Zhao Zhong can determine any type of plastic simply by touching it. This extraordinary skill earned him the nickname “plastic whisperer” when he was sorting through plastic and other household trash in Ha Long City, Vietnam, last month to help us curb the tsunami of plastic trash choking our oceans. Zhao Zhong, a veteran of … Read more
Last weekend, I escaped the chilly San Francisco Bay Area weather by driving along California’s scenic Highway 101 to visit my sister in Los Angeles. All along this beautiful coastal drive, the beaches were packed with sunbathers, swimmers, and surfers. In some places, I could pull right off the road and take just a few … Read more
Did you know? Cruise giant Carnival’s Arctic ships have a dirty secret. Enticing passengers with promises of first-row tickets to the Arctic’s stunning natural wonders, few people know that Carnival’s ships are powered by one of the dirtiest fossil fuels on the planet. It’s called heavy fuel oil, and if spilled, this dirty oil would … Read more
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — As Carnival Corporation’s first ships of the season arrive in the Arctic, an international coalition of environmental groups has joined together to call on the cruise giant to stop using one of the world’s cheapest and dirtiest fossil fuels—heavy fuel oil—on ships traveling in fragile Arctic and sub-Arctic waters. July marks the … Read more
Does it feel like the Arctic just can’t catch a break these days? Living in Alaska, I see changes to the climate first hand and I hear stories from those living in small communities along the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean. I’m bombarded with relentless news coverage reminding me that the Arctic is melting, communities … Read more
Sheila Watt-Cloutier is an environmental, cultural, and human rights advocate from Canada and the former chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council. She is the author of “The Right to be Cold,” which is the culmination of her work over the last 25 years discussing climate change, leadership, and sustainability in the Arctic. On April 10, … Read more
Reporting directly from London, I’m excited to tell you that yesterday was a big day for Arctic waters and wildlife. Indigenous leaders and environmental activists like me convinced the international community to adopt new rules that require ships to avoid fragile marine ecosystems, reducing the threat of oil spills, environmental disasters, and harm to wildlife … Read more
The Trump administration is moving forward with its disastrous plan to hand Alaska’s waters over to Big Oil. Its first target? The Beaufort Sea in the Arctic Ocean. Tell Trump and his administration that you want to #ProtectTheArctic. Located above Northeastern Alaska between Point Barrow and Canada, the Beaufort Sea is experiencing the same decline … Read more
London, 13th April 2018:- The Clean Arctic Alliance applauded progress by International Maritime Organization member states today towards banning use of the world’s dirtiest fuel – heavy fuel oil – from Arctic shipping, and called for Member States to make every effort to adopt and rapidly implement a ban by 2021, as proposed by eight IMO Member States … Read more
Anchorage, AK March 28, 2018:– The Trump Administration took a giant step toward oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Ocean today in a territory that is currently off-limits to drilling. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced it will publish in the Federal Register tomorrow a call for information and nominations covering a proposed … Read more
On February 21, I joined dozens of impassioned Alaskans to protest the Trump administration’s reckless plan to sell nearly all our coastline to Big Oil. Standing outside the Dena’ina Center in Anchorage, I watched through the fog of my breath in the chilly winter evening as Alaska Native activists called the plan a violation of … Read more
On February 8, I marched through the streets of Sacramento dressed as a whale! Why? To protect our coasts from offshore drilling. I joined over 500 activists and indigenous, environmental, and bipartisan legislative leaders from across California who rallied in Sacramento to protest Trump’s plan to open the state’s coast to offshore oil drilling. (You … Read more
For many Alaskans, the ocean is part of who they are. The state’s 40,000 miles of coastline is dotted with small Alaska Native communities that depend on the marine environment for their way of life. These subsistence hunters catch and harvest fish, polar bear, birds and their eggs, crab, walruses, seals, and whales. These animals are not … Read more
Despite the seriousness of the threat, the use of Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) by ships in the Arctic seems to have escaped the public consciousness and the media. It’s been overshadowed by more dramatic stories like melting glaciers and starving polar bears. But it should be one of the most talked about environmental concerns of … Read more
Ocean waters that have been protected for decades are now up for sale—thanks to Donald Trump and his cabinet of polluters. Today, the Trump administration released a proposal that would radically expand offshore drilling in Atlantic, Pacific, Gulf of Mexico and Arctic waters, and even auction off permanently protected areas. We cannot let Trump and … Read more
One of my most cherished gifts given to me is a beautiful sealskin vest made by my grandmother. She was from St. Lawrence Island in the northern Bering Sea between Russia and Alaska. There, life continues to be sustained by our traditions of subsistence, with blessed wildlife that has nourished our people for thousands of … Read more
Plastic trash is choking our oceans. Meet Dr. Xuan Thi Quach, who is cleaning up one of the world’s top ocean plastic polluters: Vietnam. Vietnam has a rapidly growing economy and plastic has become the material of choice. “The plastic industry in Vietnam is booming,” Xuan told me on a recent visit. “Plastic things have replaced … Read more
I’m not going to lie to you. This has been a difficult year. Every day I remind myself why I’m in this fight: my son Paul and my daughter Eleanor. Since they were young, my wife Kim and I have taken them on summer backpacking trips to the Sierras, the Rockies, New Hampshire’s White Mountains, … Read more
When you keep information secret, the question is: what do you have to hide and who are you hiding it from? In the case of our national marine monuments and sanctuaries, it looks like President Trump and his administration are hiding from people like you and me! Why? Because they know that their attacks on … Read more
Here is a quick update on our shared fight against Trump’s attempt to harm ocean life in the Pacific. After conducting a sham review of 27 of our nation’s monuments on land and in the sea, the Trump administration is now getting ready to gut protections for some of America’s greatest marine treasures. But we … Read more