Global: A look into the ocean’s future

A new report by an international coalition of marine scientists makes for grim reading. It concludes that the oceans are approaching irreversible, potentially catastrophic change, reports the New York Times. The experts, convened by the International Program on the State of the Ocean and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, found that marine 'degradation is now happening at a faster rate than predicted'. The oceans have warmed and become more acidic as they absorbed human-generated carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. They are also more oxygen-deprived, because of agricultural runoff and other anthropogenic causes. This deadly trio of conditions was present in previous mass extinctions, according to the report.