Oceans

ISSUES

Sea pollution

Marine pollution is the result of products being thrown into seas and oceans, mostly by mankind: domestic waste (sewage and rubbish, pollutants in runoff water...), industrial waste (hydrocarbons, metals, synthetic chemical and organic substances, radionuclides...) and agricultural waste (fertilisers, pesticides...). This includes water pollution and marine sediments, and more generally all damage to marine ecosystems caused by harmful substances being discharged into the sea, either by their nature or their quantity.
Fragile coastal areas
Most of the pollution comes from continents and is carried by rivers and winds. It is concentrated in coastal waters which provide water for 99% of total fish production. In fact, only a small amount of industrial pollution on the high seas is the result of accidents or malice: shipwrecks, deballasting, degassing and oil spills which are spectacular and disastrous when they reach the...

NEWS

Ship noise boosts stress in whales, 9/11 reveals: study

BP surges back into profits, as US criminal trial looms

Filmmaker sounds alarm over ocean of plastic

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DEBATES

The Nitrogen Fix: Breaking a Costly Addiction

Fred Pearce

Over the last century, the intensive use of chemical fertilizers has saturated the Earth’s soils and waters with nitrogen. Now...

Ghost nets – an underestimated danger

Abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear is...

llegal Oil Discharge in European Seas

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FOCUS

Extinctions

Polar bears will not be the only ones to disappear because of global warming. Many other – less visible or less symbolic – species will also be threatened. For them, global warming will be the last straw as man...

VIDEOS

31/01/2012	A major investigation by the Ecologist reveals a host of unreported...	27/04/2011	This short video reveals a space-based view of the burning oil rig, the...
23/03/2011	In July 2010, Chinese photographer Lu Guang documented the oil spill at...	30/08/2010	Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has taken part in a wildlife...

GREEN TIPS

Sea Criminals Firmly Dealt With

In November 2003, the Brest (France) magistrate’s court fined the captain of the ship ‘Voltaire’ €100 000....

INDICATORS

Biocapacity
Ecological footprint

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