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The ocean's value has been estimated as high as $24 trillion, yet despite its inherent connections to the health and well-being of wildlife, humans, and the global economy, it continues to be overexploited and polluted. Plastic pollution and shark killing are two major problems that could be - at least in part - alleviated by new materials: a seaweed-based biodegradable plastic packaging, and a sugarcane-based alternative to a widely used moisturizer normally derived from shark liver oil.

Hotels are making dramatic progress in sustainability as they realize its compatibility with luxury and cost savings, global consultant Ashlan Cousteau says. Trends range from organic cocktails to in-room monitoring of water and electricity use.

The latest in water contaminates in this trend is a group of chemicals known as Perfluorinated Alkyl Substances, or PFASs (also known as Perfluoro Compounds or PFCs). Originally developed to help repel stains and improve the effectiveness of firefighting chemicals, these substances have leached into groundwater near factories, military bases and other sites where they have been used heavily. Several Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) solutions are available for treatment of PFCs in groundwater. One of the most cost-effective of these options for PFAS removal comes from coconuts: AquaCarb CX enhanced coconut shell GAC. It combines the benefits of an activated carbon with the high micropore structure of coconut shell, with faster kinetics comparable to bituminous coal.

Gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans - our great ape cousins teeter on the precipice of extinction. And it's not much of a secret that we humans have had a lot to do with putting them there. But what about the other primates? The news isn't much better, it turns out. According to a new study, 60 percent of primates - including drills and gibbons, lemurs and tarsiers, bush babies and spider monkeys - face the threat of extinction. Even those not in immediate danger of dying out are at risk, as the numbers of three-quarters of all primate species are trending downward.

In our Forest Trends Ecosystem Marketplace report, Supply Change: Tracking Corporate Commitments to Deforestation-free Supply Chains, 2016, we have tracked 579 individual commitments from 366 companies - up from 307 commitments from 243 companies in March of last year - and it shows that, of those 366 companies, most still haven't reported progress on their pledges.

Each of the first six months of 2016 set a record as the warmest respective month globally in the modern temperature record, which dates to 1880, according to scientists at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York. The six-month period from January to June was also the planet's warmest half-year on record, with an average temperature 1.3 degrees Celsius (2.4 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the late nineteenth century.

Offshore wind is slowly taking off in the US, according to this analysis. Observers say that this trend can be seen in Massachusetts' proposed offshore wind bill, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's plan to hold an offshore wind auction for a tract of space off the coast of New York and Maryland's continued work on the Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act. Some say these advances and several others could help the nation's fledging offshore wind industry reach critical mass.

Global oil demand will continue to grow into the 2040s even as electrical vehicle fleets expand and the low-carbon energy transition gains traction around the world, BP revealed in its annual Energy Outlook, an industry benchmark report forecasting long-term trends and informs the company's internal strategy. The predictions come as other oil companies such as Royal Dutch Shell prepare for demand to peak by the early 2030s and countries make the shift to cleaner forms of energy.

Companies that switch to green buildings save 14% in operational costs over five years, according to the World Green Building Trends 2016 SmartMarket report. The report found that companies that either build green offices or renovate to be more sustainable add 7% in asset value to the company.

"Just 14% of plastic packaging is collected for recycling globally, one third ends up in the natural environment and if current trends continue, by 2050 our oceans could contain more plastics than fish, by weight," says Rob Opsomer, lead of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's new plastics economy initiative. "We need to fundamentally rethink the way we produce, use and recover plastics, redesign plastic packaging and adopt common standards."

The State of Green Business, 2017 Here are the 10 trends defining sustainable business, with data for a deep dive about how corporations are taking action on energy, emissions and more.

for the first time, emerging countries are throwing out even more electronics than we are in the U.S. Actually, the trend started in 2012.

Pacific Northwest shellfish producers are the first harbingers of a trend that may have wide ranging implications for the broader fishing industry: ocean acidification. By proactively seeking out adaptation solutions early on, the Northwest shellfish industry is attempting a self-rescue that may provide important lessons as other commercial species begin feeling the impacts of increasing acidification.

There's a new twist on crowdfunding solar projects. SolarCity and Mosaic are engaging businesses and consumers

Europe is on track to reduce its carbon emissions by 44% by 2050 -- well below the 80% to 95% reduction that experts say is needed to avert catastrophic climate change. That shows the need for long-term planning and more ambitious targets, campaigners say. "This trend shows the nonsense of pursuing only a business-as-usual scenario and underlines the need for coherent long-term policy development," says Adrian Joyce of EuroACE

Some fashion companies are embracing ethical shopping trends, using greener chemicals and more sustainable production methods. Marketing eco-fashion can be tricky, though: Executives say it's important to avoid finger-wagging and to make sure fashion comes first. "It is primarily about fashion. Being 'green' is in the background," says Olaf Schmidt, organizer of the Ethical Fashion Show in Berlin

Fashion marketing is predicated on the assumption that clothes fall out of fashion from season to season and that consumers must keep buying to stay hip, writes Ceri Heathcote. Sustainable brands should make a stand and encourage consumers to dress for their personal style rather than for marketer-created fashion trends, Heathcote argues.

Over the last 50 years, human diets around the world have grown ever more similar and the trend shows no signs of slowing, with major consequences for human nutrition and global food security, according to research carried out at International Center for Tropical Agriculture.

In its new position paper, Halting Deforestation and Achieving Sustainability, the Rainforest Alliance addresses the recent surge in deforestation-free pledges. The paper argues the deforestation-free trend is an exciting development, but it needs definition, focus, and accountability to deliver lasting benefits for forests, people and the planet.

Industry recycling of aluminum beverage containers in the US continued its decade-long upward trend in 2012 with a rate of 67 percent, according to data released by the Aluminum Association, Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) and Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI).