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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Latest News See All
Exiting Petrochemicals: Groups Call On Financial Institutions to Stop Financing Major Driver of Climate Change

Plastics and the 16,000 chemicals used to make them contaminate food, water, air, blood, and even breastmilk.

Public Meeting Announced for Formosa Plastics Facility Expansion

Next month the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality will host a public meeting for a proposed off-channel reservoir at the Formosa Plastics petrochemical facility.

Court orders government to protect rare Gulf whales, sea turtles, and imperiled marine species from damaging effects of offshore drilling

The court’s ruling affirms that the government cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the widespread, persistent harms that offshore oil and gas development inflicts on wildlife.

Impact Stories See All
Stopping a Geoengineering Project in Cape Cod
Stopping a Geoengineering Project in Cape Cod

Sodium hydroxide is a dangerous, caustic chemical that causes chemical burns on contact with skin, and would be dumped into waters frequented by at least eight endangered species.

Fighting for Gulf Species
Fighting for Gulf Species

The court’s decision is a huge victory for groups’ ongoing efforts to protect the Gulf’s vulnerable species, especially the Rice’s whale.

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! 

Latest Blog Posts See All
The Verdict on the Arctic’s Heavy Fuel Oil Ban: Good, but Not Nearly Enough
The Verdict on the Arctic’s Heavy Fuel Oil Ban: Good, but Not Nearly Enough

While the HFO ban is welcome, much more needs to be done to honor and safeguard the Arctic.

How Plastics Are Produced 
How Plastics Are Produced 

How are plastics produced? Petrochemicals are the building blocks of plastics, as well as synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. 

60,000 activists tell JPMorgan Chase: Denounce, divest and defund Formosa Plastics’ toxic and racist petrochemical complex  
60,000 activists tell JPMorgan Chase: Denounce, divest and defund Formosa Plastics’ toxic and racist petrochemical complex  

Even though JPMorgan Chase has made pledges to “responsibly invest” & support racial equity, it is the largest US financier of the plastics industry.

Resources See All
  • Exiting Petrochemicals: A Policy Guide for Financial Institutions
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  • Oceans Ports and Environmental Justice Resource Sheet
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  • Cruising Vs Land Vacationing: An Analysis
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