NOAA Ocean Guardian Schools Continue to Care for Our Blue Planet
By Naomi Pollack
December 2020
In 2009, NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries established the NOAA Ocean Guardian School program. Each year, K-12 schools from around the country submit project proposals for funding and participation in the year-long program. Selected schools carry out hands-on school- or community-based stewardship projects that fall under one of the five program pathways: Marine Debris, 6Rs (Rethink/Reduce/Refuse/Reuse/Rot/Recycle), Watershed Restoration, School Garden/Habitat, and Energy & Ocean Health.
With the goal of reducing single-use plastic at their school, North Point High School (Waldorf, MD) Ocean Guardians model their new reusable water bottle slings.
National Plastics Action Partnership launched thestar.com.my - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thestar.com.my Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Secret Canada-U.S. Plastic Waste Trade Deal Revealed
SEATTLE, Washington, December 18, 2020 (ENS) – Environmental groups are calling a secret agreement on plastic wastes signed between Canada and the United States “illegal, unacceptable and dangerous.” In a letter to Canadian Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson earlier this month, Canadian, U.S. and international environmental organizations called for the secret agreement to be made public.
They expressed their concerns that the agreement violates the new Basel Convention amendments on plastic wastes, which becomes international law on January 1, 2021. The Canadian government has claimed that it supports these amendments and promised to ratify them, but it has not yet done so.
Coons, colleagues introduce bipartisan legislation to combat ocean plastic pollution, marine litter
Delaware News Desk
Sens. Chris Coons, D-Delaware; Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina; Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island; and Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, introduced on Dec. 16 legislation that would bring the international community together to address the increasing amount of plastic and trash polluting oceans and marine environments.
The Unify Nations in Trash Elimination UNITE for our Oceans Act would direct the U.S. government to work with international partners to finance promising projects that promote the sustainable management of materials and reduce the amount of plastic and other waste polluting the world’s oceans.
December 21, 2020
2020 has been a tumultuous year for all of us, including for Oceana. I am pleased to report that it has also been a successful year of ocean conservation policymaking.
Since March, our staff around the world have been campaigning from home. Despite this, together with our allies, we have won important policy changes that promote responsible fishing, protect habitat, increase transparency, and curb pollution. You will be encouraged by this brief annual overview.
Ending Destructive Gillnet Fishing in Belize and California
The Belize Government protected its waters from gillnets, a dangerous gear that indiscriminately catches and kills nearly everything it entangles, including manatees and turtles. Our essential allies in this battle were many local fishers who understood up close how destructive and wasteful gillnets are. The few remaining gillnets fishers’ will be assisted in transitioning away from the gear and finding alternative livelihoods. With this victor