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An Ocean and Climate Agenda for the New Administration
Article Homes sit next to the Gulf of Mexico in Grand Isle, the only inhabited barrier Island in Louisiana, which is threatened by a combination of sea level rise and sinking land due to climate change, August 2019. (Getty/Drew Angerer)

An Ocean and Climate Agenda for the New Administration

The Biden administration can take 20 actions in its first 100 days to leverage the power of the ocean in the fight against climate change.

Jean Flemma, Miriam Goldstein, Anne Merwin

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Dreaming of a Protected Ocean In the News

Dreaming of a Protected Ocean

In the spring 2024 issue of the Smithsonian's American Indian magazine, Angelo Villagomez draws on personal memories growing up on Saipan to describe how his culture, heritage, and family continue to inform his approach to conservation advocacy today.

American Indian magazine

Angelo Villagomez

The Biden Administration Can Deliver on Ocean Conservation Promises Made by the Bush and Obama Administrations Article

The Biden Administration Can Deliver on Ocean Conservation Promises Made by the Bush and Obama Administrations

Publishing final management plans for three marine monuments that have languished in bureaucratic limbo for as many as 15 years would deliver effective management for nearly half the protected waters in the United States.

Angelo Villagomez, Beth Pike, Laurie Peterka, 1 More Jen Felt

A Day in the Life of a Conservation Advocate Video

A Day in the Life of a Conservation Advocate

Follow Tina Sablan, former representative of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, as she goes to Washington, D.C., to advocate for a management plan for the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument—and for the inclusion of the Indigenous people of the Mariana Islands in the conservation of their lands and water.

‘Under the Pala Pala’: Special Edition Episode Video

‘Under the Pala Pala’: Special Edition Episode

In this special edition episode, six national marine sanctuary advocates came together for a storytelling event hosted by the Center for American Progress and the National Ocean Protection Coalition at the fifth International Marine Protected Area Congress in Vancouver, Canada, to talk Indigenous-led conservation.

Proposed National Marine Sanctuaries Provide a Pathway Toward Indigenous-Led Ocean Conservation Report
Three large turtles rest above the waterline on a white-sand beach.

Proposed National Marine Sanctuaries Provide a Pathway Toward Indigenous-Led Ocean Conservation

The United States can move closer to its dual goals of increasing access to nature for all Americans and protecting 30 percent of lands and waters by 2030 by approving and completing the designation of five new Indigenous-led marine sanctuaries.

Anuka Upadhye, Zainab Mirza, Angelo Villagomez

‘Under the Pala Pala’: Episode 4 Video

‘Under the Pala Pala’: Episode 4

In episode 4 of “Under The Pala Pala,” Angelo Villagomez from the Center for American Progress talks about what it’s like for Natives to work for green nongovernmental organizations in Washington, D.C., with Michaela Pavlat from the National Parks Conservation Association and Javan Santos from The Climate Initiative.

U.S. Pacific Territories and the America the Beautiful Initiative Can Deliver Ocean Climate Solutions Article
A shallow coral head appears in front of Fatu Rock.

U.S. Pacific Territories and the America the Beautiful Initiative Can Deliver Ocean Climate Solutions

The U.S. Pacific territories are vast—combined, their ocean areas are nearly twice the size of Alaska—and they are home to some of the world's largest marine protected areas. This region will be critical for achieving the Biden administration’s goals to combat climate change, protect 30 percent of lands and waters by 2030, and ensure access to nature for all Americans.

Angelo Villagomez, Anuka Upadhye, Zainab Mirza

More work needed on MPAs In the News

More work needed on MPAs

Steven Johnson and Angelo Villagomez discuss their recent study which assesses the quantity and quality of marine protected areas in the Mariana Islands.

Pacific Daily News

Steven Mana‘oakamai Johnson, Angelo Villagomez

Assessing the quantity and quality of marine protected areas in the Mariana Islands In the News

Assessing the quantity and quality of marine protected areas in the Mariana Islands

Angelo Villagomez assesses the quality of conservation efforts in the Mariana Islands, finding the importance of quality, quantity, and scale when determining effective conservation, especially in overlapping and contested jurisdictional authority areas.

