Andrew Thaler

“When we left the beach…” Monday Morning Salvage: March 20, 2017

March 20, 2017 Andrew Thaler

Weekly Salvage

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

The poetry of Derek Walcott.

Nobel laureate, poet, and perhaps the finest English-language writer of any generation, died this weekend. His poetry, particularly the epic poem Omeros, which draws upon the themes of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey to tell the story of colonization, imperialism, slavery, and humanity’;s relationship to the sea over more than 8000 lines.
If you’re new to the poetry of Derek Walcott, The Sea is History is a great place to start and the New York Times published a short selection of his poetry: The Pages of the Sea.

Monday Morning Salvage: March 13, 2017

March 13, 2017 Andrew Thaler

Weekly Salvage

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

This Great White Shark, who definitely just poo-ed all over some unsuspecting SCUBA divers.

Watch a Great White Shark Shit All Over a Group of Cage Divers.

Jetsam (what we’re enjoying from around the web)

Help an ocean student catch a break!

March 6, 2017 Andrew Thaler

Uncategorized

The Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON), located at the very tip of Louisiana’s boot, is a special place. The only marine lab in Louisiana, LUMCON serves public universities and supports marine science for the entire state. I had the pleasure of visiting LUMCON late last year to lead an underwater robotics workshop for local high … Read More “Help an ocean student catch a break!” »

Monday Morning Salvage: NOAA Special Edition (call your representatives!)

March 6, 2017March 6, 2017 Andrew Thaler

Weekly Salvage

This weekend, the Washington Post reported on a leaked proposed budget from the Administration which includes drastic, agency-breaking cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This comes in the wake of new Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross pledging to protect peer-reviewed researchers and shield NOAA climate scientists from partisan attacks and that the Department of … Read More “Monday Morning Salvage: NOAA Special Edition (call your representatives!)” »

Monday Morning Salvage: February 20, 2017

February 20, 2017 Andrew Thaler 1 Comment

Weekly Salvage

For all our US-based Readers: Happy President’s Day! For everyone else, this is the reason none of you USian colleagues are answering e-mails. Unless they are, in which case, *grumble grumble grumble* *something about work-life balance*

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

The ocean is full of garbage and even the deepest trenches aren’t safe. Here’s an interview I did with KSPN Saipan where I talked about the garbage the precedes us everywhere we go.

Also: Banned chemicals persist in deep ocean. This seems important.

Monday Morning Salvage: February 13, 2017

February 13, 2017 Andrew Thaler

Weekly Salvage

Bringing you the best of marine science and conservation from the last week.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

This giant isopod just wrecking a shark.

More.

Jetsam (what we’re enjoying from around the web)

A Reading List for Environmental Resistance

February 7, 2017 Andrew Thaler 1 Comment

Blogging

We have entered a challenging new era for conservation and the environmental movement. Some of us feel as if we are hanging from the edge of a cliff. Others are preparing for the battles ahead. And many of us are still reeling from the whirlwind of changes taking place seemingly overnight.

We can’t tell you how to feel or how to act. We can’t really offer any comfort either, at least none that feels sincere. What we can provide are resources culled from a lifetime working in conservation science to provide, if not a map, than at least a scattered set of guideposts to remind us of where we’ve been and direct us to where we need to be going.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been collecting and curating a reading list for the conservation professionals, managers, and activists. I’ve culled from a diverse groups of writers to both focus and expand my vision of what conservation could become in the coming years.

This is, of course, not a comprehensive list of writings, but rather those which I have turned to, or turned back to, in the last few months, for inspiration and understanding. Some of them may seem a little out of place, but they have all offered guidance and insight as we move forward into this brave new world.

Monday Morning Salvage: February 6, 2017

February 6, 2017 Andrew Thaler

Uncategorized

Bringing you the best of marine science and conservation from the last week.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

The ridiculous, extensible jaw and neck joint of a Barbeled Dragonfish.

Deep-Sea Fishes That Are Built to Eat Big.

Jetsam (what we’re enjoying from around the web)

No, there isn’t a UFO sitting in Antarctica.

February 2, 2017 Andrew Thaler

Popular Culture

One of my favorite things to do is browse through google maps looking for weird formations and places of historical curiosity. Apparently I’m not alone, as there are hordes of map hunters searching for the bizarre on this increasingly bizarre world. That’s right! It’s time for yet another installment of “this thing on Google maps is not a sea-monster/alien/UFO/ancient pyramid”.

This newest discovery comes from Antarctica, where monster hunters have found what looks like a perfect disc sitting on the ice. Could it be a UFO? The image is surprisingly compelling.

It’s very round for one, and it looks like it’s sitting on top of a glacier, partially covered by rock. The 60-foot-wide object looks remarkably like a classic flying saucer.

SPOILERS: It’s not a UFO.

Making global conservation conferences accessible in an world of increasingly restrictive travel.

January 31, 2017January 31, 2017 Andrew Thaler 1 Comment

Conservation

We have a problem in conservation biology (ok, to be fair, we have a lot of problems, but this is one of them). The biggest environmental challenges–climate change, ocean acidification, over-fishing, agricultural runoff, species invasion, and myriad other emergent issues–are global challenges. They respect no borders and require a cohesive, multinational response. Researchers, stakeholders, and conservation managers, on the other hand, are increasingly impeded in their work by more and more restrictive barriers to travel.

This isn’t new. The Global South has often been excluded from major international conferences hosted in European and American cities, which are expensive and hard to get to. Onerous visa restrictions from and to a multitude of countries have been in place for decades, but the events of this week have made it clear that scientific societies need to plan for and provide alternatives to a membership that may not be able to travel to a conference yet still need to participate.