When it comes to addressing climate change, the Earth's oceans need to have a larger role in our efforts to combat the crisis, according to Phillippe and Ashlan Cousteau, co-authors of Oceans for Dummies, and the sea is in fact "central" to the discussion.
"When you think about our planet, 71 percent is ocean, so right there we have a lot of space to cover. And really, our ocean has done us a huge service by actually absorbing about a third of the carbon emissions that we have put into our atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels," Ashlan Cousteau said.
She explained that while the ocean acts as one of our first lines of defense, it has become overwhelmed, the waters have become acidic, and as a result, crucial resources at the bottom of the food chain have been significantly impacted.
The couple also agreed that one of the biggest misconceptions about the ocean is that it's "too big to fail" but in reality, it is already failing. One of the biggest indicators that the oceans are in dire need of restoration is the fact that they are warming.
"In some cases, we talk about climate 'weirding' or certainly climate change, it's because of the function of the ocean and how it moves heat around the planet. As it's warming, that is being impeded and thus our entire planet is changing with disastrous consequences," noted Phillippe, the grandson of legendary undersea explorer Jacques Cousteau.
Furthermore, not only are humans distorting the physical makeup of the ocean, we are also depleting food resources through excessive fishing, said the duo.
The couple heads up the nonprofit organization EarthEcho International where the mission is to empower global youth populations and educate them so they can set out to "restore and protect the ocean and planet."
"Fundamentally, what it's about is recognizing the next generation is optimistic and determined, and we can't build an effective global environmental movement and grow that movement without targeting education and youth empowerment," Phillippe said.
As President Joe Biden hosts world leaders in a virtual climate summit to establish goals to keep warming at bay, the Cousteaus are hoping the role oceans play in the fight against climate change gets prioritized.
"I think that a lot of times the ocean has been left out of our planet conversation, out of our save the planet, and out of the climate crisis," Ashlan said. "So, we really do hope that people are coming around, and we think that they are. Literally, there is a wave of people that see the ocean now as one of our best ways to save us."
As Russia continues to invade Ukraine, its tech outsourcing sector is at risk. Over the past few years, the country has become a popular outsourcing destination for American and European tech companies, but now the future of that industry is uncertain. Isabelle Bousquette, enterprise technology reporter, for The Wall Street Journal, discusses what repercussions the crisis might have on the industry, and what companies are doing to mitigate possible disruptions.
In a nearly 3,700 page UN report, climate scientists outline the imminent dangers caused by climate change, saying fossil fuels are 'choking humanity.' The report calls some of the impacts of global warming 'irreversible,' warning of extreme consequences in the near future. Kristie L. Ebi, Professor of Global Health and Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed an application for Ukraine's membership in the European Union, pleading with the bloc to accept this request. It comes as Russian forces push further into Ukraine, forcing at least half a million refugees to flee. Benjamin Schmitt, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Harvard University and Senior Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, breaks down the latest in Ukraine.
A growing wave of major U.S. companies have taken steps to cut ties with Russia or offer support to Ukraine, as tensions escalate in the region. Exxon, Apple and Boeing are just the latest companies to make the move, following the likes of Google, Meta and BP who have all announced plans to exit the region in response to the conflict. Courtney Vinopal, Breaking News Reporter, Quartz joined Cheddar's Opening Bell for more.
A hospital basement in Ukraine’s coastal city of Mariupol has transformed into a bomb shelter and maternity ward amid shelling during Russia’s invasion.
World leaders are currently dealing with a handful of pressing issues, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine, inflation, and not to mention the COVID-19 pandemic; but it could be argued that the most pressing issue is one that has experienced its fair share of neglect in the past -- climate change. As tensions escalate between Russia and Ukraine, there is fear the focus on climate will once again be pushed aside. However, the White House appears to be making some effort to prevent that from happening. The White House Office of Science and Technology held a first-of-its-kind roundtable discussion with some of the nation's leading climate scientists on Thursday. Michael Mann, Director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University, and author of the book 'The New Climate War' joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss his experience as one of the climate scientists at the White House event.
Scott Clemons, Partner and Chief Investment Strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he discusses the factors leading to the sell-off on Wall Street today and explains why uncertainty is worse than bad news for the investors.
U.S. stocks rebounded to end higher on Thursday after President Biden announced new sanctions against Russia following the country's attack on Ukraine. The Dow was down 859 points at its lowest point of the session, before ultimately finishing the day in the green. Melissa Armo, founder and owner of the Stock Swoosh, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
People of African and Middle Eastern descent fleeing from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are facing the double trauma of racism at the borders. Professor of law and migration studies at the University of San Francisco, Bill Hing, joined Cheddar News Wrap to discuss what some are describing as a double standard for other refugees escaping the war. "Those that are from the Middle East and from Africa who just happen to be in Ukraine, for example on a student visa, they are not going to be able to get into Poland or another area of the Schengen area because they are not natural Ukrainian," he said.
