Latest news with #OceanConservancy
Fast Company
18 hours ago
- Science
- Fast Company
Thanks to bans and fees, there are fewer plastic bags littering beaches
It turns out eliminating the 'paper or plastic' question through plastic bag regulation is effectively reducing the number of bags found in shoreline litter across the United States. A new analysis of shoreline cleanup data finds that areas with plastic bag bans or consumer fees have fewer bags turning up in their litter. The research offers some of the strongest evidence yet that regulating plastic bag use makes a difference in reducing the amount of plastic waste in marine ecosystems. A heightened threat to marine wildlife 'We find, largely, that all the regulations do show a decrease in plastic bag litter as a share of total litter on these shores,' says Kimberly Oremus, co-author of the research paper and an assistant professor of marine science and policy at the University of Delaware. The total reduction ranged between 25% and 47%, the study found. About 20 metric tons of plastic end up in the environment each year, estimates the International Union for Conservation of Nature—that amounts to over 2.4 kilograms of plastic for each person on Earth. Plastic bags are particularly prevalent in marine ecosystems. They are very difficult to recycle and, because they are lightweight and have a large surface area for wind to catch, they blow out of the trash and into the environment at higher rates than other plastic items, says Erin Murphy, the ocean plastics science and research manager at the environmental advocacy nonprofit Ocean Conservancy, who was not involved in the research. She added that in 2024 alone, the conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup volunteers gathered up more than a million plastic bags. In addition to getting into the environment at high rates, plastic bags also pose a heightened threat to marine wildlife. Wildlife can become entangled in or smothered by these bags or can mistake them for food, like jellyfish, a favorite among many species. These interactions with plastic can lead to the deaths of endangered and common animals alike and can even contribute to broader population declines. Counting the plastic bags 'One big challenge in studying the effects and regulations of plastics is actually measuring this pollutant in the environment,' says Anna Papp, co-author of the research paper. To overcome this challenge, the study used crowd-funded data from beach cleanups. The data was collected by the Ocean Conservancy as part of their Trash Information and Data for Education and Solutions (TIDES) project. Nearly 19 million people have participated in the data collection worldwide. The study also examined plastic bag policies at various geographical scales between 2017 and 2023. The earliest plastic bag policies in the U.S. were implemented around 2007, researchers say, but an uptick in the mid-2010s more directly led to the policies analyzed in the study. While the data provides insight into how the share of plastic bags found among shoreline litter has changed due to policy measures, an important caveat remains: Plastic litter has been increasing overall. Plastic production doubled from 234 million to 460 million tons between 2000 and 2019—and without mitigation, it is only expected to rise, according to a recent report from the French-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Some regulations are better than others Still, the researchers noted that not all regulations worked equally well. Total bans and consumer fees resulted in greater decreases than partial bans, which still allow businesses to use thicker, potentially reusable plastic bags. The researchers also found that regulation was most effective in places that had a high baseline of plastic bag litter before the bans or fees went into place. The study data seems to indicate that consumer fees were the most effective option for mitigating plastic bag litter, though the paper's authors say more research is needed to confirm this finding. 'These policies are effective, but they're not a panacea for all plastic litter,' Oremus said. 'Anyone who's looking at regulations for plastic broadly needs to think beyond just the consumption side of plastic.'
Indian Express
a day ago
- Science
- Indian Express
Rare oarfish aka ‘doomsday fish' caught in Tamil Nadu sparks rumours about an impending calamity; should you be worried?