Frontiers in Marine Science

Steven Mana‘oakamai Johnson, Angelo Villagomez

Ocean justice can help empower communities of color on the frontlines of the climate crisis In the News

Ocean justice can help empower communities of color on the frontlines of the climate crisis

The Ocean Justice Forum—a collective of 18 environmental justice, Indigenous, community, and national nonprofits—is offering an ambitious vision for strengthening ocean climate policy, addressing injustices, and building more resilient communities.

TheGrio

Colette Pichon Battle, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš, 2 More Miriam Goldstein, Jean Flemma

Offshore Wind Can Lower Energy Prices and Beat Out Oil and Gas Report
Photo shows offshore wind turbines.

Offshore Wind Can Lower Energy Prices and Beat Out Oil and Gas

Offshore wind lease sales are a significantly better use of ocean acreage than oil and gas—for energy consumers, taxpayers, and the climate.

Michael Freeman

Fixing Abandoned Offshore Oil Wells Can Create Jobs and Protect the Ocean Article
Photo shows a bird's-eye view of a ship carrying cleanup equipment at the edge of an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Fixing Abandoned Offshore Oil Wells Can Create Jobs and Protect the Ocean

Abandoned and orphaned offshore oil and gas wells are costing taxpayers billions and the Biden administration can take immediate actions to address this ecological and financial crisis.

Zainab Mirza, Say Sanchez, Miriam Goldstein

Implementing Ocean Climate Solutions and Marine Protected Areas Require U.S. Leadership at the Our Ocean Conference Article
A wave crashes during a heavy swell in the Pacific.

Implementing Ocean Climate Solutions and Marine Protected Areas Require U.S. Leadership at the Our Ocean Conference

The seventh Our Ocean conference takes place this week in Palau, and the United States can lead global commitments on protecting nature that have stalled since the onset of the pandemic.

Angelo Villagomez, Miriam Goldstein, Anne Christianson

To Protect 30 Percent of the Ocean, the United States Must Invest in the National Marine Sanctuaries Program Report
View of the ocean during the day from a rocky shoreline. A small motor boat is seen in the upper left.

To Protect 30 Percent of the Ocean, the United States Must Invest in the National Marine Sanctuaries Program

For the 50th anniversary of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, the United States must ensure that sanctuaries are able to fulfill their mandate of protecting the ocean and Great Lakes and preserving their cultural history.

Zainab Mirza, Alexandra Carter, Amy Kenney, 1 More Miriam Goldstein

To Harness the Power of the Ocean To Fight Climate Change, the Biden Administration Needs a Plan Article
A mangrove forest is pictured underwater in Mayotte Marine Natural Park, part of the Comoros archipelago in the Indian Ocean, November 2017. (Getty/Alexis Rosenfeld)

To Harness the Power of the Ocean To Fight Climate Change, the Biden Administration Needs a Plan

Ocean carbon dioxide removal solutions may contribute to policies and strategies that achieve the goal of negative emissions by midcentury, but implementation at scale must be balanced with concerns about unintended environmental impacts, environmental justice, a social license to operate, and governance issues.

Kelly Kryc, Kat So

Americans Support Investing in Our Coasts—Congress Should Too Article
A bulldozer is used to push dirt into place in an attempt to widen the beach area and protect the village airstrip from coastal erosion due to the waves of the Chukchi Sea in Kivalina, Alaska, September 2019. (Getty/Joe Raedle)

Americans Support Investing in Our Coasts—Congress Should Too

Congress should invest $10 billion in coastal restoration to create jobs, protect coastal communities, and rebuild fish and wildlife populations.

Jackie Quinones, Alexandra Carter, Miriam Goldstein

How Infrastructure Reform Can Prioritize Ocean Climate Action Report
 (A woman rides on a tour boat as a container ship is offloaded at the Port of Los Angeles in Terminal Island, California, March 2020.)

How Infrastructure Reform Can Prioritize Ocean Climate Action

As the Biden administration and Congress pursue ambitious infrastructure investments, they should look to the ocean to build a clean energy future.

Rennie Meyers, Alexandra Carter, Miriam Goldstein

An Ocean and Climate Agenda for the New Administration Article
Homes sit next to the Gulf of Mexico in Grand Isle, the only inhabited barrier Island in Louisiana, which is threatened by a combination of sea level rise and sinking land due to climate change, August 2019. (Getty/Drew Angerer)

An Ocean and Climate Agenda for the New Administration

The Biden administration can take 20 actions in its first 100 days to leverage the power of the ocean in the fight against climate change.

