11 Awesome Actions on Acidification in June

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Everywhere we turned this month, we saw action on ocean acidification! The issue got lots of attention internationally at the United Nations and as part of World Oceans Day, nationally in the halls of Congress and across the nation by U.S. city mayors. Here’s a roundup.

The United Nations Oceans Conference hosted a partnership dialogue on minimizing and addressing ocean acidification. Participants introduced a number of voluntary commitments designed to enhance scientific partnership, knowledge exchange and national efforts around ocean acidification, in support of U.N. Sustainable Development Goal 14.3.

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The International Alliance to Combat Ocean Acidification (OA Alliance) hosted an official side event at the U.N. Oceans Conference to discuss how U.N. nations can take action as part of the Alliance, by investing in research and monitoring, educating the public and reducing carbon emissions causing acidification.

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Tuvalu became an official member of the International OA Alliance. Here, Prime Minister Enele Sosene Sopoaga of Tuvalu speaks at the full Oceans Conference.

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John Laird, California’s Secretary for Natural Resources, introduced the International OA Alliance during the formal proceedings at the Oceans Conference. He shared his thoughts on the importance of acting in an op-ed.
Ocean Conservancy offered a voluntary commitment at the UN SDG meeting to fight ocean acidification.
OA-Africa members sampled around the African continent on World Oceans Day, June 8. They used social media to share results and build solidarity among their growing scientist network.

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U.S. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D ME-1), with 5 other bipartisan cosponsors, reintroduced their bill, the Coastal Communities Act of 2017 (H.R. 2719). This bill requires federal officials to assess and address the impacts of ocean acidification on coastal communities via business and population changes.
U.S. Congressman Derek Kilmer (D WA-6) and Congresswoman Jaime Hererra-Beutler (R WA-3) reintroduced their bill, the Ocean Acidification Innovation Act of 2017 (H.R. 2882). This bill encourages federal agencies to use prize competitions to incentivize development of new technology to help manage, monitor and research ocean acidification and its impacts.
Ocean Conservancy released its new short film, “Deeply Invested: Coral Reefs and the Future of Florida,” by award-winning filmmakers Benjamin Drummond and Sara Joy Steele. The film shows the ties between a healthy ocean, healthy coral reefs and Florida’s coastal communities and how ocean acidification could disrupt those relationships.

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U.S. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R FL-27) penned a blog post and offered remarks at a screening of “Deeply Invested” on the need to act on climate change and ocean acidification to safeguard ocean-dependent communities and ocean ecosystems. Here she poses with Dr. Kim Yates, U.S. Geological Survey Research Oceanographer, one of the scientists featured in the film.

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The U.S. Conference of Mayors passed a resolution focused on the importance of cities in acting on ocean acidification. New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell introduced the resolution, complementing other conference resolutions on climate impacts on cities and use of renewable energy.