On October 1st 2020, the U.S. Senate passed, unanimously, the Save Our Seas (SOS) 2.0 Act. This bipartisan legislation was introduced by Senators, Sheldon Whitehouse (D – Rhode Island), Dan Sullivan (R – Alaska), and Bob Menendez (D – New Jersey) in an effort to address the growing issue of plastic debris that threatens the health of our oceans and waterways. SOS 2.0 is a more forceful and extensive version of the first Save of Seas Act, which was signed into law in October 2018. With more than 8 million metric tons of plastic globally entering our oceans every year, SOS 2.0 aims to set targets and implement the steps necessary for extensive plastic waste reductions, enabling the U.S. significantly to reduce plastic pollution in our waterways and the world’s oceans.
The Save Our Seas 2.0 Act has three key components:
Bolstering the United States’ domestic marine debris response capability with a Marine Debris Foundation, a genius prize for innovation and funding for research to tackle the issue. Although all separate additions, the hope is that by adding systematic focus and funding on marine debris response it will encourage innovations in plastic waste management in our waterways.
Expanding and strengthening the United States’ global engagement in combating marine debris. This includes formalizing U.S. policy on international cooperation, increasing federal agency international outreach, and exploring possible international agreements.
Increase in studies of and new grants for waste management and mitigation as a way to improve domestic infrastructure in marine debris prevention
NAMEPA Launches Virtual Learning Series: Planet and Ocean Discovery Series (PODS)
The year 2020 was an unprecedented year for education in North America. Within a few weeks our entire region- and most of the world-- at the hands of administrators and educators, swiftly transitioned roughly 56.4 million students within the U.S alone, from in class to virtual learning. Whether elementary school, middle school, high school, or college – the conversion to remote teaching and digital resources has created the need to think outside the box (or classroom) to keep students engaged and learning. As part of NAMEPA’s commitment to provide marine education we developed learning PODS, Planet and Ocean Discovery Series. The free series was created for the educator, the student, the life-long learner and everyone passionate about the marine environment. . . READ
Your tax-deductible donation will help us promote sustainable marine industry best practices, preserve the marine environment, and educate the public to Save Our Seas.
