Join us and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Debris Program for a bi-annual California Ocean Litter Strategy webinar.
The webinar will include updates and developments from federal and California agencies on research and policy related to plastic and marine debris. View the agenda.
Webinar Details
This webinar will be hosted on Zoom.
Tuesday, June 13, 2023 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. PT … read more
The April 24 Ocean Protection Council (OPC) meeting moved several efforts forward into next steps and introduced new efforts toward protecting California’s coast and ocean in 2023.
Action items on the agenda supporting OPC’s Strategic Plan goals were all passed unanimously by the Council. Funding was approved in amounts up to:
… read more
The California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) and California Sea Grant are seeking applications for two separate research calls to advance microplastics understanding and management in California, consistent with the priorities outlined in the California Ocean Litter Strategy and Statewide Microplastics Strategy. Proposals should address either:
Research Call 1: Improved understanding of aquatic microplastic contamination sources and ecological sensitivity, or
Research Call 2: Microplastic removal efficacy of low impact development (LID): Structural best management practices.
… read more
The January 24 Ocean Protection Council (OPC) meeting finalized significant efforts from 2022 and set the framework for continued progress toward protecting California’s coast and ocean in 2023.
OPC staff presented the Annual Coast and Ocean Report highlighting both preliminary indicators for ocean health and a retrospective of OPC accomplishments towards achieving 2020-2025 Strategic Plan goals in 2022. Action items on the agenda supporting OPC’s 2023 efforts towards meeting Strategic Plan goals were all passed unanimously by the Council, including:
… read more
Join the California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Debris Program for a bi-annual California Ocean Litter Strategy webinar.
The webinar will include updates and developments from federal and California agencies on research and policy related to plastic and marine debris.
Webinar Details
This webinar will be hosted on Zoom.
Thursday, November 17, 2022 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. PST
Register Online … read more
By Mark Gold, D.Env.
By now, everyone in the nation, if not globally has heard about California’s groundbreaking new circular economy and plastic pollution reduction law: SB 54. Senator Ben Allen, an OPC council member, authored the bill and received tremendous support from the Newsom administration, leadership in the legislature, the environmental community, manufacturers, and waste managers: an extraordinary and unprecedented coalition. Governor Newsom, always ready to seize the day, put California into the global environmental limelight with a stroke of a pen on the same day as the Supreme Court condemned millions of people to devastating public health threats through a court ruling that prevents the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from taking broad greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction action on power plants. California’s move to an extended producer responsibility and circular economy approach to plastic pollution reduction builds on the state’s marine debris leadership through plastic bag bans, the ocean litter prevention strategy (PDF) developed by OPC and NOAA, and the world’s first comprehensive microplastics strategy (PDF).
… read more
By Mark Gold, D.Env.
Sunday night, the Oceano Azul Foundation hosted the 2022 United Nations (UN) Ocean Conference kickoff at the Lisbon Oceanarium. The president of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, delivered a powerful speech making it clear that war and refugee crises can’t be used as an excuse for inaction on climate and ocean conservation. President Rebelo de Sousa also praised the environmental non–governmental organization (NGO) community for their tireless pursuit of ocean conservation, children for their bold and clear voices on climate and the oceans, and Portugal for their Marine Protected Area program. To have the leader of the host nation kick off the week in such a bold and candid manner should set the tone for the week.
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Building on California’s global leadership on biodiversity and climate, and following the partnership established with New Zealand last month, Governor Gavin Newsom and Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau announced a new partnership on June 9 to advance bold action on climate change and biodiversity conservation. California and Canada signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) focused on fighting climate change, reducing pollution, cutting back on plastic waste, advancing zero-emission vehicles, protecting species and habitats, and building climate resilience.
Credit: Sandra Fogg
At the California Science Center in Los Angeles during the Summit of the Americas, Governor Newsom and Prime Minister Trudeau, along with their respective delegations, held a bilateral meeting to discuss California and Canada’s shared values, which are reflected in the MOC. These include enhancing partnerships with Indigenous Peoples, accelerating biodiversity conservation efforts, and conserving 30% of lands and waters by 2030.
The partnership also advances the goals and objectives of the California Ocean Litter Strategy and Statewide Microplastics Strategy to prevent plastic pollution by partnering on a range of complementary voluntary and regulatory actions spanning the plastics lifecycle in order to address the threats of plastic waste and pollution, including microplastics, on the health of the environment and ecosystems, including wildlife, rivers, lakes and ocean.
A joint statement on the new California-Canada climate action and nature protection partnership can be found here.
Registration is open for the California Ocean Litter Strategy Implementation Workshop! This virtual workshop will take place Tuesday, June 21st from 10:00 AM – 2:30 PM and Wednesday, June 22nd from 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM (Pacific Time).
Join federal and state agency partners, practitioners, and stakeholders to share information on projects and research that advance the California Ocean Litter Strategy and Statewide Microplastics Strategy to prevent and reduce ocean litter in California.
Register by Wed. June 15, 2022
View the participant agenda for more information
Today, after a week of debate, the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2) in Nairobi unanimously approved a resolution to end plastic pollution, setting the stage to create a legally binding treaty by 2024 to prevent and reduce global plastic pollution.
Microplastics image courtesy NOAA
Plastic production has risen exponentially in the last decades with 11 million metric tons estimated to end up in the world’s ocean each year.
The landmark agreement commits to addressing the full lifecycle of plastics and calls for enhanced international collaboration to advance solutions and circular economy approaches – to reduce the impact of plastic pollution from its source to the sea.
The resolution aligns with the Statewide Microplastic Strategy adopted by the Ocean Protection Council on February 23, 2022, recognizing: … read more
