Oceans at Risk on NPR

This four-part series by reporter Richard Harris looks at the threats facing the world's oceans, and about activities to preserve these vital resources.

Oceans at Risk: Zoning the Sea
Monday, Aug. 10 on All Things Considered
City planners often think long and hard about how to create workable neighborhoods, business districts and industrialized areas. Now, the concept of zoning is starting to be applied to our increasingly busy ocean waters, both at the local and federal level.

Oceans at Risk: Dominoes on the Reef
Tuesday, Aug. 11 on Morning Edition
Coral reefs around the world could all go extinct within our childrens' lifetimes due to human activity. Overfishing on the reef is one threat, and it has a domino effect resulting in less coral and more algae in these imperiled ecosystems.

Oceans at Risk: Coral in Trouble
Tuesday, Aug. 11 on All Things Considered

Rising water temperature and increasing acidity pose enormous threats to the wondrous but vulnerable ecosystem of coral reefs. Both are the consequence of carbon dioxide emissions and global warming. NPR's Richard Harris traveled to the island of Bonaire in the Caribbean with scientists who are trying to figure out how healthy reefs can remain resilient despite multiple environmental stresses.

Oceans at Risk: Corrosive Carbon
Wednesday, Aug. 12 on All Things Considered
Carbon dioxide isn't just accumulating in the atmosphere as we burn fossil fuels, it's also going into the oceans and increasing the acidity of the sea. NPR's Richard Harris visited scientists at a research lab in Monterey Bay who are trying to figure out how sea creatures there will cope with the rising acidity of ocean waters.

Photo Credit: Steve Barrett