Today, Pacific Environment thanks the UN’s Shipping Agency for hosting virtual dialogues on rapid decarbonization rules for international shipping. The meetings were held in part due to pressure from Pacific Environment and allies urging that the world cannot allow the COVID-19 crisis to exacerbate the climate crisis. Good technical progress made this week reveals that … Read more
With the support of activists like you, we are building people power around the Pacific Rim to fight climate change, defend the oceans, promote open and inclusive societies, and ensure a just transition to a clean energy future for all. Here are five accomplishments I’m especially proud of this year. They would not have been … Read more
Earlier this year, Mellisa Maktuayaq Johnson told a room full of international shipping experts in London that “the sea and the land are our store.” Most people in the audience are used to shopping at supermarkets like Safeway or Costco, so it took a moment before they grasped the implications of what they were hearing. … Read more
If you signed our petition demanding that cruise ship operator Carnival clean up its dirty ships, your voice is now being heard in the hallways of corporate power. This morning, Pacific Environment joined a delegation of Arctic Indigenous leaders and other marine and environmental experts to deliver our petition demanding that Carnival Corporation stop using … Read more
Will you help me protect the Arctic? Carnival Corporation claims that environmental stewardship and sustainability are core company values across all 10 of its subsidiary cruise line brands. Yet, most of the ships on its Arctic and Alaska routes continue to burn the dirtiest fuel available for marine transportation: heavy fuel oil. So far, Carnival … Read more
Even as some nations are failing to live up to the vision of the Paris Climate Agreement, leaders at the state, province, and city level, progressive companies, and many, many activists — the vanguard of change — are taking action to move our countries beyond fossil fuels. The week of September 10th, people are gathering … Read more
Did you know? Cruise giant Carnival’s Arctic ships have a dirty secret. Enticing passengers with promises of first-row tickets to the Arctic’s stunning natural wonders, few people know that Carnival’s ships are powered by one of the dirtiest fossil fuels on the planet. It’s called heavy fuel oil, and if spilled, this dirty oil would … Read more
Reporting directly from London, I’m excited to tell you that yesterday was a big day for Arctic waters and wildlife. Indigenous leaders and environmental activists like me convinced the international community to adopt new rules that require ships to avoid fragile marine ecosystems, reducing the threat of oil spills, environmental disasters, and harm to wildlife … Read more
Plastic trash is choking our oceans. Meet Dr. Xuan Thi Quach, who is cleaning up one of the world’s top ocean plastic polluters: Vietnam. Vietnam has a rapidly growing economy and plastic has become the material of choice. “The plastic industry in Vietnam is booming,” Xuan told me on a recent visit. “Plastic things have replaced … Read more
Good news this afternoon in London: The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO’s) marine environment protection committee just approved our coalition’s proposal to deal with the issue of dangerous heavy fuel oil in the Arctic. This means there will now be international rulemaking to mitigate risks of heavy fuel oil and, hopefully, phase out this dangerous oil in the Arctic. … Read more
We need your help. Tell President Obama and Secretary of the Interior Jewell to halt proposed plans to allow drilling in Alaskan waters. Shell recently announced that it is abandoning its Arctic Ocean drilling program. But that’s not enough. Big oil is waiting to snap up new offshore oil and gas leases. Tell the President … Read more
On the last day of the Paris Climate Summit, I sat without internet at a related Arctic symposium. The plus side was that I paid attention to the speakers rather than checking my email. The downside was that I sat in suspense, wondering if the long-awaited agreement from the international talks would be announced. I … Read more
This past summer an important thing happened in America’s Arctic. President Obama, who previously had only stopped in Alaska to refuel Air Force One, decided to spend some quality time with us to explore our magnificent landscapes. And he fell in love—not only with our jaw-dropping scenery, but also with our vibrant Alaska Native cultures. … Read more
About two months ago, I ran into an old neighbor—I’ll call him Jim—and he got really excited when he heard I was going to Paris. He was following the news about the upcoming Climate Summit, and he was worried. He feared nothing would get done, that the world’s leaders would dither and argue and not … Read more
As sea level rises, low-lying coastal communities around the world are facing the prospect of relocation. Some of these communities are on remote islands that many have never heard of. Others may be familiar to Americans from the west coast of Alaska and Washington State, and from the bayous of Louisiana. Many of these communities … Read more
It’s no small irony that many of the small island nations most at risk from rising sea levels such as the Marshall Islands are also some of the foremost countries for ship registries. Called by some the “elephant in the room,” meaningful commitments to reduce emissions from shipping are critical to containing climate change. Shipping … Read more
“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” There are days when I find myself doubting the truth of that wisdom, popularized by Martin Luther King Jr. But a distinguishing characteristic of environmentalists is our persistent optimism that we can overcome even the largest obstacles and persevere. And there’s a … Read more
In a stunning development this week, President Obama announced that he is cancelling upcoming oil and gas lease sales for Arctic waters off the coast of Alaska. And, in a companion move, the Department of the Interior denied requests by Shell and Statoil to extend the leases they already hold in the Arctic Ocean. These … Read more
Today, we celebrate a historic win for the Arctic, its wildlife, and its peoples. After years of negotiations, at 9 a.m. London time, the international community agreed to establish some special protections for this magnificent region. The new laws, known as the Polar Code, forbid ships traversing the Arctic to dump garbage, sewage, and oil … Read more
First published in Ship & Bunker Forty-five years ago, just two months after Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, another historic exploration milestone took place in Alaska. The icebreaking tanker SS Manhattan arrived at Barter Island, AK, on September 18, 1969. The ship had been commissioned by Humble Oil to test the feasibility of using … Read more
