A group of experts in Tokyo suggested pouring radioactive water from Fukushima into the open sea. A marine biochemist explains the consequences of this absurd decision.
Oceans
Barack Obama creates the first marine sanctuary in the Atlantic Ocean
Il presidente statunitense ha istituito una nuova riserva marina per proteggere una vasta area del Pacifico, caratterizzata da canyon sottomarini ricchi di biodiversità.
The second term of the President of the United States, Barack Obama, is coming to an end, but there’s still a mission to be accomplished: protecting oceans. “We cannot truly protect our planet without protecting our oceans,” Obama said.
Atlantic Ocean’s first marine protected area
After he recently quadrupled the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in Hawaii, Obama has now established Atlantic Ocean’s first marine sanctuary, the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument. In the new marine sanctuary, which extends for 13,000 square kilometres off the coasts of New England (an area almost the size of Connecticut), hydrocarbon extractions, drilling and commercial fishing will be banned.
President Obama just made history by protecting nearly 5,000 square miles off the New England coast. https://t.co/i8MAFYU60k #OurOcean
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) September 15, 2016
Submarine canyons and mounts
The marine monument includes three submarine canyons and mounts, and thanks to its peculiar structure it has been dubbed as the “Yellowstone of the Sea”. The area represents an ideal shelter to a number of animal and plant species, including Kemp’s ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys kempii), the world’s most threatened turtle species, sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus), kelp forests, and cold-water corals.
Protecting oceans to help the climate
Ocean protection not only represents a victory to creatures populating them, but it also is a gift to the world. Oceans play a crucial role in regulating our planet’s climate. In fact, covering 70 per cent of the Earth, oceans absorb around 40 per cent of CO2 emissions generated by human-related activities. “By protecting ecologically sensitive areas of our ocean, the United States is leading on an issue that is important to people on every continent because of the ocean’s connection to food security, shared prosperity, and resiliency in the face of climate change,” said US Secretary of State John Kerry.
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