Good morning. The middle of the week is upon us.
It’s easy to forget, as we go about our largely landlocked day-to-day lives, that more than 70 percent of the earth’s surface is covered by water – ocean water, to be exact.
And the ocean also contains a vast majority, about 97 percent, of ALL the water on the planet. Of the small percentage left over, about 2 percent is frozen in glaciers and polar ice caps. Less than one percent – ONE PERCENT – of the water on the planet is fresh (ie: not salinated).
Think about that for a minute. It’s really mind boggling.
If you’re not sufficiently boggled, try this on for size:
U.S. Geological Survey says that there are over 332,519,000 cubic miles (the volume of a cube measuring one mile per side) of water on the planet. Of that, NOAA’s National Geophysical Data Center estimates some 321,003,271 cubic miles is in the ocean.
That amount would fill 352,670,000,000,000,000,000 gallon-sized milk containers.
Yeah. That’s a LOT of water.
Also, the ocean produces at least 50 percent of the planet’s oxygen, it is home to most of earth’s biodiversity, serves and the main source of protein for more than 1 billion people, and is predicted to employ an estimated 40 million people in related industries by 2030.
We really should be thinking about oceans and their importance every day, but for those of us who aren’t lucky enough to live near the shore, it’s sort of an out of sight, out of mind kind of thing. (Personally, for recreational purposes, I prefer lakes because I’m not a big fan of sand, but I get the appeal, conceptually speaking).
Anyway, today is World Ocean Day, which is held to bring attention to the fact that we are not treating the ocean with the reverence a resource as significant as it is deserves. Not even close.
We are taking far more from the ocean than can be replenished – perhaps ever – with 90% of big fish populations depleted, and 50% of coral reefs destroyed. We are also polluting the heck out of it, which is bad for everything that lives in the ocean, and also everything that is sustained by it – including humans.
Maybe you’re thinking: OK, the ocean is SO BIG, and I am just one person. Nothing I can do will possibly be of any significant impact when it comes to the enormous task of cleaning it up.
Au contraire. There are some simple steps you can take – from using less water to practicing safe boating to choosing sustainable products – that all add up to make a difference.
Sadly, we are headed into a stretch of not-so-beachy weather. Today will be cloudy with temperatures flirting with 80 degrees, and then it’s more or less downhill from there. But that’s for another day.
In the headlines…
President Biden met with Connecticut’s Chris Murphy, a Democratic senator leading negotiations on gun control legislation, as Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he would allow more time for both parties to come to an agreement.
“We’re entering a pretty critical stage so I thought it would be important to just come over and fill him in on where our discussions are,” Murphy said, adding: “We thought it was mutually beneficial to have a conversation.”
Matthew McConaughey came to the White House to make an impassioned plea for new gun restrictions after the school massacre in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas.
After meeting with Biden, McConaughey echoed the president’s call for expanded background checks on gun buyers, new “red flag” laws and additional restrictions on the purchase of AR-15 rifles like the one used to kill 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde.
The son of the oldest shooting victim in the massacre in a Buffalo supermarket testified on domestic terrorism before the Senate Judiciary Committee, saying: “You expect us to continue to just forgive and forget over and over again. And what are you doing?”
Biden will appear as an in-studio guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! tonight.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that the U.S. is likely facing a prolonged period of elevated inflation, while the World Bank sharply lowered global growth forecasts and flagged a risk of recession in many countries.
The World Bank warned that the grinding war in Ukraine, supply chain chokeholds, Covid-related lockdowns in China, and dizzying rises in energy and food prices are exacting a growing toll on economies all along the income ladder.
Vaccine experts advising the Food and Drug Administration endorsed Novavax Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine, voting overwhelmingly that the shot’s benefits outweighed its risks.
The panel approved the Novavax vaccine for two initial doses. Novavax said it’s working on securing approval for a booster dose.
If the full FDA gives the vaccine the green light, it will become the fourth Covid-19 vaccine authorized in the United States.
The MTA and other state agencies will no longer require its employees who are not vaccinated for COVID-19 to test weekly for the virus, officials said.
Faculty and staff at the City University of New York are suing the school over its COVID-19 vaccine mandate — claiming the policy isn’t fair because it doesn’t apply to all employees.
Beanie Feldstein is the latest celebrity to test positive for COVID-19. The 28-year-old actress revealed her diagnosis on Instagram, explaining that she would not be able to perform in Broadway’s Funny Girl revival.
An abrupt change in C.D.C. guidance underscores a little-known phenomenon: On occasion, monkeypox can be transmitted through aerosols, similar to the coronavirus.
Gov. Kathy Hochul was placed on the defensive for much of the first debate of the three Democratic candidates for governor.
