5 Things About the Aleutian Islands Waterways Safety Committee
This past Wednesday, I took part in the first full meeting of the Aleutian Islands Waterways Safety Committee in Anchorage, Alaska. Here are five things you should know about this new group: The Committee is brand new. I...
5 Things About the Aleutian Islands Waterways Safety Committee
Devastating 3,000 Gallon Spill of Heavy Fuel Oil Near Kodiak March 21, 2018 update: Although the nearest U.S. Coast Guard base is less than 50 miles away, due to bad weather, it took contracted Alaska Chadux responders f...
Alaska Oil Spill Blues
I’ve just returned to Alaska from a very successful meeting in London where the international community discussed important measures that mitigate potential safety and environmental risks of increasing vessel traffic in...
The Bering Strait Region: One Step Closer to Safer Shipping in the Arctic
By some accounts, the Arctic Ocean remains a largely blank area on the map. Yes, we have charted the contours of the seafloor, and, yes, we map the extent of its sea ice throughout the year. But what lies between the bot...
What We Do (and Don’t) Know About the Arctic: A Deeper Look at a Remarkable Ecosystem
The Ocean Sciences Meeting in Portland, Oregon, had a strong focus on science and communication. While I was there, I spoke with someone whose work relies on both. Mona Samari is a British-Tunisian environmental journali...
Q & A with Environmental Journalist Mona Samari
For most of us, Canada’s Northwest Passage still conjures a romantic mystique: the lure of explorers, hardship, dreams, riches and failure. Where the Arctic explorers Franklin searched and died and where Amundsen at last...
Inuit Voices on Canada’s Northwest Passage
Opinion by Larry McKinney and Chris Robbins (This piece was originally posted on NOLA.com, February 15, 2018) In the shadow of New Orleans’ legendary Mardi Gras festivities, the city recently hosted a much more sob...
Make Sure the $16 Billion for Gulf Restoration is Well Spent
Four reasons why this billion dollar cut matters, and what you can do about it This February, President Trump demonstrates once again that his administration does not have much love (care or concern) for our ocean and th...
President Trump Proposes Shocking Cuts to NOAA Budget
We have some good news to share! The U.S. Coast Guard has proposed two important measures for consideration at an upcoming meeting of the International Maritime Organization (a specialized UN body that governs global shi...
Coast Guard Proposals will Help Protect the Arctic from Increased Shipping Traffic
Ocean Conservancy began 2017 in uncharted waters with the new Trump administration. Since then, we’ve learned that very little from previous administrations applies to how this one approaches the issues we care about—our...