Story Spark: Oceans

The document outlines the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of ocean warming and acidification, while offering strategic advice for journalists to move beyond reactive coverage toward sustained, justice-oriented reporting on marine ecosystems.

• The oceans have absorbed nearly 90% of the excess heat from greenhouse gas emissions, leading to record-breaking global water temperatures and marine heatwaves that fuel stronger hurricanes, accelerate sea-level rise, and disrupt ocean circulations.
• Climate change threatens marine biodiversity and food security, with projections that 99% of the world's coral reefs could die if global temperatures rise more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial averages, impacting the 3.3 billion people who rely on fish for their diets.
• Ocean acidification is occurring as seawater absorbs atmospheric CO2, and the document suggests that journalists should investigate the risks and feasibility of potential carbon storing and removal solutions offered by the ocean.
• Journalists are encouraged to shift from reactive reporting to sustained coverage that includes socioeconomic impacts, social justice issues—such as the rights of Indigenous communities and labor abuses—and collaborations with local partners to avoid "parachute" journalism.

APA

Aldred, J. (2025). Story Spark: Oceans. Covering Climate Now. https://coveringclimatenow.org/from-us-story/covering-oceans/

Chicago

Aldred, Jessica. Story Spark: Oceans. Covering Climate Now, 2025. https://coveringclimatenow.org/from-us-story/covering-oceans/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Aldred |first1=Jessica |title=Story Spark: Oceans |publisher=Covering Climate Now |date=21 January 2025 |url=https://coveringclimatenow.org/from-us-story/covering-oceans/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{aldred2025story, author = {Aldred, Jessica}, title = {{Story Spark: Oceans}}, institution = {Covering Climate Now}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://coveringclimatenow.org/from-us-story/covering-oceans/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }