As far as changes go since the last time you were down here, well, for one, I’m bald. But really the biggest change is that it looks like the relocation of the community of the Isle de Jean Charles will happen. Through HUD [the Department of Housing and Urban Development] and the Lowlander Center, Albert,… Read More
OCEAN CITY, Md. (WJZ) — Four people were rescued after their boat started to sink off the coast of Ocean City Saturday, according to a statement from the U.S. Coast Guard. A person aboard the 25-foot vessel radioed to the Coast Guard Sector Maryland-National Capital Region the boat was taking on water 14 miles off… Read More
Hannah Schaefer used a pair of repurposed kitchen tongs to collect garbage along the Detroit River shoreline at McKee Park Saturday. Schaefer was one of almost 40 volunteers who collected more than 300 pounds of garbage for the annual Sandwich Litter Cleanup. “We had a really good turnout,” said Gina Pannunzio, the partnerships and out-reach… Read More
North Carolina’s legislature is about to devote a record-breaking amount of money to resiliency planning in the face of strengthening hurricanes. And this environmentally-focused legislation is bipartisan. WHQR’s Kelly Kenoyer asked Coastal Review writer Kirk Ross to unpack his reporting on the issue. Kelly Kenoyer: I’m here with Kirk Ross, a writer for the Coastal… Read More
In August, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced the availability of a draft Environmental Assessment that assesses the potential impacts of the issuance of commercial and research leases within the nearly 800,000-acre wind energy areas of the New York Bight. The EA also takes a look at the granting of rights-of-way and rights-of-use and easement in… Read More
A bill intended to make America’s housing stock more climate-resilient also includes a big effective subsidy for the properties most exposed to the risks of climate change. House Democrats’ new housing bill devotes billions of dollars in new funding to making America’s housing greener and more climate-resilient. It also spends much more money bailing out… Read More
“I hope it helps with identifying not just the most vulnerable wetlands today but the most vulnerable wetlands tomorrow.” Tidal wetlands are vitally important ecosystems that provide food, host fishery stocks, store carbon and protect coasts from storm surges. They are also extremely vulnerable to sea level rise. In fact, a study published in Earth’s Future recently found… Read More
The world’s third-largest container carrier said it’s capping spot rates for ocean freight for the next five months, yielding to pressure from some customers and regulators concerned that global trade disruptions have pushed the cost of shipping too high. “Although these market-driven rate increases are expected to continue in the coming months, the group has… Read More
Marta Montojo and Ian Urbina from the non-profit Outlaw Ocean Project on the risks of dredging minerals from the ocean floor. Few people have ever heard of the tiny country of Nauru. Even fewer ever think about what happens at the bottom of the world’s oceans. But that may soon change. The seafloor is thought… Read More
What would happen if climate change severely disrupted global supply chains? How would it affect shipping ports like Charleston and Wilmington, which are vital to the economy of the Carolinas? We got a glimpse of that scenario last year when the coronavirus pandemic slowed global shipping to a crawl. Supply chains were broken. There weren’t… Read More
Protecting wetlands and waterways should not be at the broad discretion of states such as Florida that were granted permitting authority in the final days of the Trump administration, says a national environmental law organization, citing a sweeping Aug. 31 federal ruling limiting states’ authority. The ruling in U.S. District Court in Arizona tosses out… Read More
By Nathaniel Herz, Alaska Public Media – Anchorage A high-seas legal fight is causing havoc for one of Alaska’s biggest commercial fisheries, the Bering Sea pollock harvest out of Dutch Harbor. The quickly escalating saga involves hundreds of millions of dollars in fines, a miniature Canadian railway and Donald Trump’s personal lawyer. And it stems from… Read More
By Bjorn Lomborg, From the Wall St Journal Sept 9 Climate change may raise waters and more Americans than ever live in floodplains, but technology and infrastructure protect them. Though the images of abandoned cars in waterlogged East Coast streets might make you think otherwise, the relative toll that floods take on the U.S.—in property and… Read More
Volunteers raised about 3.5 million new oysters on state-of-the-art barges in Virginia Beach. VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Author’s Note: The above video is on file from November 20, 2020. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Virginia Oyster Team, which was made up of 468 gardeners, finished their restoration season today and set a record high number for… Read More
Flood damages suffered in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast region of the United States from the remnants of hurricane Ida are expected to add double-digit billion dollars of economic loss to the overall toll from the storm. As if hurricane Ida’s landfall damage in Louisiana wasn’t catastrophic enough, the hurricane carried immense quantities of water north… Read More