Lots of ocean environmental issues in the news today.
The Star Advertiser reports that Japanese researchers discovered rare earth minerals in the Pacific Ocean, apparently beyond the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. Several interviewed, including my former colleague Robert Harris, have expressed some concerns about the environmental impacts of such action. This is an interesting discovery - stay tuned for my thoughts on the legal issues, like Law of the Sea, Global Commons, and the Precautionary Principle.
Separately, the Christian Science Monitor reports on the impact of the plastic-laden garbage patch in the North Pacific. To date, news reports are focused on the impact of the garbage patch on seabirds, as bird carcasses full of plastic are regularly found on the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. This was an interesting report on the impact of the plastics on the fish which are more commonly part of the food chain that can impact humans. The Scripps release is here.
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