Jean Flemma, Miriam Goldstein, Anne Merwin

How To Reform and Strengthen Fishery Habitat Protection Report
A fisherman stands on the bow of his boat while fishing in Taylor Pond in Auburn, Maine, on May 14, 2015. (Getty/Gabe Souza)

How To Reform and Strengthen Fishery Habitat Protection

This CAP report analyzes the use of fishing-restrictive area designations and provides recommendations on how the United States can improve them.

Alexandra Carter, Margaret Cooney, Sung Chung, 2 More Carlos Rivero Lopez, Miriam Goldstein

New Trump Executive Order Sells Off the Ocean and Fails Coastal Communities Article
Nearly 600 pounds of shrimp are pictured on a shrimp trawler off the coast of Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, August 2019. (Getty/Drew Angerer)

New Trump Executive Order Sells Off the Ocean and Fails Coastal Communities

Instead of helping fishermen and coastal communities survive the coronavirus crisis, the Trump administration is using the pandemic as an excuse to weaken fisheries management and begin industrial fish farming.

Miriam Goldstein, Alexandra Carter

Trump’s Offshore Drilling Plan Would Be an Environmental Disaster Article
A brown pelican coated in heavy oil wallows in the surf at Grand Terre Island, Louisiana, following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of April 2010. (Getty/Win McNamee)

Trump’s Offshore Drilling Plan Would Be an Environmental Disaster

The Trump administration’s offshore drilling plan would be disastrous for the environment, leading to seven times more carbon pollution than the entire United States emits each year and causing nearly 100 large oil spills over the next 30 years.

Margaret Cooney, Mary Ellen Kustin

How Much Nature Should America Keep? Report
A Pacific Tree Frog occupies a leaf along the bank of Las Virgenes Creek in the Santa Monica Mountains.

How Much Nature Should America Keep?

A good answer to this question starts with a commitment to protecting 30 percent of U.S. lands and oceans by 2030.

Matt Lee-Ashley, the CAP Public Lands Team, the CAP Oceans Team

Midwestern Floods Are Worsening the Gulf’s Toxic Algae Problem Article
Floodwater from the Mississippi River rises around a home in West Alton, Missouri, June 2019. (Getty/Scott Olson)

Midwestern Floods Are Worsening the Gulf’s Toxic Algae Problem

Devastating flooding in the Midwest is damaging both rural and coastal communities—but Congress can help by enacting forward-thinking environmental and land management policies.

Alexandra Carter, Ryan Richards, Miriam Goldstein

How Marine Protected Areas Help Fisheries and Ocean Ecosystems Report
 (Bright yellow butteflyfish swim in the water near Hawaii.)

How Marine Protected Areas Help Fisheries and Ocean Ecosystems

With U.S. fisheries reeling from climate change and other threats, marine protected areas—especially highly and fully protected MPAs—are powerful tools to rebuild, protect, and sustain fisheries and ocean ecosystems.

Margaret Cooney, Miriam Goldstein, Emma Shapiro

American Aquaculture Report
Oyster farmers harvest at lowering tide.

American Aquaculture

As the United States considers whether or not to expand offshore aquaculture, policymakers should balance economic opportunity with environmental protection.

Alexandra Carter, Miriam Goldstein

Integrating Ocean and Climate Diplomacy Report

Integrating Ocean and Climate Diplomacy

Countries and subnational governments should bring ocean issues in from the periphery of the climate conversation.

Gwynne Taraska

Making Waves Article
The sun rises over the Gulf of Mexico off the Texas coast. (Getty/Mabry Campbell)

Making Waves

Americans who depend on the ocean and treasure its beauty and abundance are counting on Congress to hold the Trump administration accountable for its harmful anti-ocean agenda, as well as to chart a more sustainable and prosperous course forward.

Alexandra Carter, Miriam Goldstein

Measuring Conservation Progress in North America Report

Measuring Conservation Progress in North America

As the United States undertakes an unprecedented elimination of protected areas, Canada and Mexico are emerging as North America’s leaders in the conservation of lands and oceans.

