Dive into the Depths: Join Andrew Lewin on 'How to Protect the Ocean' – Your Gateway to Exclusive Ocean Insights! Explore the latest, uncharted realms of ocean science and conservation that you won't find anywhere else. Andrew takes you on an inspiring journey to uncover the hidden gems of oceanic discovery and initiatives. Tune in to discover how you can transform your life for a better ocean, one episode at a time.
The How To Protect The Ocean is your resource to keep you informed on the latest ocean news; teach you how to speak up for the ocean; and, how you can take action to live for a better ocean.
There is so much information on the ocean and the issues that are affecting it that it can be difficult to find optimism in the future of the ocean. Climate change, overfishing, plastic pollution, water pollution, and coastal development have altered the ocean in ways that have negatively changed the way we use it.
The repercussions of climate change, including the ominous specter of rising sea levels, the relentless march of warming ocean temperatures, and the ominous shadow of ocean acidification, have not only altered the very fabric of our coastlines but have also conjured fiercer storms and summoned floods with growing frequency. The fossil fuel industry may whisper in your ear that the situation is insurmountable, an inescapable fate. However, this podcast is here to unveil a different narrative, one that empowers you to take action. It illuminates the path to change by casting your vote for leaders committed to implementing climate-rescuing policies and by offering invaluable insights into how each of us can shrink our individual carbon footprint.
The grim reality of overfishing casts a long shadow, fueled by governmental shortcomings in the stewardship of both commercial and recreational fisheries. Within the delicate balance of our oceans, every fish population possesses a threshold - a point at which the relentless harvest of fishermen begins to erode their numbers. The management of these aquatic resources is a formidable task, as the elusive currents of the sea often defy easy tracking. Furthermore, the menace of illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing looms large in many nations, adding to the crisis.
Yet, a glimmer of hope shines through the depths. A beacon for responsible consumption emerges in the form of seafood programs, guiding conscientious individuals toward choices that safeguard our oceans. By heeding these programs, you not only savor the delights of sustainable seafood but also become an informed guardian of marine ecosystems.
The relentless scourge of plastic pollution has unleashed an epidemic of death upon the denizens of our oceans. It's a ruthless killer, claiming the lives of hundreds of thousands of marine mammals, majestic sharks, grandiose fish, gentle sea turtles, and the graceful sea birds that soar above. The malevolence of this crisis knows no bounds, with microplastics infiltrating even the remotest depths of the ocean and etching their presence along every coastline.
To mount a defense against this ecological cataclysm, the clarion call for action echoes on the international and national stages. It beckons governments far and wide to adopt resolute policies, wielding the power to outlaw the menace of single-use plastics and demanding the meticulous detoxification of our supply chains. In this grand battle to safeguard our seas, the fight against plastic pollution knows no borders.
The ominous specter of water pollution looms large, a consequence of our thoughtless disposal into the arteries of our planet – our streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans. This callous act reverberates, sending shockwaves through the intricate ecosystems of our coastal havens, where the likes of coral reefs, resilient mangroves, and swaying seagrasses thrive. But alas, this intrusion is not benign; it bears the capacity to corrode and dismantle these vital sanctuaries, the very lifeblood of countless fish and the steadfast guardians of our vulnerable shorelines.
Yet, amidst the unsettling tide of pollution, there emerges a ray of hope. Through individual resolve and visionary government policies harnessed with cutting-edge technology, we can stem this toxic deluge. Water treatment systems stand as stalwart guardians, armed with the ability to sift out the insidious nutrients that fuel destructive algal blooms. The power to heal our waters and preserve the sanctity of our coastal treasures lies within our grasp.
Coastal development, driven by human desires to construct homes or fortify the shoreline against erosion, represents a significant intervention in the natural order. Yet, these changes, while initially confined to the coastal zone, often send ripple effects that extend far beyond their original boundaries, casting a shadow of unintended consequences.
The repercussions of altering coastlines resonate through interconnected ecosystems, occasionally triggering a cascade of events that can inflict profound harm on distant areas. In doing so, this well-intentioned transformation can unwittingly imperil the lives and livelihoods of communities residing in the wake of its impact. It is a stark reminder that our actions along the coast carry a profound responsibility, not just to the immediate environment but to the greater web of life and society that depends upon it.
