John Muir once said, “nothing dollarable is safe”. He said this during the time that he voraciously debated with Gifford Pinchot on the how we as a society should view the natural world. While Pinchot focused on the sustainable use of natural resources for the next generation to use, Muir argued for a complete lack … Continue reading
Tag Archives: Current Events
Marsh Madness: basketball meets marine science
This is my first year at UNC Chapel Hill and all around basketball is in the air. I guess that is what happens when you go to an ACC school that the has a history of being one of the best college basketball teams in the country. I’ve never seen so much excitement around a sport. … Continue reading
The Rise of Marine Parks: Will it be Enough?
If you have been following this blog, you have become familiar with a myriad of issues facing our oceans today: acidification, global warming, over fishing, ect. Yet, what is actually being done about it? While most of the environmental headlines have focused on the Paris talks, only recently has news coverage begun to highlight the … Continue reading
Ice Ice Baby: what in the world is going on with Antarctica’s ice?
A couple of weeks ago a new study came out from NASA indicating that the Antarctica land mass is gaining ice. This study by Zwally and colleagues, indicates ice accumulation in East Antarctic continent exceeds the loss of ice from the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP). This study is contradictory to many studies that have been published on … Continue reading
El Niño 101
By this point, most folks are aware of the drought that currently has California (and Texas, too, for that matter) in it’s grips (and if you haven’t heard, then check out our post The California Drought). What’s new to this story is the strengthening of El Niño in the Pacific. And while El Niño first … Continue reading
Seeking the Perfect Man o’ War
In the Southern Outer Banks, taking walks on the beach is a routine activity rather than an aspirational line for one’s OK Cupid profile. I don’t know how an affinity for beach walking became the clincher for personal ads rather than, say, “likes cooking gourmet meals and then doing all the dishes,” but it’s true … Continue reading
Conservation Triage: Learning to Let Go
I want to apologize in advance for what may seem like a disheartening post. I didn’t mean to, but I started writing about an issue I’ve always wondered about, and it sort of just happened. I promise my next post will be so uplifting, you’ll feel like standing up and dancing like this miniature poodle. … Continue reading
Florida Escapes Climate Change, And Why That’s Not Really Funny
You know those people who take at least 1.5 times longer to do something than anyone else? It doesn’t seem to matter what exactly they’re doing; if they’ve undertaken a certain task, you’d better get comfortable and expect them to be running late. It’s probably frustrating to be on the receiving end of that, wondering … Continue reading
An ode to the ‘Shark Lady’
I realize the internet is awash with memories of the great Dr. Eugenie Clark and we here at UNdertheC Blog have spent a wonderful amount of time recently on awesome women in the marine and environmental sciences (see here and here), but I think we would be remiss if we didn’t add our own take … Continue reading
Is the Abbot Point expansion toxic to the Great Barrier Reef?
Unlike many other environmental concerns, threats to the Great Barrier Reef are widely acknowledged beyond the scientific community. The average person may not be able to articulate exactly why the reef is at risk, but he has an idea that survival of the colorful, otherworldly seascape he remembers from so many documentaries is far from … Continue reading