Plastic Bags and the marine environment

Even the Cleanest Wastewater Contributes to More 'Super Bacteria'

A new University of Minnesota study reveals that treated municipal wastewater even wastewater treated by the highest-quality treatment technology can result in significant quantities of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, often referred to as "superbacteria," in surface waters.


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Wales is the only UK attendee at global sustainable development summit

Quebec is hosting a three-day global conference from August 29-31 on climate change and sustainable development, that is being attended by environment ministers and other representatives of subnational governments from over 35 countries - but Wales is the only attendee from the UK.


Wales' environment and sustainable development minister, John Griffiths, is attending the organisation's General Assembly. In a statement he said this was partly "to promote and develop Wales’ work on sustainable development and climate change".


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Human Feces Bacteria Could be the Cause of Death in Caribbean Elkhorn Corals

A mysterious disease that ravaged coral populations in the Caribbean and Florida Keys for more than a decade came from microbes living in human feces, a new study reveals. Elkhorn coral was once the most common coral in the Caribbean Sea, but now its populations have been reduced by nearly 90 percent over the past 15 years and it now faces great risk of extinction in the wild, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Turning the Tide

Preserving 4 Percent of the Ocean Could Protect Most Marine Mammal Species

Preserving just 4 percent of the ocean could protect crucial habitat for the vast majority of marine species, from sea otters to blue whales, according to research at Stanford University and the National autonomous University of Mexico.

Their findings were published in the Aug. 16 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Scientists call for protected areas to conserve deep sea environment

On Monday at the Census of Marine Life (COML) project, the 10 year assessment of the world's oceans completed in 2010, published their analysis of the impact humans are having on the deep sea. Their conclusions were stark: the largest habitat on Earth is being damaged by pollution, resource exploitation and climate change.

Lack of detailed scientific knowledge about the deep sea makes it a difficult environment to protect. One way to stop the damage is to create a network of marine protected areas.

The establishment of a network of marine reserves would safeguard the extraordinary and vulnerable deep sea environments that we are only just beginning to understand.

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