There are two major issues that have to do with fisheries that could affect the way you choose your sustainable seafood, but each issue can be confusing to find the information that would make it easy for you to make the best decision for you. These issues lead to confusion because you never know which information is correct. The results can affect people's lives in a negative way. In this episode, I am going to discuss the issues and show you how confusing these issues can be and why it can aff...
Sep 21, 2022•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast
The US government has declared tribal salmon fisheries along the west coast failures for a number of years due to a number of factors that include everything from river pollution to climate change, but will the payments offered by the government as compensation for the failures help bring back the salmon stocks? In this episode, I will discuss how the salmon population is negatively affected and what needs to be done to help the tribal communities. Link: https://wapo.st/3DzkHx0 Sign up to find o...
Sep 19, 2022•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast
I was scrolling through Twitter the other day and I came across a post that was retweeted by a friend of mine. The post was a graph that looked at how long it would take to break down various bags (plastic bags vs re-useable bags). It showed that plastic bags did not take the longest time to break down in a landfill. But they were more questions to be asked that talked about sustainability. Therefore, in this episode, I will discuss how we should pursue more sustainable lifestyles. Sign up to fi...
Sep 16, 2022•11 min•Ep 1357•Transcript available on Metacast
There are often times that I look at the news and hear the disasters that are happening all over the world and in my own backyard, I get overwhelmed and doubt whether we are going to be able to protect the oceans and ourselves from Climate Change. But I take comfort in the fact that there are people all over the world who are working together to protect their piece of ocean/planet. Therefore, in this episode, I will discuss how I think that we can build resilience locally to help globally. Sign ...
Sep 14, 2022•16 min•Ep 1356•Transcript available on Metacast
For 45 years, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has been know for its Direct Action Campaigns that led to controversial means to stop illegal activity in the open sea. The organization was led by Captain Paul Watson, who was the face and the pride of Sea Shepherd. Paul Watson was the youngest co-founder of Greenpeace and left the organization because he wanted to do more than protest illegal wildlife events, he wanted to stop them. His vision to create a fleet of ships to act as an environme...
Sep 12, 2022•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast
My Master's advisor used to tell me that I would be great in a technical job within the marine science and conservation field and he was right as at the time I worked in a very technical part of the field as a marine technician and a newly graduated GIS Analyst. But I always pictured myself as someone who was in charge of either a research program or a non-profit organization that helped forward marine conservation through science. It wasn't until I was 15 years into my career that I realized I ...
Sep 09, 2022•20 min•Ep 1354•Transcript available on Metacast
I've known that I wanted to be a marine biologist ever since I was 14 years old and dreamed of being on ships to work to protect the ocean. But I struggled to find information on the ocean as I did have access to the web at the time. There are still struggles in finding the proper information on the ocean in today's society. Access to journal articles is behind paywalls for the most part and information disseminated on social media is often in small snippets and incomplete. Therefore, comprehens...
Sep 07, 2022•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast
Mangroves provide protection along the coastline from erosion due to wave action and are a biodiversity haven that produces ample fisheries for local villages. But with bounty often comes increased popularity and in the case of Malampaya Sound in the Philippines, the increased popularity led to destruction and decreased fisheries. Therefore a combination of legislation and community action was necessary to mend the fisheries of the sound. In this episode, I will reveal what factors led to the sl...
Sep 05, 2022•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast
Last week, I discussed how to get experience to help you get your first job in marine science and conservation; however, COVID put a wrench in many college-level students that impaired their ability to get experience. So now what do you do? In today's episode, I am going to discuss how you can move forward to start your career. Sign up to find out about the audio Ocean Conservation Careers members group: https://bit.ly/38ak7Z8 Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3NmYvsI Connect with Speak Up For Blue...
Sep 02, 2022•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast
A recent meeting in New York at the UN headquarters was not very productive for the High Seas. An agreement could not be met to protect the high seas in four key areas. The lack of an agreement leaves many ocean species vulnerable to overfishing, climate change, and disturbance from increased shipping traffic. An agreement will take a global effort to ensure governments respect the oceans for all of us, but it will take more effort. Link to article: https://bbc.in/3e3sdFY Sign up to find out abo...
