Buscador avanzado

Nota: la búsqueda puede tardar más de 30 segundos.

What It’s Like to Swim in an Ocean That’s 100 Degrees

ReflexionesNaturaleza, ,

For a moment, as I followed the stories of this summer’s devastating global heat wave, I found it hard to accept that our climate crisis has already become this catastrophic. The tragedies in Greece. The unrelenting, monthlong, historic high temperatures through wide corridors of the United States. The emerging forecasts that none of this is likely to be an aberration.

Then, a few weeks ago, the ocean temperature off Miami hit 95 degrees. A visceral alarm gripped my entire being. I kept repeating the number in stunned disbelief. It couldn’t possibly hold, I told myself — and it didn’t. By the end of the month, at least one reading had soared past 100 degrees.…  Seguir leyendo »

Una máquina Interceptor recolectando plásticos en un río en el condado de Los Ángeles. The Ocean Cleanup

ReflexionesNaturaleza, ,  

Por fin el mundo se está tomando en serio la contaminación por plásticos.

Esta semana, los delegados de los Estados miembro de la ONU se están reuniendo en París para debatir lo que algunos esperan que se convierta en el equivalente del Acuerdo de París en materia de contaminación por plásticos.

No hay tiempo que perder. El plástico es una de las mayores amenazas a las que se enfrentan hoy en día nuestros océanos, además de que causan daños incalculables a los ecosistemas, un daño económico enorme a las comunidades costeras y son una posible amenaza a la salud de más de 3000 millones de personas que dependen del mar para vivir.…  Seguir leyendo »

An Interceptor machine collecting plastic in a river in Los Angeles County. Credit. The Ocean Cleanup

ReflexionesNaturaleza, ,

The world is finally getting serious about plastic pollution.

Next week, delegates from U.N. member states will gather in Paris to debate the shape of what some hope will become the plastic-pollution equivalent of the Paris Climate Agreement.

There is no time to waste. Plastic is one of the biggest threats our oceans face today, causing untold harm to ecosystems, tremendous economic damage to coastal communities and posing a potential health threat to more than three billion people dependent on seafood.

The U.N. Environment Program has put forward a proposal to keep plastics in circulation as long as possible through reuse and recycling.…  Seguir leyendo »

Campaigners show a banner at the United Nations headquarters in New York during ongoing negotiations for a treaty to protect the high seas. Photo: Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images.

ReflexionesNaturaleza,

When 193 countries agreed in March 2023 to a new high seas treaty, UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, declared it a ‘victory for multilateralism.’ It was a historic moment that offered two genuine causes for celebration: firstly, a more hopeful future for our ocean and, secondly, a welcome reminder in turbulent times that multilateral collaboration can deliver meaningful progress.

Landmark ruling

The treaty provides a framework for the establishment of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) to preserve and sustainably manage marine biodiversity in international waters.

The ocean contains 95 per cent of the planet’s ecosystems, soaks up around 30 per cent of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere and produces half the oxygen we breathe.…  Seguir leyendo »

Crisis ambiental en el mar del Sur de China

MundoAsia, ,

Si se tiene en cuenta que los buques de guerra, tanto estadounidenses como chinos, incrementan sus peligrosos juegos de presión psicológica, y China transforma atolones y afloramientos en islas artificiales militarizadas, el mar del Sur de China presenta un sorprendente fotografía de lo que significa la competencia estratégica sino-estadounidense. Sin embargo, el pedido de amplia reivindicación territorial por parte de China con respecto a tener soberanía sobre territorios en alta mar no sólo desafía los derechos territoriales de otros y la libre navegación de las rutas marítimas internacionales, también amenaza una característica central del ecosistema del sudeste asiático y, por lo tanto, el futuro económico de la región.…  Seguir leyendo »

‘The clear, persistent rise over the past three to four decades is unmistakable evidence of an Earth that is out of balance.’ Photograph: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images

ReflexionesNaturaleza, ,

I was fortunate to play a small part in a new study, just published in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, which shows that the Earth broke yet another heat record last year. Twenty-three scientists from around the world teamed up to analyze thousands of temperature measurements taken throughout the world’s oceans. The measurements, taken at least 2,000 meters (about 6,500ft) deep and spread across the globe, paint a clear picture: the Earth is warming, humans are the culprit, and the warming will continue indefinitely until we collectively take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

We used measurements from the oceans because they are absorbing the vast majority of the heat associated with global warming.…  Seguir leyendo »

An iceberg cleaves from Antarctica’s Pine Island glacier in February 2020. Photograph: Esa Handout/EPA

ReflexionesNaturaleza, ,

Sea levels are going to rise, no matter what. This is certain. But new research I helped produce shows how much we could limit the damage: sea level rise from the melting of ice could be halved this century if we meet the Paris agreement target of keeping global warming to 1.5C.