Ryan Richards

The Trump Administration’s New Attack on Marine Monuments Article
A paramuriceid seafan (octocoral) lives near the edge of a cliff wall in Oceanographer Canyon. (NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program/2013 Northeast U.S. Canyons Expedition)

The Trump Administration’s New Attack on Marine Monuments

President Trump’s trade wars are costing America’s fishermen lost markets and lost revenues, and to distract the public from this damage, his administration is shamelessly attacking America’s only marine national monument in the Atlantic Ocean.

Alexandra Carter, Miriam Goldstein

Warming Seas, Falling Fortunes Report
KENNEBUNKPORT, ME - JUNE 9: Paul Korenkiewicz walks across a rock bar while fishing for stripers off the coast of Kennebunkport on Friday, June 9, 2017. (Staff Photo by Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)

Warming Seas, Falling Fortunes

Policymakers should heed the stories of fishermen who experience the effects carbon pollution has on their industry, as well as the science behind them.

Avery Siciliano, Alexandra Carter, Shiva Polefka, 1 More Michael Conathan

Elevating Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Report
A supercell storm cloud forms on the east coast of Queensland, Australia. (Getty/petesphotography)

Elevating Ocean-Based Climate Solutions

To advance the climate effort internationally, U.S. states and cities can champion the largely overlooked role of ocean ecosystems.

Gwynne Taraska, Margaret Cooney

The Top 3 Reasons Why Congress Shouldn’t Legalize Overfishing Article
People are seen fishing in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. (Getty/John Coletti)

The Top 3 Reasons Why Congress Shouldn’t Legalize Overfishing

H.R. 200 would erode the policies that have restored dozens of U.S. fisheries and made them the best-managed in the world.

Alexandra Carter, Shiva Polefka

Blue Future Report
A Chinese container ship passes under the Golden Gate Bridge before sunrise in San Francisco, June 2015. (Getty/George Rose)

Blue Future

The Center for American Progress’ U.S.-China Ocean Dialogue identifies collaborative pathways for sustainable and prosperous marine resource management.

Melanie Hart, Michael Conathan, Blaine Johnson, 1 More Shiva Polefka

The Fire Sale of America’s Oceans Article
Commercial fishing boats drag booms through an oil slick that passed inside the protective barrier formed by Louisiana’s Chandeleur Islands, during cleanup operations for the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, May 7, 2010. (Getty/AFP/Mark Ralston)

The Fire Sale of America’s Oceans

To benefit oil drillers, the Department of the Interior is ignoring its legal mandate for sound fiscal and environmental stewardship of the public trust.

Shiva Polefka, Matt Lee-Ashley

The Rise of the Recreational Fishing Lobby Report
An angler casts from a pier as the sun sets on St. Simons Island, Georgia. (Getty/Bob Pool)

The Rise of the Recreational Fishing Lobby

The recreational fishing industry is angling to take the helm on matters of fisheries legislation while Congress considers a significant reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

Alexandra Carter, Michael Conathan

Trump’s Interior Department Is Ill-Prepared to Deal with the Next Big Spill Article
An American flag lies in a slick of oil that washed ashore from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on July 4, 2010, in Gulf Shores, Alabama. (Getty/Joe Raedle)

Trump’s Interior Department Is Ill-Prepared to Deal with the Next Big Spill

The Trump administration’s plan for offshore drilling could put oil rigs along every coastline in America—at the same time as its policies make the next Deepwater Horizon oil spill more of an inevitability.

Mary Ellen Kustin

New Offshore Drilling Legislation Is Big Oil’s Dream Come True Article
A brown pelican sits on the beach at East Grand Terre Island, Louisiana, after being drenched in oil from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, June 2010. (AP/Charlie Riedel)

New Offshore Drilling Legislation Is Big Oil’s Dream Come True

Proposed legislation in the House Natural Resources Committee would open virtually all of America’s maritime territory to offshore drilling and roll back safety standards to the pre-Deepwater Horizon era.

Michael Conathan, Shiva Polefka

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Tackling Climate Change and Environmental Injustice

Tackling Climate Change and Environmental Injustice

We pursue climate action that meets the crisis’s urgency, creates good-quality jobs, benefits disadvantaged communities, and restores U.S. credibility on the global stage.

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