Month in Review: Happy Headlines of March 2023

Every Friday on social media, World Ocean Day posts happy headlines to celebrate work happening around the globe for our one shared ocean!

To Help Reduce Trash, Some States Are Charging the Companies That Produce It

The Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws could, some experts say, be a partial solution to the problem of diminishing landfill capacity. Learn more here.

Thanks to Conservation Efforts, Australia Just Removed 26 Animal Species From the ‘Threatened’ List.

Australia may be the world’s leader in mammal extinction, with accelerating threats to native biodiversity in a changing climate – but successful conservation efforts may provide a glimmer of hope. Learn more here.

Thanks to Community Activism, 44 Acres of Wild Forest Is Now a Nature Preserve Instead of a Subdivision.

When 44 acres of wild forest in Dunedin, Florida on the verge of being bulldozed and developed into a subdivision, citizens and local government came together to protect it — by raising $10 million to purchase the land and ensure it would stay wild forever. Learn more here.

 

Rooftop Solar Is on Track To Become Australia’s Number One Power Source.

More than 3.4 million Australians have a rooftop solar installation, and around 300,000 new ones are being installed annually. Learn more here.

A New White House Plan Prioritizes Using the Ocean’s Power to Fight Climate Change 

Ocean-based renewable energy could play a big role in decarbonizing the U.S., and healthier oceans can help stabilize the climate, the Ocean Climate Action Plan suggests. Learn more here. 

 

Brazil Evicts Gold Miners from Amazon Rainforest 

Brazil has ousted almost all illegal gold miners from the Yanomami territory, its largest indigenous reservation, and will remove miners from six more reserves this year. Learn more here. 

 

Kelp Farming May Help Clean Polluted Waterways and Fight Climate Change 

Though too toxic to eat, the seaweed in Newtown Creek, Gowanus Bay and the East River could suck up carbon and pollutants, bolstering marine ecosystems. Learn more here. 

 

Biden Creates Two National Monuments in the Southwest 

President Biden on Tuesday designated two new national monuments in the Southwest, insulating from development a half-million acres in Nevada that are revered by Native Americans and 6,600 acres in Texas that were once admired by the writer Jack Kerouac. Learn more here.