Aug 31, 2022•16 min•Ep 1350•Transcript available on Metacast
The UK is facing a number of beach closures due to sewage run-off as water companies are bypassing treatment and dumping raw sewage. Sewage run-off is supposed to happen on rare occasions; however, water companies are allowing run-off more than on rare occasions. Critics have suggested that the companies are choosing profits over reinvestment in the treatment plants. Could the problems faced with sewage by the UK be due to the privatization of the water utility sector? Links to articles: 1) http...
Aug 29, 2022•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast
POV - You just graduated with your BSc in Biology with a concentration in Marine Science and you are super excited to start a new career in the field of Marine Science and Conservation, but you noticed that every job requires 3-5 years of experience, a Masters and/or a Ph.D. degree. Now you are a little deflated and you want to find out where you can find a job that you don't require a crazy amount of experience or other degrees. Well, I am going to give you some suggestions for this episode. Si...
Aug 26, 2022•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast
The last 5 decades have been a rough one for the science field and it doesn't look like it's going to get better. Politicians and fringe groups are denying climate change and the scientific process around various tools to help protect people. But on the other hand, it seems as though there are more STEM programs popping up in schools at the high school and post-secondary school levels. So my question to you is: Can we get people excited about science again? Sign up to find out about the audio Oc...
Aug 24, 2022•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast
Dr. Milton Muldrow Jr., Director of Natural Science Programs at Wilmington University (Delaware) joins me on the podcast today to discuss how synthetic biology can play a role in protecting the ocean. Milton talks about his career and journey balancing multiple jobs and opportunities with a family that led him to land a role that can help students solve ocean challenges. Milton's website: https://www.phantomecology.com/ Synthetic Biology Course: https://www.phantomecology.com/screenings Sign up ...
Aug 22, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Transcript available on Metacast
I launched this podcast to help people understand what is happening in the ocean and how they can help so I can stay connected to the ocean and its conservation. But I did not know that I would reach this many people when I started and it makes me want to do more in science communication. In this episode, I am going to tell you the milestone I hit and why I want to continue to do the podcast...and how I would like to expand my reach through other platforms. Sign up to find out about the audio Oc...
Aug 19, 2022•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast
Explaining climate change is not a simple exercise, especially when there is so much misinformation floating around the web, and some times the material can be complex to explain, but there are ways to explain how climate change is affecting an iconic animal such as the sea turtle to get people's attention. In this episode, I am going to explain how baby sea turtles can be used to explain how climate change is affecting animals in the ocean. Link to Article: https://bit.ly/3dvGtXw Sign up to fin...
Aug 17, 2022•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast
Cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) are beautiful creatures and they display a number of different behaviours that we often like to watch. The behaviours are usually friendly ones such as bow riding or breaching the water giving us a spectacular show. But cetaceans are wild animals and being in the wild means every species needs to survive that is why researchers were not surprised after observing a pod of Risso's dolphins herding away a pod of long-finned pilot whales to protect the foo...
Aug 15, 2022•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast
Canada just passed a law to ban 6 types of single-use plastics across the nation over the next 3 years in an unprecedented move to curb plastic waste, but some people think that Canada can do more, including Oceana. I am going to talk about how Oceana Canada thinks Canada can reduce plastic even more and I want to ask the question, is it too much? Link to campaign: https://act.oceana.org/page/108844/action/2 Sign up to find out about the audio Ocean Conservation Careers members group: https://bi...
Aug 12, 2022•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast
The International Seabed Authority, which is responsible for overseeing the development of deep-sea mining in international waters AND protecting the ocean met to negotiate a set of regulations to determine if deep-sea mining can proceed. But scientists and environmentalists involved in the process are worried about transparency and revealing that the process is not transparent at all. In this episode of the Speak Up For The Ocean Blue podcast, I will provide you with more information on the pro...
Aug 08, 2022•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast
When I speak to people about their careers in Marine Science and Conservation, I can sense how badly they want a job and build their careers. It's hard to describe how I can notice it, but if you have it then go after it. But there are many of you who lack the motivation to fight for a position to get what you want. You have to show that you have a passion for this field in order to be successful. In this episode of Speak Up For The Ocean Blue podcast, I am going to tell you what you can do to s...
