Down To The Last Straw

11/28/2025

This week's guests:
Lasse Gustavsson
CEO of Ocean Wise Conservation Association
The Earth’s oceans add up to 71% of the surface of the planet and contain 96% of the water on this precious blue marble in space. The ocean produces 60% of the oxygen we need to be able to breathe. “The oceans are our greatest natural resource,” says Lasse Gustovsson, the CEO of Ocean Wise, “and they are at risk due to human activity.”

According to data collected by the Argo Network – a program utilizing over 4,000 robotic floats moving around the globe riding the currents and sinking to depths of 2,000 meters, rising to the surface, and beaming back valuable data that scientists are using to monitor the heart of the world’s climate system – the ocean is heating up.

Gustovsson says, “The data shows temperatures are up by more than 1 degree Celsius over the past 145 years.” The oceans are warming because they absorb more than 90% of excess energy trapped by greenhouse gases. “In the process of absorbing that energy, the acidification level of ocean waters is also rising,” says Gustavsson.

We invited Lasse Gustavsson, the CEO of Ocean Wise, to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the vital role the ocean plays in our survival, the risks the world’s oceans face, and how we can mitigate those harms.

We invited Lasse Gustavsson, the CEO of Ocean Wise, to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the vital role the ocean plays in our survival, the risks the world’s oceans face, and how we can mitigate those harms.

08/12/2025

DuPont has agreed to pay $2 billion to New Jersey to clean up 4 PFAS waste sites -- a mere drop in the bucket in the big picture.

08/08/2025

The federal government has recently launched the Federal Plastics Registry (the “FPR”), a new initiative that establishes mandatory requirements to monitor and track plastics from manufacturing through to end-of-life. Reporting will be done in phases with the Phase 1 reporting deadline to submit data for the 2024 reporting year being September 29, 2025 as specified in the official Notice. The reporting platform is now live, allowing participants to access the submission portal and begin entering their required data. This article offers an overview of the FPR and outlines the reporting obligations for the initial phase.

The federal government has recently launched the Federal Plastics Registry, a new initiative that establishes mandatory requirements.

07/12/2024

With Tiny Shampoo Bottles Soon to Be Banned, N.Y. Hotels Weigh Options
Starting Jan. 1, large hotels will no longer be able to offer small containers of shampoo and conditioner. The bill is part of an effort to cut down on single-use plastic.

07/10/2024

In this week's issue of our environment newsletter, we look at ways to reduce the amount of plastic waste generated by summer parties, tally up small cars that have left the Canadian market and find out why scientists are building saunas for frogs.

05/28/2024

At an industry presentation about dangerous “forever chemicals,” lawyers predicted a wave of lawsuits that could dwarf asbestos litigation, audio from the event revealed.

04/10/2024

Zhu, along with researchers at CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, used data from remotely operated vehicles and from bottom trawls. From this data they estimated there is between three and 11 million tonnes of plastic on the ocean floor. That’s up to 100 times more plastic on the bottom of the sea than floating on the surface, she said.

The exponential increase in plastic production coupled with variable global waste management system efficiencies has resulted in large amounts of plas…

01/11/2024

With a staggering 2,40,000 plastic fragments, bottled water has up to 100 times more microplastics than earlier estimated, said a new study.

12/07/2023

Delta will begin its final testing of new paper cups on board transcontinental flights starting in December 2023. This latest sustainability milestone underscores the airline’s commitment to innovation and progress. Pending testing, the new paper cups will be rolled out throughout Delta’s networ...

11/17/2023

Minutes to read: 5 minutes Plastic waste on the Julugan Fish Terminal, the Philippines. Ocean plastic pollution is a complex issue that poses a significant threat to the environment and human health. The UN Environment Programme estimates that 75 to 199 million tonnes of plastic is currently found i...

08/08/2023

Los Angeles is working toward a cleaner future, which means its airport has banned the sale of this wasteful but common item.