Heather Spence, Marine Biologist

Heather Spence is excited to be working with Jason deCaires Taylor to develop an underwater sculpture into a science lab. Spence, a Marine Biologist, is the founder of GRACIASS (Global Research and Art Center for the Investigation and Advancement of Sustainability Solutions). Her research program in Cancun began in 2007, and in 2010 expanded to include the first Passive Acoustic Monitoring in the Mexican Caribbean. “The Listener” is the result of a long collaboration between Spence and Taylor to find a way to incorporate her underwater sound research into his reef-forming sculpture.

This Saturday, at 8:30pm wherever you are, please remember to turn out your lights for one hour. This is a global activity and if enough people do it, the traveling darkness around the globe through different timezones will be visible from space. Use this as an opportunity to check out ways to mitigate light pollution (see www.darksky.org) and to raise appreciation and respect for the many environmental resources on which we depend.

A new study in the Caribbean supports Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) as beneficial to reef fish populations. The researchers used baited remote underwater video surveys to track them at both fished and protected sites off Belize, and found more in the protected areas. For more information, see the full article (free) on PLoS ONE: PLos ONE

For more information on the benefits of marine protected areas / marine reserves, here are a few links:

Washington Post article about the study with video

International Seafood Sustainability Foundation Technical Report 2012-02 “A review of the conservation benefits of marine protected areas for pelagic species associated with fisheries” (PDF)

ICRAN 2005 “Marine Protected Areas: Benefits and Costs for Islands” (PDF)

USA NOAA “About the National System of Marine Protected Areas” (Website Link)

PISCO in California “MPA Design and Monitoring” (Website Link)

Australian Department of Environment and Heritage 2003 “The Benefits of Marine Protected Areas” (PDF)

Another Australian Report 2010 “The Economics of Marine Protected Areas” by the Allen Consulting Group (Website Link)

Frommer’s named the Yucatan Peninsula one of the top 10 destinations, pointing to its natural beauty, safety and culture.

You may also be interested to know that 2012 to the Maya represents a change rather than a disaster. (This was made abundantly clear to me by my colleagues in Cancun when we went to see the film 2012, which conveniently overlooked that part!)

For the article and to check out the other destinations, go to the Frommer’s website.

Photo credit: Nick Giacobbe

On the national mall from September 23rd to October 2nd, you can tour 19 solar powered homes designed and built by teams of college students from around the world, as part of the U.S. Department of Energy “Solar Decathlon.” As the name suggests, the houses go through 10 contests, which include household tasks (e.g. laundry, hosting a dinner party), monitored performance (e.g. maintaining a comfortable temperature and humidity) and other judged characteristics (e.g. aesthetics, design). The winning team’s house must be affordable and easy to live in, and produce as much or more energy than it consumes. Come see these houses – you will definitely want to live in one!

NY and CA team houses with Washington Monument

City College of New York's "Solar Roofpod" is designed to be added to an urban rooftop as part of an integrated green roof system

Chinese Tongji University's "Y Container," made from recycled shipping modules, promotes flexible indoor space with sliding/swiveling wall panels and stackable triangular furniture modules

September 17 is International Coastal Cleanup Day!
Look for an event near you, or start your own. Celebrate all month, all year…
Check the Ocean Conservancy website for ideas and events.

Also, I take this opportunity to remind you about the serious threats of plastic pollution, including and especially six packs rings – please snip them! This is a spanish/english video I made to be shown in local schools in Cancun, and has now reached worldwide:

Watch the video here: Cut Six Pack Rings – Bilingual Video

Tomorrow, Thursday September 15, Diana Reiss will be “appearing” live on the Diane Rehm Show on NPR (11:06am ET), and also on FOX (I will try to post the time when I find out).

For more info on the NPR interview go to http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-09-15/diana-reiss-dolphin-mirror

Diana Reiss, my adviser, is going on book tour. Here is the information I have so far for related events -

September 19 – Redmond, WA and Seattle, WA

September 20 – Los Angeles, CA
September 21 – Menlo Park, CA and San Francisco, CA
September 24 – Sonoma County, CA

September 27 – New York, NY (Hunter College) [by invite, if interested let me know]

October 22 – St. Petersburg, FL St. Petersburg Times Festival of Reading

You can also get more information at the listing on Amazon

President Obama, quoted in an article in today’s Washington Post, says -

“While we were working to improve the efficiency of cars and light-duty trucks, something interesting happened. We started getting letters asking that we do the same for medium and heavy-duty trucks. They were from the people who build, buy and drive these trucks. And today, I’m proud to have the support of these companies as we announce the first-ever national policy to increase fuel efficiency and decrease greenhouse gas pollution from medium- and heavy-duty trucks.”

Here’s my brilliant idea – use discarded fishing nets to pull garbage in the garbage patches in the ocean together to form dense floating islands! This has many advantages – it uses discarded nets so they don’t become hazards in the ocean; it will pull together the material tight enough to slow the decomposition and leaching of toxins; it will open up spaces between the islands where sunlight can get through and animals can navigate.