to create binding global rules that apply to all countries rather than a voluntary global agreement where governments can choose whether or not to take action.
15 – 21. May: How an Early Oil Industry Study Became Key in Climate Lawsuits
For decades, 1960s research for the American Petroleum Institute warning of the risks of burning fossil fuels had been forgotten. But two papers discovered in libraries are now playing a key role in lawsuits aimed at holding oil companies accountable for climate change.
8 – 14 May: American car owners to save 1 trillion dollars
Overall, even when accounting for the costs of installing many more EV charging stations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the increased EV adoption resulting from its new rules will reduce U.S. vehicle ownership costs by a total of more than $1 trillion over the next three decades.
31 April 31 – 7 May: Biodiversity as valuable currency
Ecuador sealed the world’s largest “debt-for-nature” swap on record, selling a new “blue bond” that will funnel at least $12 million a year into conservation of the Galapagos Islands, one of the world’s most precious ecosystems.
24-30. April: Whirlpools to clean microplastics from water
German company Wasser 3.0 thinks it may have found the answer to cleaning up microplastic pollution before it reaches the ocean — using a whirlpool and a specially developed hybrid silica gel. CNN.
17-23. April: Seaweed-based bioplastic
Australian bioplastics startup Kelpy has announced the launch of an innovative, hyper-scalable bioplastic pellet made from seaweed. Plastic producers can simply replace their oil-based plastic pellets with 100 percent renewable materials today.
10. – 16. April: The US Ocean Action Plan
1. Create a carbon-neutral future without harmful emissions that cause climate change.
2. Accelerate nature-based solutions to protect and support natural coastal and ocean systems that store greenhouse gases, reduce the climate threat, and protect communities and ecosystems against unavoidable changes.
3. Enhance community resilience to ocean change by developing ocean-based solutions that help communities adapt and thrive in our changing climate.
3. – 9. April: Fossil fuel power losing ground
Wind and solar accounted for a record 12 percent of global power generation last year. Wind energy added globally last year could nearly meet the power needs of the UK. 404 gigawatts (1GW ≈ 750K homes) of new renewable generating capacity was added in 2022 (Yale Environment 360).
27. March – 2. April: First climate case heard at the European Court of Human Rights
Strasbourg – The Senior Women for Climate Protection Switzerland and four individual plaintiffs make history with the first ever climate case to be heard before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. The case will set a precedent for all 46 states of the Council of Europe, and decide whether and to what extent a country such as Switzerland must reduce its greenhouse gas emissions more stringently to protect human rights.
20 – 26. March: UK coal use fell to pre-Industrial Revolution levels
UK demand for coal fell last year to its lowest level in nearly three centuries, according to a new analysis of government energy data by Carbon Brief.
13-19. March: Green shipping corridors
The first annual Progress Report on Green Shipping Corridors looks at:
• The size, nature, and performance of the global portfolio of green corridor initiatives;
• The amount and nature of national policy and regulation emerging to support these initiatives; and
• The overall momentum behind the movement.
6. – 12. March: Historic High Seas Treaty agreed
After more than a decade of negotiations, the countries of the United Nations have agreed the first ever treaty to protect the world’s oceans that lie outside national boundaries.
The UN High Seas Treaty places 30% of the world’s oceans into protected areas, puts more money into marine conservation and means new rules for mining at sea. BBC
27. February- 5. March: Plastic capture
Ten years since its founding in 2013, The Ocean Cleanup project remains ambitious. Founder and CEO Boyan Slat says a recent $25 million donation to the effort, the largest single contribution to date. The Ocean Cleanup plans to use the donation from Airbnb cofounder Joe Gebbia to support the launch later this year of System 03.
20-26. February: Energy podcast series
DNV Talks Energy podcast series. Electrification, rise of renewables and new technologies – supported by more data and IT systems, are transforming the power system. Tune in each week as we discuss these changes with guests from around the industry.
13-19. February: Solar-to-fuel efficiency
Top-level results for the first time in converting CO2 and H2O to fuels (formate and H2) using sunlight and electrodes based solely on earth-abundant materials. These devices should avoid using critical raw materials to be sustainable and cost-competitive.
6-12. February: Australia Blocks Proposed Coal Mine Near Great Barrier Reef
“I have decided not to approve the Central Queensland Coal Project because the risks to the Great Barrier Reef, freshwater creeks, and groundwater are too great,” Australian environment minister Tanya Plibersek said.
30. January – 5. February: Fossil Fuels investments losing ground
For the first time, the world invested as much money into replacing fossil fuels as it spent on producing oil, gas and coal, according to an analysis from Bloomberg. Global investments in the clean energy transition hit $1.1 trillion in 2022, roughly equal to the amount invested in fossil fuel production.
23-29. January: Bill Gates and cow burps
Bill Gates backs new startup aiming to reduce emissions from cow burps. Microsoft co-founder leads $12m investment Rumin8, which is developing supplements for cows to cut methane output.
16-22. January: Newborn data modelling
The vision of NECCTON project is to advance ocean biodiversity conservation through the next generation of marine ecosystem prediction systems. The models currently applied are restraining the provision of information on biodiversity and marine food-webs. The lack of this information hampers efforts to conserve and use sustainably these vital ocean services. NECCTON supports free and open marine data to enable marine policy implementation.
9-15. January: Trash-eating boat
Trash-eating boat cleaning up the world’s rivers to stop ocean plastic pollution at its source. Floating barriers feed trash into the boat’s mouth. A conveyer belt carries it into onboard dumpsters. It works autonomously around the clock gathering 50,000 kg of debris a day. It’s powered 100% by solar panels and automatically alerts onshore teams when it needs emptying.
2-8. January: 30 x 30
In December 2022, 196 countries met in Montreal and agreed to protect 30 per cent of Earth, including the ocean, by 2030. The Kunming-Montreal Agreement is a regarded as a landmark commitment. The participating governments have also committed to eliminate subsidies harmful to nature − and to increase financial support for conservation efforts by 2030, mobilizing at least $US200 billion per year.
