jjacquet

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Jennifer Jacquet

I am an American post-doc based at the University of British Columbia, where I also completed my Ph.D.

Posts by this author

January 25, 2010
To make a real difference, we're going to have to change patterns of consumption at levels higher than just households. This vertical agitation can take lots of different forms, but I want to highlight some of the great work being done academically and on the ground. Last year, an article in the…
January 23, 2010
Almost as soon as you commit yourself to caring about the planet (or anything else), you commit yourself to a lifetime of disappointment (but also infinite room for improvement). As proof, I present news I received in just the last 24 hours specifically related to my work. I am not even talking…
January 15, 2010
Bluewashing. It's everywhere. In his article Beware of 'bluewash': Which fish should you buy? Nic Fleming covered our research on confusing seafood eco-labels in this week's NewScientist. In addition to the dangers of seeming eco-friendly, consumers are also up against an industry very set on…
January 15, 2010
According to some recent news sources, Somali piracy seems to have scared away foreign fishing vessels and have led to increased fish catches off northern Kenya. Some scientists working in the region disagree with the piracy hypothesis, though, saying the increased catches have more to do with…
January 9, 2010
I rolled in the New Year like most people -- in a gummy movie theatre watching Avatar. Caveat: go no further if you're worried about spoiling the plot (for a film that, like it or not, stands mostly on its technological innovations). I don't want to seem like some Cameronophile. I found Avatar…
January 8, 2010
Randy Olson, a scientist turned filmmaker (his film Flock of Dodos premiered at Tribeca and recently made the Smithsonian blog's list of ten great science films from the 2000s), opened up a new online journal this week where he explores the worlds of science and cinema called The Benshi. The…
January 3, 2010
Need a New Year's resolution? Consider signing this seafood boycott. It's that time of year where we welcome changes and commitment to ideals. New gym memberships. Re-committing to flossing every day. Giving up seafood... My New Year's resolution was to finally write this blogpost compile a list…
January 2, 2010
National Geographic has a series out about animals In the Womb and here is just one of the images: a representation of an eight-week dolphin fetus inside its mother's womb.
January 2, 2010
As part of an ideas series for 2010 at The Tyee, I wrote a piece on vertical agitation -- the idea that to make a real difference, you need to go straight to the top. Here are the first two paragraphs: People who buy green products can apparently more easily justify subsequent greed, lying and…
December 19, 2009
After the post on Threatened Trees, a friend passed along this photo of Endangered Species Research journals, which come wrapped in heavy plastic (they are printed on acid-free paper, however).
December 19, 2009
A new study suggests collective guilt can inspire action, but only if people feel reasonably hopeful that things can get better. The study, based on questionnaires to ~150 undergraduate students, also found that guilt was a more effective emotion in encouraging mitigation behavior than anxiety.…
December 15, 2009
Will Big Business Save the Earth? This was the title of the New York Times Op-Ed last week by Jared Diamond (UCLA professor and author of Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse). I thought we could go through his piece -- piece by piece. 1) He begins: There is a widespread view, particularly among…
December 10, 2009
Today President Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." Obama might, in fact, be cooperating too much with the status quo left by his predecessors. Earlier this year, some of Obama's most devoted…
December 9, 2009
While in the first world, we're working to conserve water with tools like the water drop, the developing world is still figuring out how to access clean water to begin with. SEED magazine has a new piece out about a pair of scientists working on the "water refill" industry, which utilizes low-cost…
December 7, 2009
Many of us are aware we have an impact on the planet but, as we know, there is a push to become aware with greater precision. One tool for this is the waterdrop, a shower meter marketed in Britain. Here is the blurb about it at the Ethical Superstore: Statistics suggest that showering accounts…
November 30, 2009
For the eco-irony of the day, check out this book on threatened trees, which is thicker than a phone book:
November 26, 2009
My mother uses Lancome for skin and make-up. I use Lancome. I sense Lancome knows that brand inheritance helps build brand loyalty. They also make very nice products, which helps. But Lancome is about to lose me as a customer. I decided to order a few things online last week and they arrived…
November 23, 2009
Recently, whenever I go to Starbucks, I see these tall reusable plastic cups for sale that look exactly like the the usual plastic cups (the ones people presumably feel guilty about) that cold drinks come in. Except they are bigger, fatter, reusable, and for sale. This product seems inane…
November 22, 2009
This week, an article I authored along with eight colleagues titled Conserving wild ï¬sh in a sea of market-based efforts appeared in Oryx: The International Journal of Conservation. Its publication led to some interesting media, including Larry Pynn's article on how domestic farm animals are…
November 16, 2009
This weekend, the BBC ran the first-ever photograph of a coral eating a jellyfish: If that doesn't suffice it for 'cool', there is always the blobfish, hauled up from the depths: Or, weirder still, the lumpsucker (both the blobfish and lumpsucker have names that betray their unappetizing…
November 13, 2009
Remember when food was just food? I don't. But I try to imagine it sometimes. I grew up in the throes of fast food, Halloween candy, and plates of bacon at breakfast buffets only to learn that I was just another victim of the food processing industry. Food issues are fascinating if for no…
November 3, 2009
In 2006, I bought Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner's first book Freakonomics and, like the four million other people who bought the book, thought it was excellent.  It was full of originality with chapters on why parents disadvantage their children with bad names and why crack dealers live with…
November 3, 2009
My review of Brad Matsen's new book Jacques Cousteau: The Sea King is out today at SEED Magazine today (the SEED graphic is so cool). In reviewing the book two things struck me: 1) that I knew actually very little about a man who is considered a founding father of marine conservation and 2) that…
November 3, 2009
A trawler off of Japan capsized as its three man crew tried to haul in their net containing dozens of huge Nomura jellyfish. The three men were rescued but the boat apparently sank. Read the full story in The Telegraph.
November 2, 2009
Maya Lin, the architect behind the Vietnam memorial in Washington D.C. among other endeavors, thought she would not be making any more memorials. But her latest and last memorial focuses on the loss of biodiversity using animal sounds and is called "What is missing?". The interactive project is…
October 31, 2009
It's no wonder that the most recent Pew report finds that belief in rising temperatures is down. As Jim Hoggan explains in his new book Climate Cover-Up, the media and the public it serves are awash in a corporate conspiracy to undermine the science of climate change, the corporate buyout of…
October 28, 2009
Oliver Morton wrote a delightful book all about photosynthesis called Eating the Sun: How Plants Power the Planet, which I reviewed earlier this year for Search Magazine (R.I.P.) under the title "A Song for the Heartless". One of my favorite passages in the book beautifully explains the…
October 27, 2009
Because it is so beautifully concocted, it is tempting to digest every last drop of Mark Slouka's delicious potion ("Dehumanized" published last month in Harper's) without questioning the recipe. That Slouka pits capitalism (or, to be more specific, the puerile, corporate-driven aspects of…
October 25, 2009
What if you could gamble for a good cause? Why not build a casino where the profits go to conservation? The idea came to me last night while watching a BBC documentary on gambling with Louis Theroux (see preview below). The segment features a woman who has lost $4 million over the last 7 years (…
October 20, 2009
It's no secret: I voted for Obama. I did a lot more than that. I called the 'Impeach Obama' bluff. I begged him to give up fish, although I don't think he has yet. I guess giving up seafood can wait. This month, President Obama gave me a harder pill to swallow. As many of you know, the Obama…