Thursday, February 14, 2008

Map of global human impact on oceans

Wanna know where oceans are in good shape and where people have done the most damage? Check out this stunning new map of global human impacts on our oceans (right).

The work of a team of scientists, the model and map were published today in Science. Commenting on the results, co-author and Ocean Conservancy senior scientist Dennis Heinemann said:
On a global scale, the study determined that coral reefs and sea-grass habitats, places important to maintaining the diversity and productivity of ocean life, are suffering from some of the most significant cumulative threats from humans. We fear that few areas of the ocean are left without compromised resilience in the face of the ongoing and increasing threats of overfishing, pollution and ocean climate change.
I'm an optimist and I'm pleased to see some ocean areas that are still relatively unharmed, despite all that we humans have done on earth. There are clearly some areas that are in bad shape, and I hope we can learn from these results and do more to build a better ocean future.

...like what Kiribati just did in creating the world's largest marine protected area...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Here's a direct link to the article and a NBC nightly news clip about the report.