The scientists' report, published this week in the journal Nature, gave the oceans an overall score of 60 on a scale of 0 to 100. Among the world's 133 countries with ocean coastlines, scores ranged from 36 to 86; the United States scored slightly above average at 63.
The ocean health index measures 10 ways that people benefit from the oceans, including food, jobs, ability to sequester carbon from the atmosphere and pure aesthetic value. It also gives credit for clean waters and biodiversity, among other things.
The index score assigned to a particular ocean region reflects the degree of sustainability for each of these factors.
A fire in California’s Big Sur region doubled in size overnight, forcing the evacuation of nearby...
Afast-growing wildfire forced over 42,000 people to evacuate near Reno, Nevada, over the weekend, while more...
At least 359 people have died, and nearly 1,000 others are reported missing after a flash...
Today's floods come after a week of storms in the region.Japan, China and the Philippines were...
