MARINE | Center for Ocean Solutions

An Academic and Municipal Partnership Tackles Local Land-Sea Policy

Submitted by eloury on Tue, 2011-01-18 17:25

Workshop participant Helen OBrien from UC Santa Cruz works between sessions (photo: A. Abeles). by Julie Stewart, MARINE curriculum intern

It’s not every day that the mayor, city planners and press come to Hopkins Marine Station to hear students speak, particularly at 9 AM on a beautiful sunny Sunday morning. But on December 5, Mayor Carmelita Garcia and Councilman Bill Kampe of Pacific Grove, along with local and regional managers and a reporter from the Cedar Street Times, came to hear policy recommendations from local graduate students for a course sponsored by the Center for Ocean Solutions.

Graduate students from six local campuses (UCSC, Moss Landing Marine Labs, CSUMB, MIIS, Stanford and Hopkins Marine Station) were involved in this MARINE (Monterey Area Research Institutions’ Network for Education), course, which is part of COS’ education initiative. Stanford University Professor Nicole Ardoin was the faculty lead for the course and MARINE Program Manager Margaret Krebs was the course coordinator. I was also involved in this project, and although I was initially signed on to develop the course’s content, my role evolved and I also became a liaison, organizer, and facilitator. Read more...

The Ocean's Stars Call for Action at the National Marine Sanctuary Leadership Award Dinner

Submitted by eloury on Wed, 2010-06-16 22:21

Meeting some ocean stars at Capitol Hill Ocean Week: Sylvia Earle (in blue) and Julie Packard pose with COS scholarship recipients Erin Loury and Malin Pinsky at the National Marine Sanctuary Awards Dinner

by Erin Loury

Science Communication Intern/M.S. Candidate at Moss Landing Marine Labs

The National Marine Sanctuary Awards Dinner has all the glitter and star wattage of an ocean-themed Academy Awards. Malin and I were fortunate enough to attend along with the rest of the Center for Ocean Solutions team as part of Capitol Hill Ocean Week.

Also in attendance were such ocean luminaries as Jane Lubchenco (head of NOAA), Julie Packard (Executive Director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium), Lt. Don Walsh (one of two explorers to reach the bottom of the Marianas Trench), Robert Ballard (discoverer of the Titanic), Sylvia Earle (ocean explorer and TED prize winner), and the family of Jacques Cousteau. Read more...

Oil dominates discussions at CHOW10

Submitted by ahemphill on Thu, 2010-06-10 10:21

Deepwater Horizon

by Malin Pinsky, Ph.D Candidate, Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford

Capitol Hill Ocean Week (CHOW) has taken place every year for the past decade, but this year has
taken on a special meaning for one unfortunate reason: oil that
continues to pour from the broken Deep Horizon well. Almost every
speaker, no matter what their planned topic, somehow touches on the
“disaster” and “tragedy.” A representative of the fishing industry got
up yesterday and berated government officials for regulating fisheries
more tightly than oil drilling. Hard to argue with. Perhaps we’ll see
the equivalent of fisheries observers on every rig in the coming
years. Read more...

As the Gulf oil leak disaster worsens, Capitol Hill focuses attention on the health of our ocean

Submitted by eloury on Mon, 2010-06-07 11:31

Fishing boats drag oil
booms as the U.S. Coast Guard trains for controlled burns of the Gulf of
Mexico oil spill. (photo: U.S. Navy, Jeffery Tilghman Williams/Marine
Photobank)

by Erin Loury, Science Communication Intern/M.S. Candidate at Moss Landing Marine Labs

If you’ve been following the Center for Oceans Twitter feed, or any other marine news outlet, you’ll know that the environmental conditions of the Gulf Coast have gone from bad to worse. Images slowly seeping to into the public consciousness via various news channels depict ruined wetlands, defaced beaches and birds beleaguered by thick, brown oil. Projected movement of the oil plume indicates that this is truly a national, and indeed international, crisis.

What more fitting topic, then, for leaders in ocean policy, research, management and conservation to discuss than “Clean Energy and a Healthy Ocean: Navigating the Future.” Read more...

Science Communication 101: A look back at the first year of MARINE

Submitted by eloury on Mon, 2010-05-17 16:27

Effectively communicating science to policy-makers can better
help them face the challenges of climate change on the horizon. (Photo:
Thomas Hallermann)

Erin Loury

by Erin Loury

Science Communication Intern/M.S. Candidate at Moss Landing Marine Labs

How do you talk to a climate change denier at a holiday dinner table? How can a scientist play an active role in important issues without being labeled an “advocate?” These were just a few of the questions inquiring graduate student minds asked of our professors during a MARINE-sponsored seminar series, “What do policy makers need to know about climate change?” Despite the diverse range of topics, these discussions boiled down to a common bottom line: effectively communicating science is key. Read more...