A rare oarfish, ominously dubbed the 'doomsday fish' in Japanese folklore, was recently caught off the Tamil Nadu coast, sparking widespread concern and curiosity among social media users. The unusual deep-sea creature, which, according to a viral video shared on X, required seven men to lift, has reignited age-old debates about whether these mysterious marine giants can truly predict natural disasters. However, before delving into the folklore surrounding this enigmatic fish, it's crucial to address what modern science tells us. A 2019 study published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America analysed decades of data and found no statistically significant link between sightings of deep-sea fish, such as oarfish, and earthquakes in Japan, effectively debunking the scientific basis for their so-called 'doomsday' reputation. The study analysed data collected between November 1928 and March 2011, focusing on instances where deep-sea fish were spotted 10 to 30 days before earthquakes struck within a 50 to 100 kilometer radius of the sightings. Researchers found only one event that could have been plausibly correlated, out of 336 fish sightings and 221 earthquakes in Japan. 'As a result, one can hardly confirm the association between the two phenomena,' the authors write in the BSSA paper. The creature captured in Tamil Nadu is a giant oarfish (Regalecus glesne), the world's longest bony fish, which can reach lengths of up to 36 feet (11 meters). These remarkable creatures typically inhabit the mesopelagic zone, dwelling 660 to 3,300 feet beneath the ocean's surface, where sunlight barely penetrates. The silvery, ribbon-like fish with its distinctive red crest-like dorsal fin is rarely seen by humans due to its deep-water habitat. They are thin and slow due to their lack of muscles and generally swim vertically in the ocean. When oarfish do surface, it's typically because they are sick, disoriented, dying, or occasionally breeding—not because they're fleeing from impending seismic activity, according to Ocean Conservancy, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group based in the United States. The rarely seen oarfish, which usually are in deep-sea, which is also known as 'Doomsday' fish is caught in the net in TamilNadu — Aryan (@chinchat09) June 16, 2025 The 'doomsday fish' reputation stems from ancient Japanese folklore, where oarfish are called 'ryugu no tsukai,' meaning 'messenger from the sea god's palace.' This belief gained international attention following several notable coincidences, particularly the 2010 incident when multiple dead oarfish washed ashore in Japan months before the devastating 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that led to the Fukushima nuclear disaster. More recently, these coincidences have continued to fuel superstitions. In August 2024, a 12-foot oarfish was discovered near San Diego just two days before an earthquake struck Los Angeles, adding to the mystique surrounding these deep-sea dwellers. The Tamil Nadu sighting is part of a concerning trend of increased oarfish appearances worldwide. In recent months, these rare creatures have been spotted in various locations, including Mexico, Tasmania, and California. This uptick in sightings has led to increased speculation about environmental factors, with some experts suggesting that climate change, ocean warming, or changes in deep-sea ecosystems might be driving these creatures to shallower waters.
The Hill
2 days ago
- Science
- The Hill
Plastic bag bans are helping clean up US coastlines: Study
Policies that have banned or imposed fees on plastic bags are leading to significant declines in plastic litter along U.S. shorelines, a new study has found. These state- and local-level regulations have brought about a 25 percent to 47 percent plunge in the proportion of bags in total coastal littler cleanups, in comparison to places that lack such rules, according to the study, published on Thursday in Science. 'There are so many pathways a bag can take from the checkout line at the store,' senior author Kimberly Oremus, an associate professor in marine science at the University of Delaware, said in a statement. 'It's great to see a policy that works in such a clearly measurable way,' Oremus added. Thin plastic shopping bags are one of the biggest culprits of plastic pollution on coastlines, as they have low recycling rates and often blow away in the wind — entangling animals and breaking down into harmful microplastics, the study authors noted. But as awareness around this issue has grown, more than 100 nations have implemented either bans or fees on the bags, the researchers explained. Oremus and the lead author, environmental economist Anna Papp, sought to gauge the effectiveness of such policies in jurisdictions across the United States. To do so, they combed through data of 45,067 shoreline cleanups available through an app called Clean Swell, which feeds into the Ocean Conservancy's Trash Information and Data for Education Solutions database. The researchers also examined 611 plastic bag policies enacted between 2017 and 2023 — investigating how these regulations have helped reduce plastic litter and comparing the effects of rules enacted at the town, county and state level. Not only did they find that the policies have led to 25 percent to 47 percent reductions in the share of plastic bags in coastal litter, but they also identified that this decrease surges in magnitude over time. Areas with bag rules also demonstrated a 30 percent to 37 percent reduction in the presence of entangled animals, although the authors noted that these results were imprecise. The researchers identified more robust impacts from state-level policies in comparison to town-level rules, with fees decreasing litter even more so than bans. They acknowledged, however, that more research would be necessary to understand those discrepancies. Also of interest to the authors was a finding that bag bans and fees more most effective in places where bag little was more severe to begin with. 'Overall, our findings do show that plastic bag policies are broadly effective in limiting litter along shorelines,' said Papp, who earned her Ph.D. in sustainable development from Columbia University. 'But it is important to keep in mind that this is a relative decrease in affected areas compared to areas without policies,' Papp added. Going forward, the authors stressed the importance of recognizing that plastic pollution in general is still growing, and that plastic bag policies can only reduce some associated impacts. With the United Nations Environment Program set to announce a new round of negotiations on an international plastic treaty this August, the researchers expressed hope for a more comprehensive solution to this problem. 'We're still getting more plastic bags on shorelines as a percentage of all the cleanup items over time,' Oremus said. 'It's not eliminating the problem, it's just making it grow more slowly.'
