July 24, 2008: Josh Donlan gives a talk on biodiversity offsets to The Alcoa Foundation and the Alcao Intalco Aluminum Plant in Bellingham, Washington.
July 22, 2008: Jennifer Jacquet gives the talk "A Way Forward in a Sea of Market Based Initiatives to Save Wild Fish" at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, CA.
July 19, 2008: Randy Olson's film Sizzle premieres on the West Coast at Outfest in Hollywood, CA.
July 9, 2008: Jennifer Jacquet gives the talk "Flawed Data, Reef Fisheries, And Food Security: A Close Inspection
Of Marine Fisheries Catches in Mozambique, Tanzania, Fiji, And
The Solomon Islands" at the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
A new article by Dr. Jeremy Jackson, Ecological extinction and evolution in a brave new ocean, was published early online last week by The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and further details the degradation in the oceans (see the press release for the paper and/or Jeremy Jackson's interview related to the paper, too). In a table in the paper, Jackson presents an entire scroll of shifting baselines--percent declines in biomass of different marine species many of us haven't noticed. Scotian shelf Atlantic cod has declined 96% since 1852. Live coral cover in the Caribbean has declined 80-93% in the Caribbean since 1977. And on and on in a litany of eulogies for the world's oceans.
I also really like Jackson's assignment/presentation of the status of marine ecosystems given principal symptoms and drivers of degradation:
A British trawler was caught on film dumping tons of cod and other white fish overboard. This wasteful practice of discarding 'bycatch' is the result of catching fish that are too small (according to regulations) or unmarketable. The film caused quite the uproar, though it should be noted that this absurdity occurs frequently in waters all around the world and is most common in shrimp fisheries. The Sea Around Us Project's Dirk Zeller and Daniel Pauly published a paper in 2005 on how discards are declining globally but that this decrease is not exactly a grand accomplishment given that total catches are also declining...
In this month's issue of High Country News, journalist Kim Todd writes about northern spotted and barred owls. A new arrival to the Pacific Northwest, barred owls appear to be outcompeting the spotted owl. Managers are in a conundrum and are considering lethal control of barred owls in order to halt a decline of spotted owls. Killing one native species to save another? With on-coming climate change, such complex ecological situations were certainly be more common. In the same issue, Todd writes about a similar situation with golden eagles on the California Channel Islands.
Many of you will recall my passion and compassion for the illustrious sea cow (and for those of you who haven't watched it, the exploding manatee heart is a must). A few weeks ago, after I attended the International Coral Reefs Symposium I went back to my old stomping ground (water?) of Crystal River, Florida, to visit these gentle giants. I have been traveling to Crystal River off and on for 10 years and, even over this brief time, I have witnessed a shifting baseline...
Crystal River is a beautiful area, particularly in the early morning when the fog clings to the water and air is filled with birdsong rather than the rumble of motorboats. The water, particularly around Three Sisters Spring, is crystal clear.
There are a number of resident manatees (who stay in Crystal River year round rather than making it only a stopping point during their winter migration). I managed to see a few of these manatees.
But I also did NOT see a few because, over the party-filled week of Independence Day, three manatees were killed by boats (and one was a mother with a dependent calf who had to be taken off to a facility for care, which meant Crystal River lost four manatees in less than two weeks). Several people I met were fighting to get idle boat speeds enforced not only during winter months (as is currently the case), but also during summer months. Their efforts have so far failed. It's my understanding (from many of the tour operators) that the mayor of Crystal River, Ronald Kitchen, is an incompetent leader who prioritizes the adrenaline-seeking desires of his boating constituency over tourism and manatees (the most basic of calculations would show the latter provides infinitely more to the economy and identity of the community). So for now, boats only have to slow down to idle speeds in the winter and summertime manatees must fend for their slow and lumbering selves.
The most obvious change I noticed, however, was that the bay is now infested with this invasive algae that smothers the native plants upon which manatees feed. It's apparently very difficult to eradicate. Great.
But this increasingly degraded home is still home to many manatees, who can't simply buy another property in some foreign country if they want to escape the crowd. They have lived in these waters since the Pleistocene and were largely undisturbed for most of human history (save the occasional Native American meal and hunt by explorers). Air condition changed the landscape of Florida and the canals where manatees roam. Development, boaters, water pollution, and invasive species threaten not only the survival but also the quality of life of these docile vegetarians.
Just recently, kayakers and boaters staged a 'sit-in' to raise awareness about summer manatees but more efforts are needed. If you have any desire to express concern (for whizzing propellers driven by drunken weekend warriors, algae infestations, and incompetent leadership) or affinity for Crystal River manatees, feel free to write to Mayor Ronald Kitchen at rkitchen[at]crystalriverfl.org.
