8 June 2020 (WMO)* — The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) joins the global community in marking World Oceans Day on 8 June, with the theme: Innovation for a Sustainable Ocean.
This is more necessary than ever before, as human activities place unprecedented stress on the ocean, which covers more than 70% of the Earth surface, regulates the global climate and provides food and livelihoods for billions of people.
8 June 2020 (United Nations)* — The world’s oceans – their temperature, chemistry, currents and life – drive global systems that make the Earth habitable for humankind. Our rainwater, drinking water, weather, climate, coastlines, much of our food, and even the oxygen in the air we breathe, are all ultimately provided and regulated by the sea. Throughout history, oceans and seas have been vital conduits for trade and transportation.
This Hawaiian green turtle is genetically distinct from the other green sea turtle populations.This specie is listed as endangered species. World Ocean Day/Bernard Spragg
Careful management of this essential global resource is a key feature of a sustainable future. However, at the current time, there is a continuous deterioration of coastal waters owing to pollution and ocean acidification, which has an adversarial effect on the functioning of ecosystems and biodiversity. This is also negatively impacting small scale fisheries.
8 June 2020 (United Nations)* — When we think of public health risks, we may not think of the ocean. Increasingly, however, the health of the ocean is intimately tied to our health. Some may be surprised to read that organisms discovered at extreme depths are used to speed up the detection of COVID-19, and probably even more to learn that, it is the environment that could give a solution to humankind.
Clownfish in anemone. Oceans feed us, regulate our climate, and generate most of the oxygen we breathe. But despite their importance, oceans are facing unprecedented threats as a result of human activity. Grant Thomas / Coral Reef Image Bank.
This is one of the multiple reasons why we should celebrate World Oceans Day: to remind everyone of the major role the oceans have in everyday life. They are the lungs of our planet, providing most of the oxygen we breathe.
David Cameron promised to stop scammers and kleptocrats hiding behind British shell companies. But almost one in ten UK firms still do not declare ‘persons of significant control’
Shadow banking | Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto/PA Images
6 June 2020 (openDemocracy)* — Nearly 400,000 British companies do not, will not or cannot say who controls them, according to research carried out by openDemocracy.
“I love L.A. I love Hollywood. They’re beautiful. Everybody’s plastic – but I love plastic. I want to be plastic.” Andy Warhol
Credit: u/USMCinUSA
STOCKHOLM / ROME, Jun 5 2020 (IPS)* – Another episode of the spectacular show that could be called The Greatest Story Ever Told: The Saga of the Trump Presidency, scripted and acted by Trump himself, took place on 1st of June.
Will this blow in the face of the billionaire class and their political enablers? Time will tell. It always does.
Our future is under multiple threats, dark clouds are gathering, and many storms are on their way. | Photo: Gilbert Mercier
6 June 2020 (teleSUR)* — Since I started News Junkie Post, eleven years ago, I have, as a rule, avoided the first person narrative. In my mind, there is a simple reason for an aversion for the “me, myself, and I” type of storytelling so widespread in our culture. The first person is fine for a journal, an autobiography of course, or if you have the immense literary talent of Marcel Proust.
7 June 2020 (UN News)* — Coral reefs are being killed by the climate crisis, which is leading to rising sea temperatures. “Cryopreservation”, a pioneering scientific technique”, could be one way to save them.
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UN News/Daniel Dickinson | Coral reefs surround Coconut Island where a research centre of the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology is based.
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A tiny piece of coral is stuck to a thin sheet of plastic, and submerged in a tank at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology on Coconut Island in Kaneohe Bay, on the island archipelago.
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This is part of a unique process which includes the cryopreservation [the use of very low temperatures to preserve living cells and tissues] of sperm, larvae and tissue, to create what has been called the “Book of Life” for coral.
