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December 13, 2011

Those Aussies have a carbon tax?

I read in the Washington Post that the Australian Government passed the Clean Energy Bill through the Senate on 8.11.2011. It was widely covered in U.S. media, with even a theme of anticipation in the lead-up to the vote. Some of the responses to articles were quite funny including “…those Aussies are going to have [...]

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December 7, 2011

It’s fowl to be sustainable

Paying homage to the annual migrating Canada geese flying overhead, it is apt to discuss the unusual balance that exists around Chesapeake Bay between hunting and conservation. My recent visit to the local Walmart required passage past three aisles of camouflage attire, duck decoys, bird whistles, knives and of course guns. I spotted a whole [...]

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November 23, 2011

CRIME DON’T PAY IN THE USA

Having worked as an investigator with the former Queensland EPA in Australia, I was gob-smacked by the progressive way that the U.S. EPA deals with environmental crime. EPA Special Agents are sworn federal law enforcement officers with statutory authority to conduct investigations, carry firearms, make arrests for any federal crime and execute and serve any [...]

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September 6, 2011

Tim Carruthers moves to Samoa

Tim Carruthers has begun a new chapter in his career and life by moving from Maryland to Samoa on June 2011. Tim came with me from the University of Queensland to the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) in early 2002. We came to UMCES to set up the Integration and Application Network, [...]

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May 7, 2011

One Mile Harbour, Moreton Bay

Clouds drifting slowly across the Bay Lorikeets swooping and diving, flashes of red Crows calling out and generally having their way Four wheel drives with fishing and surfing gear passing by Rusty utes with dogs hanging out the window sputtering along Aboriginal middens with gum trees standing high A small clump of mangroves standing firmly [...]

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February 19, 2011

More Randy Alberte memories

Just as Randy Alberte served to get the Alberte laboratory together in Chicago, his recent death has provided the impetus to get us together via the emails that we have exchanged recently. I think that he would have appreciated these enduring connections. A major factor in my decision to come to The University of Chicago [...]

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December 21, 2010

Notes from Zanzibar; arrival

Zanzibar airport was a scene, as we crowded into a small room to painstakingly fill out forms for our missing bags. The forms had to be filled out by hand with several carbon copies by a fellow at the airport as we attempted to communicate the changes in our itinerary. Missing our bags also led [...]

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December 20, 2010

Traveling to Zanzibar

Along with Jane Hawkey and Kate Bentsen, we had an Interesting trip from Washington DC. Late leaving Dulles in route to London, slow trip across Atlantic due to head winds, and upon landing, we waited for a long time for buses to shuttle us to a far away terminal. We were met by a British [...]

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October 5, 2010

Remembering Randy Alberte

Dr. Dick Zimmerman, my colleague at Old Dominion University, informed me today that Randy Alberte had passed away as a result of a long bout with cancer. Randy was my PhD advisor at The University of Chicago and Randy provided me the unique opportunity to pursue my interests in photosynthesis, marine biology and science in [...]

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August 8, 2010

Bottlenose dolphins in the York River

Last week, Tim Caruthers and I traveled to Colonial National Park to continue work started last fall on a condition assessment for the park. While walking on the Tobacco Road trail in Yorktown, which ends at the York River, we spotted a pod of bottlenose dolphins frolicking in the river. At first I thought that [...]

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