"Part of being on the road means the ability to live a little more luxuriously than at home, and that means not having to turn off the lights and the TV." Now, that is a good ole American quote. But, I wonder how many Americans live "a little more luxuriously" at home all the time as well.
Here's another one that in my experience is quintessentially American: "People say they want to be green, but they don't want to compromise."
Those quotes come from a NYT article on American hotels going "green", which could also be summed up as American hotels catching up with the rest of the developed world. Some of the reporting is down-right comical.
A few hotels in the US are building master switches in the rooms to reduce power use, which are common throughout Europe, Asia, and elsewhere (you insert your key card into a slot just inside the door to turn on the electricity - when you remove your key to leave, the electricity shuts off as well). It's easy and cheap - and reduces power use. But, according to some market research, it might just be too much of a pain in the ass for Americans.
"Some," he recalled, "said they would suffer discomfort because they would get back to their room and it would be extremely hot." Others, he said, "indicated that entering a dark room could be a safety issue."
Those five minutes before the room cools down are a real bitch, especially if the boogie man is hiding under that dark bed.
Even more comical is the hotel industry's view on Americans and the European toilet (for those not familiar, it's a dual-flush toilet - to be blunt - one for #1 and one for #2). It uses 0.8 gallons and 1.6 gallons per flush as opposed to the standard 7 gallons per flush. Again, they tend to be the norm in many parts of the world, including Europe, New Zealand, and Australia. And for those that have not had the pleasure, trust me, the Europeans do not compromise on toilet performance - they work.
Could Americans embrace the two-flush European toilet? The hotel industry and Americans have their doubts. First off, it forces hotel guests to "think about how they use resources." Oh my god, should I hit the low or high flush button?
Luckily a few hotels have a bit more faith in Americans, and are installing European type toilets - saving a million gallons of water a month. And it looks like some Americans are able to cope with the two-flush choice after all...
Here is recent article about beavers in the UK newspaper - The Guardian. This is a classic example of how a lack of appreciation for ecological history leads to ignorance. The journalist tries to compare the ecological consequences of North American beaver that have been introduced to southern South America some 50 years ago with the reintroduction plans of European beaver to the UK - where they were present just a couple of hundred years ago! Beavers were an important ecosystem driver in Europe for millennia; we should be reintroducing them when and where we can. North American beaver are invasive to South America and are an ecological disaster. Take home message: history informs our conservation strategies.
Here we have it now, pretty much formalized. We spotted the pattern last November in our first test screenings of non-science friends in Hollywood vs. scientist friends. As the Sizzle Tuesday reviews popped up, Chad Orzel noted it among the Science Bloggers. Then Chris Mooney identified the pattern and editorialized on it. Now we can look at the reviews of the most authoritative voice in the science world, Nature, versus the most authoritative voice in the entertainment world, Variety. The divide is almost exactly the same. The former says the "comedy falls flat," the latter raves about the comedy and calls the movie "ingenious." This is not a fluke. If you're willing to look at both sides with an open mind, there are things to be learned here about the mass communication of science in today's world.
Will Stolzenburg is one of the better science journalists I have crossed paths with. His new book is bound to make big impacts. Where the wild things were came out last week and people are talking alot about it (including in my inbox). Will takes us around the world answering the "So what?" to the fact that we now live in a world without predators. Required reading for every citizen in my view. Below is a book summary, and visit the book's website for more information.
It wasn't so long ago that wolves and great cats, monstrous fish and flying raptors ruled the peak of nature's food pyramid. Not so anymore. All but exterminated, these predators of the not-too-distant past have been reduced to minor players of the modern era.
'So what?' asks wildlife journalist Will Stolzenburg, who follows in the wake of nature's topmost carnivores, and finds in their absence a world of chaos. As the great predators go missing, an emerging cadre of concerned scientists is uncovering trouble in the biosphere at large.
From obscure jungles of Venezuela to stormy North Pacific coasts, hallowed vistas of Yellowstone to the back yards of suburban America, Stolzenburg traverses aberrant empires of pest and plague, a new world order of murderous deer and rogue raccoons, pathological monkeys and exploding urchins. Here is a startling tour through dying forests and barren seascapes, through nightmarish landscapes starving for those missing masters of the hunt. For anyone who has seldom given thought to the meat-eating beasts so recently lacking from the web of life, here is a world of reason to think again.
If I like what I see, I'll receive 5 more issues (6 in all) for just $14.95. That's 50% off the cover price! If I'm not completely satisfied, I'll simply write "cancel" on the invoice and owe nothing. The free issue is mine to keep.
