Oceans Under Threat • Protect Our Oceans

Oceans

The world’s oceans support countless forms of life. Unfortunately, oceans and the tens of millions of people who live near them are under threat from oil spills, air pollution, sewage releases, industrial ocean fish farming, and unnatural ocean noise. Friends of the Earth has won regional, national and international limits on air, water and oil pollution from cruise ships, cargo ships, oil tankers, ferries and recreational water craft. We were instrumental in achieving the establishment of air pollution limits for ships near the coasts of the U.S. and Canada, which prohibit the use of dirty bunker fuel — unless alternative compliance methods are employed, such as shorepower or other pollution reduction technologies.
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Impact Stories See All
Tackling Air Pollution in Coastal Communities
Tackling Air Pollution in Coastal Communities

Friends of the Earth’s oceans team is focused on safeguarding public health and our oceans by calling for shore power — a technology that connects docked ocean vessels to the electric grid, allowing ships to turn off their diesel engines when not at sea.

Protecting the Arctic from Drilling 
Protecting the Arctic from Drilling 

When Donald Trump approved an offshore drilling project off the coast of Alaska in 2018, Friends of the Earth jumped into action. Represented by Earthjustice, we brought a lawsuit in federal court with four other environmental organizations to challenge the project’s approval. And, two years later, we won.  

Stopping Pebble Mine and Saving Alaska’s Wild Salmon
Stopping Pebble Mine and Saving Alaska’s Wild Salmon

A years-long battle over a proposed mine in Alaska ended when a coalition that included Friends of the Earth successfully pushed the US Army Corps of Engineers to deny Pebble Mine a permit to operate in Bristol Bay,  killing the project! 

Saving California’s Coastline
Saving California’s Coastline

Hundreds of Friends of the Earth members called their state legislators, urging them to support these important bills, and we went to Sacramento to march and voice our strong opposition to Zinke’s plan.

Cutting Off an Industrial Mine’s Financing
Cutting Off an Industrial Mine’s Financing

Pebble Mine is a clear environmental disaster—yet its parent company found a financier for the project in First Quantum Minerals. To stop this project, Friends of the Earth has worked  to hit them where it hurts: their financial backing.

Keeping Puget Sound Clean
Keeping Puget Sound Clean

Five years of environmental activism will clean the state’s waterways, protect public health, and boost local economy. This is a major win for both Washington and our planet.

Banning Industrial Ocean Fish Farming in Washington state
Banning Industrial Ocean Fish Farming in Washington state

In early March 2018, Washington’s state legislature passed House Bill 2957—a bill that bans all future industrial net pen operations by 2022. This bill should send a message to the aquaculture industry that its time is up.

Latest News See All
Friends of the Earth Applauds Monument Designations for Avi Kwa Ame and Castner Range

WASHINGTON – Today, the Biden administration officially designated Avi Kwa Ame and Castner Range as national monuments. This victory is the result of years-long advocacy campaigns led by Tribes, frontline and conservation groups working with the Honor Avi Kwa Ame and Castner Range…

Groups object in court to Alaska magistrate’s rule allowing oil and gas companies to harass Southern Beaufort Sea polar bears

National and Alaska environmental groups filed an objection in U.S. District Court today over a magistrate’s findings and recommendation that would let stand a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rule allowing oil and gas companies to harass Southern Beaufort Sea polar bears.

Lawsuit Seeks to Protect U.S. Waters From Ship Pollution, Invasive Species

WASHINGTON — The Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Earth sued the Environmental Protection Agency today for failing to finalize nationwide standards that would protect U.S. waterways from harmful vessel discharges. Today’s lawsuit notes that discharges of vessel ballast water originating thousands of miles away can carry invasive…

Latest Blog Posts See All
Ports Need to Take Advantage of Inflation and Infrastructure Funding
Ports Need to Take Advantage of Inflation and Infrastructure Funding

Ports serve as crucial nodes in the global trade network. Transportation is the leading source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. Although medium- and heavy-duty trucks used at ports and along freight corridors account for about only Read More

The Climate & Agriculture provisions of the IRA
The Climate & Agriculture provisions of the IRA

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is many things at once. The good and the bad all need to be considered together.

Reasons You Shouldn’t Take a Cruise
Reasons You Shouldn’t Take a Cruise

Explore the top eight reasons you shouldn’t take a cruise. Pollution, crime, environmental effects, and viruses all included.

Resources See All
  • Denounce – Divest – Defund Formosa Plastics’ “Sunshine Project”
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  • 2022 Cruise Ship Report Card
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  • Port Infrastructure Development Program Fact Sheet
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