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Have you ever heard about Bill McKibbens and his three numbers? If not, you might want to read about it, if you are concerned about the future of the earth. In his Rolling Stone article, Global Warming’s Terrifying New Math, McKibben used three simple numbers to explain the serious climate change situation we face right [...]
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We had a great visit with Dr. Robert Twilley, Louisiana Sea Grant Director and a faculty member at Louisiana State University. Robert gave a wonderful seminar at Horn Point Laboratory, covering the history of coastal Louisiana wetland loss, Mississippi River diversions and provided the context for the 2012 Master Plan. The IAN group collaborated with [...]
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On April 13, I was a speaker at the report card launch of the Choptank and Miles-Wye Rivers, sponsored by the Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy in Easton, Maryland. The launch was held in the beautiful Talbot County Historical Society auditorium. Tim Junkin, the Executive Director of Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy, was the Master of Ceremonies. The event [...]
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Environmental crises exist on a continuum varying on the size of the affected area, severity and longevity of effects, level mitigation required, and socioeconomic impacts, all influencing the level of public involvement. Despite the need for immediate action, it is the role of the scientist to ensure adherence to the scientific method. The “Brown Tide” [...]
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If we let it, science can inform many of our decisions in terms of resource management. According to Dr. Ed Houde of Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, science should inform policy, determining whether or not we should fish a population and under what guidelines. That policy then creates management, the rules and regulations set in place, and [...]
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Coastal Louisiana (CL) is an economically valuable, ecologically diverse landscape, containing 40-45%of the wetlands found in the southern states1. Vital at the national scale, CL is especially important to the seafood and shipping industries, and is home to a significant proportion of the nation’s petroleum industry. Emerging about 6000 years ago after eustatic sea level [...]
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How does ecosystem size affect different environmental management actions? To some extent, a difference in the system scale means variety in the environmental status, research directions, public attention, and management efforts. Therefore, the way of approaching certain management objectives varies based on different size scales. In this blog, we compare five cases along an increasing [...]
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The evidence is overwhelming. The stakes couldn’t be much higher. Consensus exists among scientists1. And yet, the effect of human activities on the climate, at least in the United States, remains a topic of public debate. In fact, only about 61% of Americans polled think that the globe is warming2, and 40% think there is [...]
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The management objectives for achieving ecosystem health can be divided into ecosystem objectives, water quality objectives, and human health objectives (Pantus and Dennison 2005). Different population sizes result in different environmental issues and ecosystem management objectives. Therefore, the way of approaching management objectives vary based on different population sizes. In this essay, we compare five [...]
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Hurricane Sandy was a wake-up call. More and more, people are asking, “What can be done to sustain coastal communities in the face of climate change and accelerated sea level rise?” The story of Holland Island, a once-thriving fishing community, reveals the importance of maintaining social infrastructure to sustain communities. Coastal communities must be resilient [...]
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