Both her opponents – NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Long Island Rep. Tom Suozzi – brought up Hochul’s “A” rating from the NRA a decade ago when she was in Congress.
The new governor was able to stave off most of the attacks, and seemed confident amid her more than 30-point lead in the polls and $18.5 million war chest.
Mayor Eric Adams and Hochul both need to do a better job, a majority of New Yorkers said in a new Spectrum News NY1/Siena poll.
More than three-quarters of New Yorkers say they personally worry about becoming a victim of violent crime, and they’re taking those fears out on the mayor and the governor.
Adams is struggling with voters almost half a year into his administration, with just 29% of respondents approving of his job performance.
Manhattan-bound New Yorkers would be less willing to drive and much more likely to take mass transit when the MTA launches its congestion pricing program, the poll also found.
Last week, amid a flurry of end-of-session negotiations, Hochul said the state reached tentative terms on a new contract with the Civil Service Employees Association but offered few details on the agreement. It will cost the state $350 million.
Hochul is airing two campaign ads that highlight her push for an amendment to the state Constitution to protect a person’s right to an abortion. The blitz is taking place despite the scheduled legislative session concluding last week without accomplishing that goal.
Hochul signed a bill that paves the way for underutilized hotels in the city to be converted into apartments, giving a boost to Mayor Eric Adams who has characterized the legislation as a critical tool for tackling New York’s housing crisis.
Crypto interests are lobbying Hochul to veto a groundbreaking bill that would temporarily halt new crypto-mining projects at fossil-fuel burning plants.
Newly-named Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado is facing scrutiny about a super PAC funded by cryptocurrency interests who have up to $1 million at hand to help him win a full term in office this year.
Hochul announced the confirmation of new administration nominees by the state Senate.
About 75% of New Yorkers are concerned they will fall victim to violent crime, according to the new Siean poll, a sky-high figure showing a city left on edge by wild shootings, random robberies and subway carnage five months into the Adams administration.
Adams responded to claims that Evolv, a company that makes gun detection devices, got special treatment from the city over its competitors — and he encouraged the competition to get in touch with him.
With a possible recall of San Francisco’s progressive district attorney looming, Adams declined to give specifics when asked about the possibility of enacting a similar move in New York.
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg also claimed he wasn’t following the high-profile recall election against San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, whose progressive prosecution policies are similar to those Bragg announced shortly after taking office in January.
In votes that could echo as Democrats rethink their approach to crime, Boudin was removed as San Francisco’s district attorney and Rick Caruso, a billionaire developer, entered a runoff against Representative Karen Bass in Los Angeles.
Voters strongly endorsed ousting the reform-minded D.A. as partial returns showed about 60% of voters supporting the recall.
A group of Big Apple officials is demanding that a Manhattan venue cancel an appearance by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — just weeks after another venue controversially declined to host him.
The Sanitation Department announced that it’s opening up its civil service exam to new applicants through most of June — the first time it’s put out the test in seven years.
New York City principals and advocates fear that school budget cuts to the tune of $215 million will make it impossible to afford smaller class sizes next year — just as a bill in Albany has made that reform a priority.
Although it’s been decades since segregation was declared unconstitutional, New York is still ranked one of the worst states in the country for racial equality in education.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is backing state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi’s decision to primary Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney.
A Manhattan judge declared a mistrial in the case against a Steve Bannon associate accused of siphoning donations from the “We Build the Wall” charity — after a deadlocked jury said it couldn’t overcome ideological differences.
“Dear Evan Hansen” and “Tina,” two Broadway musicals that had been selling strongly before the coronavirus pandemic but never recovered following the lengthy theater closure, both announced that they would close late this summer.
Hundreds of cockroaches were brought into Albany City Court yesterday in plastic containers and released during an altercation involving rent protesters, according to court officials.
Central Warehouse owner Evan Blum filed a $1.5 million federal lawsuit against the county last week, claiming his due process rights were violated.
The U.S. Supreme Court may decide by the end of the month whether or not to review a request by Albany Nanotech founder Alain Kaloyeros to overturn his 2018 conviction on wire fraud charges.
As invasive species continue to threaten New York’s waterways a new state law, starting today, requires operators of motorized watercraft to certify that their vessels are free from invasives before entering the water within or near the Adirondack Park.
Actress Hilary Swank, who is in Albany shooting a movie, found a local woman’s lost dog.
A group of real estate professionals formerly housed under the New York Capital Region Apartment Association have switched gears to become established as the Apartment Professionals Trade Society of New York.
Marty Steadman of Garden City, a widely respected spokesman to former Gov. Mario Cuomo, who excelled in the confrontational world of New York journalism and politics with a quiet demeanor, died on May 31. He was 91.
More than a dozen products using Jif peanut butter have been recalled in recent weeks because of a salmonella outbreak.
