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In 1610, Galileo Galilei published the Sidereus Nuncius, or the Starry Messenger, a paper which strongly suggested that Nicolaus Copernicus had been correct when he presented an alternative view of our solar system, over half a century earlier, in which the earth orbited around the sun and not vice versa. In doing so, Galileo changed [...]
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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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For some environmental researchers, science is about collecting knowledge. However, it is becoming increasingly necessary that scientists step up and share their work to inform policy and effectively manage environmental problems through public awareness. This requires that we learn how to use mass media outlets such as print, radio, television, and social media so that [...]
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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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We have long advocated “Raising the bar” for science communication products. We feel that complex ideas can be effectively communicated, as long as the language and visualizations are clear, concise and concrete. The communication specialists often advocate “Dumbing it down”, reducing the complex to very simplistic terms, glossing over any complexities to form ‘sound bites’. [...]
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EcoCheck was formed in 2004 as a partnership between the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It was created by Drs. Bill Dennison (UMCES) and Bob Wood (NOAA) to develop ecological forecasting and environmental reporting capacity in the Chesapeake Bay. The original staff were recruited [...]
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For nearly ten years the IAN symbol and image libraries have been provided completely free for any use, so long as the appropriate attribution was included. For many users this has not been a problem – all that was required was a short credit to IAN and a link to our website. But over the [...]
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Today I learned of the untimely death of my colleague Scott Nixon from the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography. There will be eloquent eulogies in the ensuing weeks and months, as Scott had a profound impact on many students and colleagues. While I will leave the eulogies to those former students and [...]
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The Integration and Application Network’s symbol libraries have been developed over many years by various science communicators. In our attempts to build a global symbol language, we also welcome high quality contributions from anyone with relevant, high quality vector illustrations. Recent software enhancements like Adobe Illustrator’s Live Trace Tool make it possible to instantly convert [...]
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