A Blog to Save the Earth
Smart like a rock? Kind like a rock?
Being a biologist requires me to think differently than most people. Most people are driven by questions such as: “How long will it take me to get downtown in this traffic?” “What do I not pay so I can make my rent this month?” “How’d we do versus our competition last quarter?” “What do I…
Read MoreOuter space and inner space
At first, it might seem as if humans’ desire to go into outer space is in competition with the idea that we should focus on exploring and benefiting from spaces on our own planet, such as our oceans. That’s probably true in a number of ways that are worth exploring in this blog. But there…
Read MoreA hero for the oceans
To a lot of people, heroes are guys with big muscles who carry guns. Think Rambo and his more recent movie and video game look-alikes. Heroes prove themselves in battle. But today I’ve just learned that one of my real-life heroes—Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey—won’t be running for reelection. Perhaps I’m strange when it…
Read MoreMy teachers were real survivors
In the field, the lab, the library or the classroom, or a few times on a flower-festooned cliff overlooking the blue Pacific Ocean, I learned about marine biology from professors, colleagues and friends in New York, California, Baja California and Sonora (Mexico), Florida, Jamaica, Panama, Colombia, Curacao, Iowa, Washington DC and the state of Washington. …
Read MoreFor starters
Sometimes people do things that just feel really good. This week the Marine Conservation Institute’s President Lance Morgan asked me to start blogging several days a week. For me that feels wonderful! Lance really understands what moves me. By training I’m a marine biologist. Never mind that my first two books were about forests. Now…
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