The Ripple: January Issue

A note from our founder on 2025

Welcome to 2025, a new year of broadening the ocean conservation movement through our work across storytelling, community-building, and policy. As I write this, it feels disingenuous to say we are ready for what is ahead.

We are facing a closing window of opportunity for ocean climate action, and, at the same, have entered a federal administration in the United States committed to setting us backwards. Funding is uncertain, and job opportunities are likely to be scarce. At the time of writing this we have left the Paris Agreement, face a library of Executive Orders that reopen vulnerable areas to drilling and diminish equity and justice programs, and are likely to experience a significant halt to federal funding for climate solutions from the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

However, this does not change our mission. The path forward will require adaptation, leadership, inclusion, and rewriting the tools we use for change. As we move forward, I want to center the perspective that two things can be true at once.

We will face funding setbacks, yet our work has still never been more important.

We will lose federal focus, yet community-driven local solutions are the most resilient.

We have lost political leadership, but a groundswell of community leaders remains committed to the vision.

Our national strategy has shifted to defense, but our local and international strategy is steadfast.

To put it simply: things have become more challenging, but our movementʻs momentum is unstoppable.

Our mission remains unchanged. Thank you for being here with us.

For planet ocean,

📣 Ocean News!

From science to conservation to policy, here is the latest news for our ocean.

• 🌊 Papahānaumokuākea is designated as the 18th National Marine Sanctuary, making it the largest marine protected area in the northern hemisphere.

• 🌟 Republic of the Marshall Islands designates its first national marine sanctuary, protecting two atolls and 48,000 square kilometers of ocean.

• 🌳 The Constitutional Court of Ecuador rules that coastal marine ecosystems have legal rights, and must be protected.

• 🧪 New research illustrates the biodiversity of seamounts in the Pacific for the first time at this spatial scale, underscoring their importance.

• 🌊 Portugal takes a stand against deep sea mining

🗣️Impact Campaigns!

FutureSwell supports collective and high-impact advocacy campaigns for a healthier ocean. Here are the recent ones we have joined that we recommend.

• 🚀 Futureswell activated to drive public comment against SpaceXʻs proposal that would generate rocket debris in the Pacific, reaching over 44,000 people. Thank you to those that shared, amplified, and submitted public comment.

• 🤝 Futureswell joined the National Ocean Protection Coalition to support the creation, strengthening, and defense of marine protected areas in the United States. Stay tuned for campaigns to activate on.

🎥Long-form Media Round Up!

Take a deep dive into our long-form ocean media, from our podcast to YouTube.

• PODCAST: How to be effective in ocean conservation under the new administration ft. Mark Haver - Listen as we discuss the ins and outs of ocean policy and what the next four years means for our movement.. 🦈

• YOUTUBE: Sounds of Nature - Relax into your blue mind with the natural sounds of the California coasts. 🎵

• YOUTUBE: How Planting Corals in Bali Works - Join FutureSwell on a trip to plant corals in Nusa Penida, Indonesia. 🪸

  Subscribe + Support
  

🌎FutureSwell Around the World!

As a media and impact consultancy, we regularly partner with conferences, summits, and host community events to advance solutions through storytelling.

The Hope Summit Community Festival

🐙 Community stories from the 2024 Hope Summit are still being published on our Instagram, with perspectives shared by leaders working on restoring oyster beds, protecting creeks from development, and intergenerational ecotourism!

Whatʻs next: Local Events in Hawaiʻi

🌊 We are organizing locally for the next few months and will be amplifying Oʻahu-based events on our channels when sign-ups are ready! Look out for updates on:

• Earth Month beach clean up!

• Pilina Kanaloa: Annual Ocean Day at the Capitol!

Deep Dive!

Can Firefights Use Ocean Water to Fight Fires? 🔥🚒

As we think about our California neighbors with the worsening climate crisis, we know communities are considering new solutions.There are many reasons distributing salt water across fire torn areas could be just as damaging long term, as tragic fire damages continue to unfold in Los Angeles. One major reason is the salt water aggressively corrodes vital firefighting gear needed to continue emergency efforts. Fire departments additionally do not resort to sea water immediately because of its damaging ecological effects on ravaged areas that typically only receive freshwater deposits. Departments strategically utilize ocean water as a vital resource in coastal fires, but there are other tools for modern emergency responses. Read more

SpaceX and Elon Musk Wants To Crash Starships into Endangered Species Habitats 🌊🐋

Elon Musk via SpaceX is seeking to expand the landing distribution area of his company’s rocket debris around Hawai’i, posing problems to endangered wildlife and ocean stakeholder access. SpaceX has slowly grown the area it is allowed to crash its rocket debris, now asking for increased space and frequency opportunities annually. The proposed request has not garnered federal support for an environmental assessment although the intended area of expansion overlaps with critical habitat space for humpback whales, sea birds, fishing grounds, and other areas of maritime significance. As of January, 2025 there have been no Starships landed in the Pacific. Read more

JOBS

INTERNSHIPS + FELLOWSHIPS