Ocean Innovation Leaders Convene to Advance U.S. Coastal and Blue Economy Solutions
, a global nonprofit dedicated to fostering innovation for lasting social impact, convened fifteen bluetech startups from across the country and other ocean innovation leaders in Rhode Island to kick off the first stage of the VentureWell Ocean Enterprise Accelerator.Supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), VentureWell is championing these innovators as they develop and commercialize technologies that will bolster economic development and resiliency on America’s coasts. Together, VentureWell and NOAA are working to achieve the overarching goal of the Ocean Enterprise
First Deep-Sea Mining Company Asks Trump for International Permit
cause irreversible biodiversity loss.Any country can allow deep-sea mining in its own territorial waters, roughly up to 200 nautical miles from shore, and companies are already lining up to mine U.S. waters.Vancouver-based The Metals Co asked the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for a commercial recovery permit under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act of 1980 to operate in part of the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Mexico known as the Clarion-Clipperton Zone.The application was timed to coincide with a Tuesday hearing on deep-sea mining by
Global Coral Bleaching Crisis Spreading
the algae's help in delivering nutrients to the corals, the corals cannot survive.The world's fourth mass bleaching event, which scientists declared one year ago, has shown few signs of slowing down, according to the International Coral Reef Initiative and data from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration which track reef health. Instead, it has grown to be the most widespread on record, with 84% of reef areas - from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic to the Pacific - subjected to intense heat stress for a duration expected to cause bleaching as of March 2025.Last year was the hottest
White House Aims to Eliminate NOAA Climate Research
The administration of President Donald Trump aims to eliminate the arm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that oversees research on climate change and refocus the U.S. fisheries service to support energy development, according to a draft White House budget document seen by Reuters.The moves are part of a plan to downsize NOAA dramatically, slashing agency funding by around $1.67 billion, or 27%, according to the proposal.The Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, known also as NOAA Research, would be closed under the proposal, along with $480 million in funding for
NOAA Fires Previously Reinstated Probationary Workers
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has fired previously reinstated probationary workers after an appeals court on April 9 cleared the way for the Trump administration to fire thousands of employees, according to five sources familiar with the situation.The agency, which sits within the Department of Commerce, fired more than 800 employees on February 27, one of many federal agencies to fire probationary workers as President Donald Trump and billionaire ally Elon Musk seek to shrink the federal workforce.The employees were then reinstated on March 17 to administrative leave
Trump Moves to More Easily Fire NOAA, DOE Employees
The Trump administration has begun the process of reclassifying workers at some agencies to a new job category with fewer protections, according to two sources familiar with the situation and an email seen by Reuters.The moves, which the sources said are taking place at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Department of Energy, are the first evidence the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is following through on a plan announced in his first day in office to recategorize tens of thousands of government workers to facilitate layoffs and remove career civil servants
White House Could Bypass UN on Deep-Sea Mining
and other factors from the practice.Trump's deep-sea mining order is likely to stipulate that the U.S. aims to exercise its rights to extract critical minerals on the ocean's floor and let miners bypass the ISA and seek permitting through the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's mining code, according to the sources.Such a step could give mining companies a formal permitting process to complete and avoid the potential perception that they aim to mine the ocean's floors without any oversight.The plans are under discussion and could change before
NOAA Scientist Dismissals Spark Protests
More than 1,000 demonstrators gathered outside the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) building in Boulder, Colorado, on Monday, protesting sweeping layoffs imposed by the Trump administration. According to two current employees, the cuts affected more than 10% of the scientific workforce at the facility.The rally was spearheaded by former U.S. Congressman David Skaggs, a Democrat from Colorado, after whom the NOAA building in Boulder is named. Skaggs, initially expecting only around 100 participants, was surprised by the large turnout, with police estimating attendance at over 1,000.
OPINION: Save a Nickel, Kill a Thousand - The Pennies-Wise, Lives-Foolish Effort to Eliminate NOAA
you’re actually allowed access) to a private company to get those services. And this all assumes that someone is also willing to absorb the capital expenses associated with operating their own air force, navy, and space force. The way you do this is by defunding the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), or just simply invoking a reduction in force by removing personnel and incapacitating the agency.With the threat of eliminating NOAA, or even just splitting up its parts, or arbitrarily firing employees, and conducting what amounts to a fire sale, that is the outcome
February 2025
