Online Articles

Man fishing at dawn

Congress Puts Unregulated Fishing on the Hook

February 1, 2023 by Alyssa Greenstein Oceans Regulations Sustainability Wildlife

U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Jim Inhofe (R-OK), respectively the Chairman and Ranking Members of the Senate Armed Service Committee, and U.S. Representatives Adam Smith (D-WA) and Mike Rogers (R-AL), their counterparts on the House Armed Services…

A panel of people at a long table clap while standing in front of the COP15 Logo. Source: https://www.cbd.int/article/cop15-cbd-press-release-final-19dec2022

A Win for Wildlife: The COP-15 Global Biodiversity Framework

January 23, 2023 by Amandine Fromont Endangered Species International Oceans Sustainability Wildlife

From December 7 to 19, 2022, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) held its fifteenth Conference of the Parties (COP15), culminating in the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework.[1] The Convention on Biological Diversity is an international…

Crabs, the Climate, Congress, and the Court

November 2, 2022 by Danny Shokry Climate change Oceans Wildlife

Background Seafood lovers are familiar with the coveted Alaskan snow crabs. This culinary delicacy made headlines in October 2022, when experts reported that an estimated one billion snow crabs in the Bering Sea had disappeared over the prior two years…

Line of offshore wind turbines. Photo by Pål Espen Bondestad, licensed under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Continued Progress with Vineyard Wind 1 is Promising for Offshore Wind Power

March 29, 2021 by Rachel Schwartz Oceans Renewable Energy Sustainability

On March 8, 2021, the Biden Administration took a significant step toward finalizing the approval of America’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm. Vineyard Wind 1, located 14 miles off the coast of Massachusetts, has the potential to power 400,000 homes.

The effects of climate change, including sea level rise and intense heat, threaten to make places like the island nation of Tuvalu uninhabitable within the next several decades.

The United States Needs a Plan for Climate-Driven Migration

January 29, 2021 by Eleanor Hildebrandt Climate change International Oceans Water

The effects of climate change will make swaths of the planet uninhabitable, displacing millions of people. How can the United States’ legal system facilitate an equitable, humanitarian response to those seeking safe resettlement within its borders?

A Polymer Problem: How Plastic Production and Consumption is Polluting our Oceans

April 17, 2019 by Abigail Hogan and Alexander Steinbach Environmental Law Review Syndicate Oceans Plastic pollution Sustainability

Is it time to retire single-use plastics? Read more in this analysis posted via the Environmental Law Review Syndicate.

By Abigail Hogan and Alexander Steinbach, Staff Editors, Vermont Journal of Environmental Law

The Thwaites Glacier comprises one third of the mass that has been lost from the Amundsen Sea Embayment.

The Thwaites Glacier, Rising Sea Levels, and the Future of Coastal Cities

March 19, 2019 by Sylvie Yudin Climate change International Oceans State and Local Sustainability

Scientists have recently discovered that the Thwaites Glacier, a key component of the West Antarctic glacial system, is melting faster than expected. Since many of the world’s population and financial centers are located along coastlines, the situation unfolding at the Thwaites Glacier is particularly alarming. How drastically are melting glaciers impacting sea levels, and how will governments respond to these shifts?