HIGHLIGHTING THE OCEAN CONSERVANCY

This organization was busy during 2022.  They continued the fight against marine trash, were leaders in Arctic conservation, advanced ocean climate solutions, made strides in the creation of Florida’s Office of Resilience, and furthered legislation in California and advocated for greener ports and decarbonizing US domestic shipping.  They are leaders in the fight for a healthy marine environment.

In the fight against marine trash this group celebrated the 37th Annual Coastal Clean-up ( collecting more than 4.7 million pounds by August 2022), and improved the app called, “Clean Swell”.  This app contains a database of the kind and source of ocean trash.  They also awarded grants to help local groups remove “ghost or lost” fishing gear from marine environments.   They also continued researching the effects of microplastics on the health of both oceans and humans.

Ocean Conservancy also gathered five more entities to sign the Arctic Corporate Shipping Pledge, promising to safeguard vulnerable Arctic habitats.  They also defended the US government’s five-year plan for halting oil and gas leasing in Arctic waters.

Ocean Conservancy continued to support offshore wind energy  while endorsing the “Justice-40 Initiative”—a plan where 40% of benefits from  federal climate investments are earmarked for disadvantaged communities.  Scientific information gathered by the Conservancy was used in the recent IPCC report on the topic of marine ecosystems.

In Florida, the Conservancy helped put in place the Office of Resilience which will work on preparing the state for climate related challenges.  They also participated in a citywide study in Miami, Florida, on the effects of plastic pollution.  Also, many Florida coastal cities joined the ban on smoking when visiting public beaches. 

Finally, the Ocean Conservancy helped California pass legislation to eliminate plastics in the next ten years.  They also advocated for greener ports and shipping practices.  Scientists and policy makers in the organization produced a zero-emission shipping blueprint that, if followed,  would help the US reach the climate goal advocated in the recent climate summits.

This is truly an agency that is effective in the fight for a cleaner and healthier marine ecosystem.

Earth Steward Action:  consider supporting the work of this organization.  Keep working on eliminating plastics.

Sources:  Https://oceanconservancy.org.newyear