Oceans on the Edge

Back in Spring 2009 I attended a creative and unusual meeting at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach CA, which their director Jerry Schubel had organised to discuss pressing issues facing the worlds oceans.  It was a fantastic mix of scientists, film-makers, journalists, bloggers, game designers and social scientists, and it really opened my eyes to the sucky job we scientists sometimes do in explaining the importance of our work.  Everytime one of the scientists lapsed into jargon or science-ese, one of the others would jump up and say “ya lost me” and drag us back to reality.  It was very enlightening, to the point where it actually inspired me in part to start this blog.

One of the final products of that meeting is now in print.  The four key areas we identified and discussed were summarised in reports that are intended to be part of educational packages that grew out of the workshop.  I co-authored the one about oceans and their connection to human health.  You can get it, and the other three on Coastal Hazards, Fisheries, and Pollution, here.