Chih-Hsien (Michelle) Lin, Detbra Rosales, Melanie Jackson … It is apparent that we now live in a new epoch, the Anthropocene (IGBP, 2001), in which Earth’s environment and climate is mainly controlled by human activity. Environmental damage is accelerating on a global scale. As the world’s population increases, improving standards of living without destroying or degrading the natural environment becomes a challenge.

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Emily Russ, Aimee Hoover, Whitney Hoot … Nearly 500 years ago, Nicholas Copernicus determined the Earth revolved around the sun. Scientists and philosophers hotly contested this radical idea in the sixteenth century, but further research eventually confirmed Copernicus' observations. This globally accepted understanding, or paradigm, that the sun is the center of our solar system was the result of this scientific effort.

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Martina Gonzalez Mateu, Adrianne Michaelis, Suzi Spitzer … Increasing knowledge about ecosystem dynamics over the past several decades has allowed us to make positive changes in our approach to resource management. In the past, management goals primarily focused on protecting single species, and tried to restore ecosystems to historical states that were considered desirable.

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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 now, and we will face going forward [1]. The first number, 2° Celsius, is the safe number that scientists think increasing global temperature should be below.

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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 the world by changing the way people saw themselves in it - shifting the scientific paradigm (Kuhn 1962).

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What is a report card? In a world filled with knowledge, how can you find a way to share ecological knowledge among different groups of people? Literature? Books? Newspapers? How about report cards? Ecological report cards are important tool for integrating diverse data types into simple scores that can be communicated to decision-makers and the general public. “Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people”, says poet, William Butler Yeats.

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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 we can communicate clearly and effectively.

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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.

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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 their subsequent enforcement. The issue though, is that many people still question the science behind management, and with good reason.

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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.

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