Today, at 17:44:26 GMT, Soyuz MS-08 lifted off from the Biakonar Cosmosdrome in Kazakhstan. Ricky Arnold, another American astronaut, and one cosmonaut are now aboard en route to the International Space Station for a six month stint. Ricky was a Marine Estuarine and Environmental Science (MEES) graduate student and has been the plenary speaker at two MEES student colloquia, inspiring the current students to literally reach for the stars. Ricky Arnold. Image credit:

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As part of a report card project that we recently initiated with our partner organization, OARS for the Assabet, Sudbury and Concord Rivers, we reviewed the essential features and major issues associated with these rivers. They are presented as seven environmental literacy principles: • The Assabet, Sudbury and Concord Rivers (SuAsCo sub-basin) are tributaries to the Merrimack River in the metropolitan fringe of Boston, Massachusetts.

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Over the past fifteen years or so I have become more and more obsessed with how to write about science for a broad audience. I am not alone. I am an environmental scientist, so communicating to the public is important to my job. Many other scientists and scientific organizations share this obsession. And yet, frequently it appears that all our efforts are for naught. The message is not getting through. Therefore, maybe it’s time to step back and rethink.

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Our Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences paper entitled “Long-term nutrient reductions lead to the unprecedented recovery of a temperate coastal region” was published online on March 5th, 2018. Coinciding with the paper publication, 4 of the 14 co-authors joined Mike Smith from GreenSmith at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. for a series of interviews with the media.

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The title of this blog, adapted from Julius Caesar’s quote “I came, I saw, I conquered,” is based on a trip that Brianne Walsh and I made to Concord, Massachusetts from from February 26th – March 3rd. Brianne and I traveled to Concord to initiate a report card for the Assabet, Sudbury and Concord Rivers. We are working with OARS, an organization that is focused on these 3 rivers, based in Concord.

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As part of our Submerged Aquatic Vegetation synthesis effort (SAV SYN), the paper “Long-term nutrient reductions lead to the unprecedented recovery of a temperate coastal region” was published online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS). Jon Lefcheck from the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, formerly at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, was the first author, with our entire SAV SYN team as co-authors:

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On March 1, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam presented Dr. Bob “JJ” Orth the Virginia Outstanding Scientist Award. This award is for a scientist who has made globally significant contributions to their field. I am so glad that Bob is being recognized in this manner. I have worked with Bob for 30 years. Over that period, I have co-authored proposals, papers and various reports with him.

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One of my favorite quotes is by Wilbur Wright, from Dayton, Ohio. He said “If I were giving a young man advice as to how he might succeed in life, I would say to him, pick out a good father and mother, and begin life in Ohio.” I was incredibly fortunate to do exactly that.

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I recently attended a meeting in Maryland Senator Ben Cardin’s office in the Senate Hart Building. The meeting was with congressional staffers and representatives from a diversity of governmental agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Government Services Administration. The topic of the meeting was the potential relocation of the offices of the Chesapeake Bay Program.

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Last semester, Heath Kelsey and I taught a Marine Estuarine and Environmental Science (MEES) course titled “Transdisciplinary Science For Environmental Problem Solving." Our three Integration and Application Network students, Suzi Spitzer, Vanessa Vargas and Natalie Peyronnin enrolled in the 2 credit course. Professor Michael “Dougo” Douglas from the University of Western Australia attended most classes, in spite of the fact that it was 10 pm - 12 am in Perth, Australia.

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