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
EPA Announces Clean Ports Program

Today the Environmental Protection Agency announced a new program to prioritize the acceleration of zero emission ports and freight infrastructure.

Texas Environmental Agency Opens Pathway for Formosa Plastics Expansion

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality issued a draft permit to construct a reservoir on the property of Formosa Plastics.

Environmental Justice Groups Celebrate EPA’s Decision to Raise Soot Standard

The Environmental Protection Agency has finalized a long-awaited higher standard for soot pollution which, in addition to providing life-saving public health and economic benefits, will address environmental health inequity throughout America’s ports.

Impact Stories See All
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! 

Fighting for the Gulf in Court
Fighting for the Gulf in Court

Despite promising to be a climate leader, Biden approved 34% more oil and gas permits in his first year than Donald Trump did in his first year.

Protecting Salmon in Alaska’s Bristol Bay
Protecting Salmon in Alaska’s Bristol Bay

This victory wouldn’t have been possible without the tireless advocacy of Friends of the Earth and our allies in Bristol Bay and beyond.  

Latest Blog Posts See All
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  

Plastic pollution poses a major threat to the health of our oceans, waterways and communities. Unsurprisingly, the same fossil fuel companies driving our global climate crisis are also expanding harmful petrochemical production throughout the United States, turning their own toxic waste into products they can profit off of. These facilities…

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.

Resources See All
  • Oceans Ports and Environmental Justice Resource Sheet
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  • Cruising Vs Land Vacationing: An Analysis
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  • Finance Campaigning to Block Petrochemicals & Plastics and Create Safe Communities
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