The aim of our research was to provide a coherent picture of the future of the world’s land ice using hundreds of simulations. But now, as I look back on the two years it took us to put the study together, what stands out is the theme of connection running through it all – despite the world being more disconnected than ever.…  Seguir leyendo »

The US army corps of engineers distributes sand along the beach in Miami Beach, Florida. The project is part of a $16m scheme to widen the beaches in an effort to fight erosion and protect properties from storm surges. Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

ReflexionesNaturaleza, ,

The climate emergency is bigger than many experts, elected officials, and activists realize. Humanity’s greenhouse gas emissions have overheated the Earth’s atmosphere, unleashing punishing heat waves, hurricanes, and other extreme weather – that much is widely understood.

The larger problem is that the overheated atmosphere has in turn overheated the oceans, assuring a catastrophic amount of future sea level rise.

As oceans heat up the water rises in part because warm water expands but also because the warmer waters have initiated major melt of polar ice sheets. As a result, average sea levels around the world are now all but certain to rise by at least 20 to 30 feet.…  Seguir leyendo »

Nuestras acciones cotidianas determinarán la evolución de nuestro planeta: salud y consciencia planetaria. Jimena Uribe Cortés, Author provided

ReflexionesNaturaleza, ,

El cambio de década nos trae el regalo de la Década de la Ciencia Oceánica para el Desarrollo Sostenible. Es muy oportuno, por tanto, destacar que los océanos no solo son el elemento esencial y central de la vida en nuestro planeta, son también los grandes reguladores del cambio climático.

Una de las claves del control climático planetario yace en la circulación global profunda, también conocida como la cinta transportadora global, una gran corriente que alcanza las regiones abisales de todos los océanos del planeta.

Esta corriente planetaria se origina en aguas superficiales a altas latitudes en el Atlántico Norte y alrededor del continente antártico.…  Seguir leyendo »

Cubrebocas encontrados en la isla de Lantau en Hong Kong en la primavera de 2020. Credit Anthony Wallace/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

ReflexionesNaturaleza,  

Turning Point: The spread of Covid-19 in 2020 led to dramatic reductions in global carbon dioxide emissions, with one study finding that emissions fell by roughly 1.5 billion metric tons during the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2019 — the largest half-year decline in recorded history.

“Sin océanos no hay vida”. Por ser descendiente de la familia Cousteau, este mensaje casi está grabado en mi ADN. A lo largo de mis numerosos años de trabajo en defensa del medioambiente, también he procurado compartirlo con el mundo.

Por desgracia, la precaria condición en que se encuentran nuestros océanos en la actualidad es un indicador de que ese mensaje no le ha llegado a la mayoría de las personas.…  Seguir leyendo »

Discarded face masks found on Lantau Island in Hong Kong in the spring of 2020. Credit Anthony Wallace/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

ReflexionesNaturaleza,  

Turning Point: The spread of Covid-19 in 2020 led to dramatic reductions in global carbon dioxide emissions, with one study finding that emissions fell by roughly 1.5 billion metric tons during the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2019 — the largest half-year decline in recorded history.

“No ocean, no life.” Being a Cousteau, this message was practically written into my DNA. And it’s one I’ve tried to share with the world through my many years of work as an environmental advocate.

Unfortunately, given the dire state of our oceans today, it’s clear that the message hasn’t gotten through to most people.…  Seguir leyendo »

Credit Liu Shiping/Xinhua, via Getty Images

MundoAsiaReflexionesNaturaleza, , , ,

Even as the United States and China confront deep disagreements, there is a global challenge that simply won’t wait for the resolution of our differences: climate change.

While some have decided that we are entering a new Cold War with China, we can still cooperate on critical mutual interests. After all, even at the height of 20th-century tensions, the Americans and the Soviets negotiated arms control agreements, which were in the interests of both countries.

Climate change, like nuclear proliferation, is a challenge of our own making — and one to which we hold the solution. We have an opportunity this month to make clear that great power rivalries aside, geopolitics must end at the water’s edge — at the icy bottom of our planet in the Southern Ocean, which surrounds the entire continent of Antarctica.…  Seguir leyendo »

The Mediterranean Sea is a hotspot of marine biodiversity. Though it's only 1 per cent of the world's waters it's home to nearly 10 per cent of the world's marine species. Photo: Getty Images

ReflexionesNaturaleza, ,

Earth’s ocean is warming at the same rate as five Hiroshima atomic bombs dropping into the water each second, according to scientists, causing the ocean to run out of oxygen, and endangering the future of millions of marine species.

Last year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change delivered a grim projection for the future of the world’s ocean, revealing how glaciers and ice sheets are melting at an unprecedented rate, threatening frequent storms and regular flooding in countries around the world. What is driving these changes in the world’s ocean?

The biggest driver of changes in the ocean at the moment is the climate emergency.…  Seguir leyendo »

A diamond-mining ship off Namibia’s coast last year suctioning sediment from the seabed.Credit Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

ReflexionesNaturaleza, , ,

The rush to exploit the riches of the deep ocean and seafloor is beginning. As pollution, overfishing and climate change sap the productivity of surface waters, many countries and companies are scouting new territory deeper down. This presents a threat the deep ocean has never faced.

