How To Protect The Ocean artwork

Nature · Andrew Lewin

How To Protect The Ocean

by Andrew Lewin

Dive into the Depths: Join Andrew Lewin on 'How to Protect the Ocean' – Your Gateway to Exclusive Ocean Insights! Explore the latest, uncharted realms of ocean science and conservation that you won't find anywhere else. Andrew takes you on an inspiring journey to uncover the hidden gems of oceanic discovery and initiatives. Tune in to discover how you can transform your life for a better ocean, one episode at a time. The How To Protect The Ocean is your resource to keep you informed on the latest ocean news; teach you how to speak up for the ocean; and, how you can take action to live for a better ocean. There is so much information on the ocean and the issues that are affecting it that it can be difficult to find optimism in the future of the ocean. Climate change, overfishing, plastic pollution, water pollution, and coastal development have altered the ocean in ways that have negatively changed the way we use it. The repercussions of climate change, including the ominous specter of rising sea levels, the relentless march of warming ocean temperatures, and the ominous shadow of ocean acidification, have not only altered the very fabric of our coastlines but have also conjured fiercer storms and summoned floods with growing frequency. The fossil fuel industry may whisper in your ear that the situation is insurmountable, an inescapable fate. However, this podcast is here to unveil a different narrative, one that empowers you to take action. It illuminates the path to change by casting your vote for leaders committed to implementing climate-rescuing policies and by offering invaluable insights into how each of us can shrink our individual carbon footprint. The grim reality of overfishing casts a long shadow, fueled by governmental shortcomings in the stewardship of both commercial and recreational fisheries. Within the delicate balance of our oceans, every fish population possesses a threshold - a point at which the relentless harvest of fishermen begins to erode their numbers. The management of these aquatic resources is a formidable task, as the elusive currents of the sea often defy easy tracking. Furthermore, the menace of illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing looms large in many nations, adding to the crisis. Yet, a glimmer of hope shines through the depths. A beacon for responsible consumption emerges in the form of seafood programs, guiding conscientious individuals toward choices that safeguard our oceans. By heeding these programs, you not only savor the delights of sustainable seafood but also become an informed guardian of marine ecosystems. The relentless scourge of plastic pollution has unleashed an epidemic of death upon the denizens of our oceans. It's a ruthless killer, claiming the lives of hundreds of thousands of marine mammals, majestic sharks, grandiose fish, gentle sea turtles, and the graceful sea birds that soar above. The malevolence of this crisis knows no bounds, with microplastics infiltrating even the remotest depths of the ocean and etching their presence along every coastline. To mount a defense against this ecological cataclysm, the clarion call for action echoes on the international and national stages. It beckons governments far and wide to adopt resolute policies, wielding the power to outlaw the menace of single-use plastics and demanding the meticulous detoxification of our supply chains. In this grand battle to safeguard our seas, the fight against plastic pollution knows no borders. The ominous specter of water pollution looms large, a consequence of our thoughtless disposal into the arteries of our planet – our streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans. This callous act reverberates, sending shockwaves through the intricate ecosystems of our coastal havens, where the likes of coral reefs, resilient mangroves, and swaying seagrasses thrive. But alas, this intrusion is not benign; it bears the capacity to corrode and dismantle these vital sanctuaries, the very lifebloo

Latest episodes

Showing 20 · updated from the feed

The Blob Hit California's Kelp. Protected Kelp Came Back Faster.

In 2014, just two years after California finished its statewide network of marine protected areas, a marine heatwave known as The Blob settled over the Pacific coast and

Sep 23
10 min

300 People, 50 Tribes, One Meeting: How California Built Its Marine Protected Areas

In 1999, California passed a law ordering the state to fix its patchwork of ocean parks. For two years, almost nothing happened, and two attempts to get the process movin

Sep 22
9 min

California Votes on 15 MPA Changes in October. Who Got a Say?

