Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on Grist.org. Click on the link to see the entire list of “36 bits of good news to cure your ocean blues.”
Bonus: Humpback whales make lifelong friendships. Illustration: Grist | Amelia Bates
We know: beginning a series on current ocean news seems like a bleak proposition. Between the expanding garbage patches and relentless rise of warming seas, positive stories aren’t exactly growing on trees. So we’ve gone to the trouble to net you 18 whole reasons to be excited about the future of the high seas — including magic-seeming plastic removal tech, more facts confirming the radness of sharks, and (of course) a cute baby seal video.
1. After learning about the harmful effects of ocean-borne plastic, a group of fifth and sixth grade students persuaded Dunkin’ Donuts to phase out the use of foam cups. These kids are superheroes.
2. The Vermont Sail Freight Project is ditching oil to deliver fresh produce and other goods from Vermont to New York by sailboat. Not bad for a landlocked state.
3. California stepped it up yet again for the climate to ban micro-beads cosmetics and keep them out of the ocean.
4. We all wanted to be marine biologists when we grew up, right? If you (like us) didn’t, California’s Reef Check Foundation recruits citizen divers to collect data on fish and coral for the state.
5. The National Science Foundation awarded $11.4 million to fund research on ocean acidification.
6. Sharks are the shit. They’ve skirted four global mass extinctions. Oh, and they’ve been around longer than trees. *Shark drops mic.*
7. Fishermen and conservationists in Morro Bay, Calif., joined forces to revive a fishery once described as a “national disaster.” Now it’s a sustainable model for other potential fishing hubs in the U.S.
8. Wait, seriously? U.S. fisheries are actually recovering from over-fishing?
9. Fishermen to the rescue! A group of seafarers saved a family of 70 dolphins that were stuck in shallow water. With only boats and brute fisherman force, the dolphin family was transported back to deeper waters.
10. 648,015 volunteers picked up 12,329,332 pounds of trash across 12, 914 miles of coastline during the 2014 Coastal Cleanup. Best finds: a working iPad, a wedding dress, a microwave, and a baby stroller.
11. Apparently kids these days do care about things outside of selfies and Instagram — like the ocean! The Youth Ocean Conservation Summit on Nov. 8 in Sarasota, Fla. aims to connect future ocean advocates with marine scientists and more.
12. Since whaling is no longer fashionable or necessary, blue whales in California are recovering to up to 97% of their historic levels.
13. Island country and diving mecca Palau will ban commercial fishing by 2018, effectively creating a Northern Pacific marine sanctuary the size of France.
14. Sylvia Earle. If everyone started their day with a pep talk from her, the earth would be a better (bluer) place.
15. According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, 21 species (and climbing) of groundfish are recovering in the wild.
16. New York waters are increasingly cleaner, leading to an increase of whales … and sharks. This may not sound like a good thing but…
17. … each year, fewer people are killed by sharks than are killed by sand castles.
18. Good news: Dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico are getting smaller. (Obligatory bad news caveat: there are still dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico.)
Want more? No, need more? As mentioned above, for the entire list of “36 bits of good news to cure your ocean blues,” check out the original article on Grist.org.
