By Rod Fujita and Kristin Kleisner
To mitigate climate change, sea level rise, and other environmental problems, some experts are looking to nature-based solutions. But which solutions are the most impactful when it comes to sequestering carbon? And what do we still need to learn to improve our scientific understanding of nature-based solutions? Read More
This past August, in southern Ecuador amidst dense mangrove forests, scientists were at work. As I followed in her footsteps, Julie Shahan, a Stanford University Ph.D. student, navigated the challenging terrain, burdened by the large 25-pound piece of equipment on her back. This equipment, a gas analyzer, collects measurements to unlock the secrets of soil greenhouse gas emissions. This journey was a collaborative effort between Universidad Espíritu Santo (UEES), Stanford University, Scripps Institute of Oceanography and Environmental Defense Fund. Read More
By Christopher Cusack (EDF) and Cooper Van Vranken (Ocean Data Network)
In the early hours of October 25, 2023, Hurricane Otis made landfall near Acapulco, Mexico, with peak winds of 165 mph wreaking havoc on communities in its path. Normally, people would have had a chance to prepare but just the day before, the consensus of models forecasted that Otis would remain a tropical storm. Within hours of these predictions, Otis exploded into a Category 5 storm, the most intense classification. When the skies eventually cleared, the damage stood at a staggering $16 billion, and at least 53 people had lost their lives.
By Allison Shields (EDF), Catherine Bruger (Ocean Conservancy), and Chris McGuire (The Nature Conservancy)
From smartwatches tracking our steps to news alerts on our phones to live traffic updates while driving, data has become central to our daily lives and how we interact with the world. For fishermen traveling miles offshore in search of fish, access to timely, accurate data is essential to their businesses, livelihoods, and communities. And now, from coast to coast, from commercial fishermen to weekend anglers, the fishing community is united by a common interest: fisheries data modernization.
We’re seeing the impacts of climate change in real time. There is an urgent need to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere to avoid more catastrophic climate change impacts. This will require both reductions in GHG emissions and the removal of GHGs from the atmosphere. In recent years, this need has driven interest in seaweed as a natural climate solution, as seaweed can absorb carbon and grow quickly.
By Jacqui Vogel (EDF) and Dr. Sarah Glaser (WWF)
Oceans are under immense threat from climate change. Around the world, oceanographic changes like melting sea ice, warming waters, sea level rise and shifting fish populations make access to marine resources more uncertain and less secure.
Climate change threatens to disrupt the communities, supply chains and food systems that rely on marine systems that are now rapidly changing. An impact of climate change is conflict in the ocean, including conflict over shifting and shrinking natural resources. Fisheries conflicts have increased 20-fold over the last 40 years, and 23% of all fish stocks are expected to shift in distribution by 2030. But scientists are working on a solution.