Vast, dark and largely unexplored, these overlooked parts of the oceans are rich in marine life, gems, metals, minerals and oil. Stretching from 650 to 3,200 feet below the surface, the mesopelagic — known as the twilight zone because there is so little sunlight — is the first stop for deep ocean exploitation.

With an estimated 10 billion metric tons of marine life, including fish, shrimp and squid, these depths offer a seemingly endless bounty.…  Seguir leyendo »

A fisherman in his boat passing buoys in the port of Gouqi Island, Zhejiang, China. Photo: Getty Images.

ReflexionesNaturaleza, ,

Oceans cover almost three quarters of the earth’s surface and billions of people globally depend on them for their livelihoods. However, plastic pollution, overfishing and maritime threats such as piracy could endanger efforts to harness the ocean’s resources for sustainable development. Dan Watson from SNTech speaks to Gitika Bhardwaj about how governments and businesses are developing solutions to these challenges.

The world is facing a number of land-based challenges, including a growing human population, and scientists recently warned that land degradation could displace at least 50 million people by 2050.

As the pressure for land-based resources increases, what is the blue economy and why is it important?…  Seguir leyendo »

Un barco carguero en la laguna Cochin en Kerala, India, el año pasado Credit Frédéric Soltan/Corbis, vía Getty Images

ReflexionesNaturaleza, ,  

El transporte marítimo internacional es la columna vertebral de nuestro sistema mundial de comercio. Sin embargo, quienes participan en ese negocio no pueden seguir sin hacer nada para combatir el cambio climático. Si ese sector industrial fuera un país, sería el sexto emisor de gases de efecto invernadero en el mundo y si no se toman medidas para reducir esas emisiones, para el año 2050 podría sobrepasar el total previsto de las emisiones de Europa.

La Organización Marítima Internacional, el ente de las Naciones Unidas que establece los estándares regulatorios para el transporte de carga internacional, celebra una reunión en Londres esta semana para analizar varias estrategias que buscan reducir estas emisiones.…  Seguir leyendo »

A container ship in the Cochin lagoon in Kerala, India last year. Credit Frédéric Soltan/Corbis, via Getty Images

ReflexionesNaturaleza, ,  

International shipping is the backbone of our global trading system. But it can no longer be given a free pass on climate change. If this industrial sector were a country, it would be the sixth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world — and if it doesn’t act now to reduce those emissions, by 2050 they could surpass total anticipated European emissions.

The International Maritime Organization, which sets regulatory standards for international shipping, is set to meet in London next week to consider approaches to reducing these emissions. So far, progress by the I.M.O. has been agonizingly slow, and the group’s timetable — to develop an “initial strategy” next week and a plan by 2023 — is similarly dilatory.…  Seguir leyendo »

Bigger Is Not Better for Ocean Conservation

ReflexionesNaturaleza,

I have spent my entire life pushing for new protected areas in the world’s oceans. But a disturbing trend has convinced me that we’re protecting very little of real importance with our current approach.

From Hawaii to Brazil to Britain, the establishment of large marine protected areas, thousands of square miles in size, is on the rise. These areas are set aside by governments to protect fisheries and ecosystems; human activities within them generally are managed or restricted. While these vast expanses of open ocean are important, their protection should not come before coastal waters are secured. But in some cases, that’s what is happening.…  Seguir leyendo »

Estructuras fueron recientemente agregadas a lo largo de la costa de la isla en un intento por frenar la invasión del océano. Credit Thomas Nybo/Redux, para Unicef

MundoAsiaReflexionesNaturaleza, , ,

Cualquiera que tenga dudas sobre el cambio climático debería venir a esta adorable isla baja, bañada por suaves olas y hogar de cerca de 100.000 personas.

Pero ha de venir pronto si aún quiere encontrarla aquí.

“Mi casa estaba ahí”, dijo Zainal Abedin, un agricultor, señalando las olas a aproximadamente 30 metros de la orilla. “Cuando la marea está baja, todavía podemos ver señales de nuestra casa”.

Gran parte de Kutubdia ya ha sido tragada por el creciente nivel del mar, dejando a incontables familias sin nada. Nurul Haque, un campesino que perdió todas sus tierras, pues quedaron cubiertas por el mar, me dijo que quizá tendrá que sacar a su hija, Munni Akter, de 13 años, de la escuela y casarla con un hombre mayor que busque una segunda o tercera esposa, pues a él le quedan pocas opciones económicas para mantenerla.…  Seguir leyendo »

ReflexionesNaturaleza, ,

That kid — there’s one in every school — putting up posters about protecting baby seals and organizing beach cleanups? Yeah, that was me.

Years later, I’d finally achieved my childhood dream of becoming a marine biologist — just in time to witness the collapse of the world’s ocean ecosystems. I thought I’d be saving reefs. It turns out that’s a difficult thing to do. It felt like training to be a physician and then being unexpectedly assigned to hospice.

Reefs are of enormous economic value to us. They protect coastal cities from storms and support fisheries. A recent study found that revenue from reef tourism alone is $36 billion per year globally.…  Seguir leyendo »