--- title: Reports: Earth’s Oceans in Grave Danger description: New reports on the state of the oceans paint a grim picture canonical: https://time.com/3678078/troubled-waters-2/ author: Jeffrey Kluger article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-22T11:22:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T03:46:47.273Z article:section: Science og:title: Reports: Earth’s Oceans in Grave Danger og:description: New reports on the state of the oceans paint a grim picture og:url: https://time.com/3678078/troubled-waters-2/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7767fe3789a0aa82/69877b2f3c16391e5e4514f9/ocean-threat-whale-death.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Beached Whales og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Reports: Earth’s Oceans in Grave Danger twitter:description: New reports on the state of the oceans paint a grim picture twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7767fe3789a0aa82/69877b2f3c16391e5e4514f9/ocean-threat-whale-death.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Troubled Waters on Planet Earth > Sponsored content. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Jeffrey Kluger](https://time.com/author/jeffrey-kluger/)  ## Jeffrey Kluger Editor at Large Jan 22, 2015 11:22 AM UTC  Twenty-five pilot whales beached themselves on Kice Island off southwest Florida in 2014\. Sickness related to environmental problems can trigger beachings, which are on the rise Twenty-five pilot whales beached themselves on Kice Island off southwest Florida in 2014\. Sickness related to environmental problems can trigger beachings, which are on the rise Carolina Hidalgo—Naples Daily News/AP  by [Jeffrey Kluger](https://time.com/author/jeffrey-kluger/)  ## Jeffrey Kluger Editor at Large Jan 22, 2015 11:22 AM UTC Stand on a beach at sunset and you can almost convince yourself that all is well beneath the waves. But three new studies reveal just how sick the oceans are–and how big a role humans are playing. Start with climate change: according to a report from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2014 was the hottest year on record. Of the 10 warmest years since 1880, nine were in the 2000s, and the one that missed–1998–came close. When temperatures rise, polar ice melts. A second study, in the journal Nature, showed that the rate of sea-level rise has been 25% faster than previously thought. Even an inch of additional sea level represents 2 quadrillion gal. of water–enough to fill 3 billion Olympic-size swimming pools–that can threaten coastlines. Finally, a study in Science warned that worldwide, the oceans are facing “a major extinction event.” Coral reefs are dying, fish stocks are collapsing, seas are acidifying, and surviving species are migrating to cleaner, cooler waters wherever they can find them. The oceans were here for 3.8 billion years before humans arrived. 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