Researchers and scientists have laid out an argument in favor of recognizing the ocean as a living being with rights in a new report in the journal PLOS Biology.
Doing so would recognize the various benefits that humans reap from the ocean, scientists say, including being responsible for 50-80 percent of the Earth's oxygen production, regulating the climate, and providing opportunities for transportation and recreation.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Why is Tesla stumbling?In the Spotlight More competition, confusion about the future and a giant pay package for Elon Musk
-
How Taylor Swift changed copyright negotiations in musicunder the radar The success of Taylor's Version rerecordings has put new pressure on record labels
-
Job scams are increasingly common. Here's what to look out for.The Explainer You should never pay for an application or give out your personal info before being hired
-
Blind people will listen to next week's total eclipseSpeed Read While they can't see the event, they can hear it with a device that translates the sky's brightness into music
-
Melting polar ice is messing with global timekeepingSpeed Read Ice loss caused by climate change is slowing the Earth's rotation
-
The hot controversy surrounding solar geoengineeringunder the radar Solar geoengineering is feeling the burn
-
Citizen science says anyone can be a scientistThe explainer Yes, even you. The practice is being increasingly accepted by researchers as a way to gather data.
-
What is the Anthropocene — and more importantly, when?Under The Radar Just because a panel of scientists has rejected calls to classify a new global epoch does not mean it hasn't already begun
-
An amphibian that produces milk?speed read Caecilians, worm-like amphibians that live underground, produce a milk-like substance for their hatchlings
-
Jupiter's Europa has less oxygen than hopedspeed read Scientists say this makes it less likely that Jupiter's moon harbors life
-
The Atlantic Ocean may start shrinkingIn the spotlight The motion of the ocean could be closing