Aug 05, 2022•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast
A news article revealed that Kylie Jenner uses her private jet to fly 17 minutes to do daily chores such as grocery shopping to avoid traffic in LA. A sustainability firm based in the UK dug deeper to produce a list of the worst private jet offenders that were celebrities, but are we putting the blame in the right place? Celebrities are easy targets to receive hate; however, there was a report published in 2017 that revealed that 100 companies around the world are responsible for 70% of the cont...
Aug 03, 2022•17 min•Ep 1339•Transcript available on Metacast
A Greenland shark was found in the Caribbean Sea, surprising the science world and it begs the overall question: Have they always been there? But more research is needed to answer a number of questions. It also reminds us all that we know nothing of the deep sea and maybe we should hold off on opening up deep-sea mining since we don't really know the damage we could cause. In this episode of the Speak Up For The Ocean Blue podcast, I am going to run through some of the questions I have on the Gr...
Aug 01, 2022•16 min•Ep 1338•Transcript available on Metacast
Three episodes ago, I discussed how to speak up for the ocean if you are not a scientist. I suggested following specific scientists on social media to get accurate and recent science and conservation information. I had a few people contact me over Instagram to ask if I know where they could get more information on science and conservation in their area. A great question indeed and that seems like it could be hard to find anyone. In this episode of the Speak Up For The Ocean Blue Podcast, I will ...
Jul 29, 2022•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast
Every year I go into Shark Week with a positive mindset in hope that it will provide some great programs and some great cinematography and I would like to hope that it won't play into the fear-mongering, but that was not the case for the first news piece that I saw from CNN (who owns Discovery). A clear promotional video starts off with fear of shark sightings and bites then into one of the dumbest things a person can do when being around a white shark. I will tell you why it was so dumb in this...
Jul 27, 2022•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast
Shark week is back and over this week you will see some great shots of different species of sharks and some interesting behaviours, but you probably won't see much talk on the conservation of sharks and you might hear some misinformation on the species. You can take advantage of Shark Week by informing your followers (and maybe new followers) on shark conservation and where we need to focus on to increase shark awareness.
Jul 25, 2022•18 min•Ep 1335•Transcript available on Metacast
Science plays an important part in understanding the trends in the ocean whether they are positive or negative and scientists also are critical in communicating their work so people can be aware of the trends, but people think that only scientists can talk about science and that is not true; therefore, by the end of this episode of the Speak Up For The Ocean Blue, I hope to convince you that you can speak up for the ocean too and give you steps that you can take to make sure you do it correctly....
Jul 20, 2022•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast
The Mississippi Delta is one powerful river that drains a large portion of the rivers in the US and two provinces in Canada, yet there are few people who know how powerful the river can be and how the land at the mouth of the Mississippi changes depending on the action that is taken by human alteration. Hakai Magazine wrote a great article on how the Mississippi River is changing and what can be done to save the land, the shrimpers, and the bottlenose dolphins that inhabitat of the ever-changing...
Jul 18, 2022•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast
Sharks have had a bad reputation for decades that have lead to their harm and lack of protection for a long time, but more videos and articles are surfacing that include love for sharks. But could all of this love be dangerous for shark populations as well? Sign up to find out about the audio Ocean Conservation Careers members group: https://bit.ly/38ak7Z8 Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3NmYvsI Connect with Speak Up For Blue: Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG Twit...
Jul 15, 2022•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast
I recently had the opportunity to interview wildlife science communicator, Forrest Galante, for my other podcast I cohost called Beyond Jaws and during the interview Forrest taught me a lot about being a science communicator through his own journey. Therefore, I am going to share some interesting tips that I picked up from Forrest that I will use as a science communicator and that you could use in your own journey. Share your passion Be persistent Do good Haters going to hate and there is nothin...
Jul 13, 2022•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast
There is a huge push to move away from fossil fuels and move toward renewable energy to help reduce climate change, but politicians and the fossil fuel industry are always pushing for more oil and gas drilling to help the economy; therefore, authors are the centre for American Progress laid out 4 reasons why the Biden Administration should not expand offshore drilling in the proposed 5-year plan he laid out this past month...and they kinda listened. Link to article: 1) https://www.americanprogre...
Jul 11, 2022•15 min•Ep 1330•Transcript available on Metacast