New York Times
2 days ago
- Science
- New York Times
Banning Plastic Bags Works to Limit Shoreline Litter, Study Finds
At tens of thousands of shoreline cleanups across the United States in recent years, volunteers logged each piece of litter they pulled from the edges of lakes, rivers and beaches into a global database. One of the most common entries? Plastic bags. But in places throughout the United States where plastic bags require a fee or have been banned, fewer bags end up at the water's edge, according to research published Thursday in Science. Lightweight and abundant, thin plastic bags often slip out of trash cans and recycling bins, travel in the wind and end up in bodies of water, where they pose serious risks to wildlife, which can become entangled or ingest them. They also break down into harmful microplastics, which have been found nearly everywhere on Earth. Using data complied by the nonprofit Ocean Conservancy, researchers analyzed results from 45,067 shoreline cleanups between 2016 to 2023, along with a sample of 182 local and state policies enacted to regulate plastic shopping bags between 2017 and 2023. They found areas that adopted plastic bag policies saw a 25 to 47 percent reduction in the share of plastic bag litter on shorelines, when compared with areas without policies. The longer a policy was in place, the greater the reduction. 'These policies are effective, especially in areas with high concentrations of plastic litter,' said Anna Papp, one of the authors and an environmental economist and postdoctoral associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Scoop
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Ocean Conservancy And GOAL Launch Reusable Cup Venue Partnership: 'Protect Where We Play Tour'
WASHINGTON – Today, Ocean Conservancy and its partner GOAL announced the "Protect Where We Play Tour" launch, a partnership across GOAL's network of venues to reduce their plastic footprint by deploying a reusable cup program during concerts and sporting events. The Protect Where We Play Tour will kick off at Las Vegas' Allegiant Stadium, which is hosting Coldplay on June 6-7. Other tour stops this summer will include Savannah's Enmarket Arena for The Lumineers, two nights of Billie Eilish at UBS Arena in Belmont Park, New York and others. It is estimated that this tour will prevent 1,000,000 single-use cups from entering the waste stream. Bold Reuse, a leading reuse service provider, is supporting the tour by managing all reusable cup operations at participating venues. 'We're so excited about this activation because it's the perfect combination of mission alignment and funding for operational changes. We're grateful for Ocean Conservancy's collaboration and openness to fund tangible solutions that help facilities implement sustainable change, while also elevating their mission. These are the type of win-win partnerships that enable the positive change that our sports and entertainment industry really needs,' said Kristen Fulmer, Executive Director of GOAL. 'With 50% of our oxygen coming from the ocean, whether you live on the coast or hundreds of miles inland, the future of your favorite game, concert, or event depends on a healthy, plastic-free ocean. By tapping into the joy of what it means to be a fan, we can inspire action and create a global movement that protects our planet for the next generation,' said Ocean Conservancy's Chief Brand and Communications Officer Jenna DiPaolo. Select tour dates include: In February, Ocean Conservancy launched the Protect Where We Play Initiative, aimed at rallying sports and entertainment fans to protect the future of our planet, leveraging the reach of athletes, artists, and events to mobilize millions of fans in support of ocean conservation. The program features 'Team Ocean Captains' including WNBA's Napheesa Collier, NFL's Kelvin Beachum, MLB's Brent Suter, Paralympian Ezra Frech, and American ballerina Katherine Barkman. The Protect Where We Play Initiative is the newest Ocean Conservancy program among decades of work to protect the ocean from plastic pollution. Since 1986, Ocean Conservancy has led the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), mobilizing nearly 19 million volunteers to remove 395 million pounds of trash from beaches and waterways worldwide. Ocean Conservancy has also led advocacy efforts to prevent plastic pollution through policies at the state, federal, and international levels.