California has a network of 124 marine protected areas, and in October the state's Fish and Game Commission takes up 15 proposals that could change it. The proposals came

Sep 21
59 min

Millimeters That Matter: The Sea Level Rise Threshold Coastal Wetlands Can't Survive

Sea level rise. It's a phrase everyone's supposed to be afraid of, and almost nobody can picture. A couple of millimeters a year sounds too small to matter, until you fin

Sep 17
10 min

What the Coast Is Worth: How a Dollar Number Is Already Funding Its Protection

A boat's wake looks harmless right up until you watch it happen over and over. Every wake a boat throws off chips away at a shoreline that took centuries to build, and it

Sep 17
17 min

Red Tide, Decoded: Why It Isn't Random, and How to Track It

No smell. No warning. Just a beach full of people who start coughing at the same time, grab their towels, and leave. That's red tide, and it feels completely random until

Sep 15
13 min

Nature's Kidneys: How Coastal Wetlands Stop Ocean Pollution

Green water. A smell that won't go away. Sometimes, dead fish washing up on shore. That's what too much nitrogen does to a coastline, and it's easy to hear stories like t

Sep 15
19 min

Blue Nitrogen: The Nutrient Story Coastal Wetlands Have Been Hiding

Every time this podcast talks about coastal wetlands, the conversation goes straight to carbon. Marshes, mangroves, and seagrasses pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphe

Sep 14
1 h 02 min

Who Pays for Plastic? Inside the Law Quietly Shifting the Bill to Producers

For decades, the honest answer to "who pays to deal with plastic packaging once it leaves the shelf" was taxpayers, quietly, through municipal budgets that funded garbage

Sep 11
17 min

Inside Ocean Conservancy's Fight to Make Washing Machine Filters the Law

Ocean Conservancy's "Not Safe for Wash" campaign is built around a simple premise: the fix for washing machine microfiber pollution already exists, so the fight isn't abo

Sep 10
13 min

Your Washing Machine Sheds Up to 18 Million Microfibers a Load

Every wash cycle sheds plastic. Last Monday, Andrew talked with Dr. Anja Brandon of Ocean Conservancy about microfiber pollution, and one question from that conversation

Sep 9
13 min

Can Bacteria Actually Eat Plastic?

Bacteria that eat plastic sounds like the fix everyone's been waiting for, and Andrew gets sent videos about it constantly. So on this solo episode, following Monday's in

Sep 8
15 min

The 90 Percent Fix Hiding in Your Laundry Room

Every time you run a load of laundry, your washing machine sheds plastic. Not metaphorically: synthetic clothing made from polyester, nylon, and rayon releases microfiber

Sep 7
1 h 06 min

A New PBS Documentary Wants You to Care About Coral. Meet the Man Behind It.

A new documentary called Descent – Into the Blue starts airing on public television stations nationwide on September 1, 2026. It's narrated by Peter Coyote, directed by R

Sep 4
50 min

Show Me the Receipts: Why I.CARE Monitors Every Coral It Plants

Most coral restoration groups check on a sample of what they've planted, often around 20 to 30 percent, and report that sample as if it represents everything in the water

Sep 3
17 min

The Nursery Hack That Pays for Itself

Coral nurseries need constant maintenance, and that maintenance is expensive and relentless. When Andrew talked to Mike Goldberg, co-founder of I.CARE, his answer wasn't

Sep 2
15 min

He Almost Quit the Dive Business. Then a Coral Reef PhD Student Walked In.

Mike Goldberg had over 10,000 dives and decades running a dive shop in the Florida Keys, enough time to have seen the reefs at their pristine best. Then came a coral blea

Sep 1
14 min

84 Percent: Inside the Worst Coral Bleaching Event Ever Recorded

This year, most of the coral on the planet went through heat stress severe enough to bleach it. That's not a rounding error: 84 percent of the world's reef area, across t

Aug 31
35 min

Everyone in the Tent: How Ocean Treaties Actually Get Made

Holly Koehler has spent almost thirty years in rooms most people never think about: windowless UN offices in New York, the FAO in Rome, and what she calls "oftentimes ver

Aug 28
1 h 04 min

Inside the System That Makes a Seafood Label Trustworthy

Between a fishing vessel out on the water and a can of tuna in your grocery cart, there is a complex, little-understood system working to verify whether you should trust

Aug 27
13 min

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#45
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3
days in the top 50 since Nov 2024

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#177 ▼ 11 Nature US

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