Over 15 years of ocean science and conservation online
Donald Trump opened an area of about 250 million acres of protected American waters to industrial fishing fleets on Thursday. This sets a very dangerous precedent that our public lands and waters are for sale to the highest bidder. I know that we’re all exhausted from the onslaught of daily outrages by the Trump administration. … Read More “5 things you can do if you’re pissed off about the latest Trump EO” »
Opening ceremony of Tiaki Moana in Tahiti, French Polynesia.
The deep-sea mining world was thrown a curveball last week when, as the spring session of the International Seabed Authority came to a close, the Metals Company, one of several commercial ventures seeking permission to mine polymetallic nodules in the Clipperton-Clarion Zone, announced that they would seek permission to mine directly from the United States, … Read More “The Metals Company has a Jones Act Problem” »
Many environmental scientists understand that there is value in communicating about their work through the media, as publicity can help raise public awareness of a conservation threat and help build support for a policy solution. Most training material focuses on how to craft and deliver effective messages. However, this is only part of the skillset … Read More “Advice for talking to the media as a conservation scientist: Part 3, the press release” »
By David Shiffman and Brett Favaro. Many environmental scientists understand that there is value in communicating about their work through the media, as publicity can help raise public awareness of a conservation threat and help build support for a policy solution. Most training material focuses on how to craft and deliver effective messages. However, this is only … Read More “Advice for talking to the media as a conservation scientist: Part 2, mechanics of the interview” »
By David Shiffman and Brett Favaro. Many environmental scientists understand that there is value in communicating about their work through the media, as publicity can help raise public awareness of a conservation threat and help build support for a policy solution. Most training material focuses on how to craft and deliver effective messages. However, this … Read More “Advice for talking to the media as a conservation scientist: Part 1” »
On March 3, 2025, hundreds of people gathered in front of NOAA headquarters to protest the illegal, wasteful, and capricious firing of career civil servants at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. I was invited to speak on the value of NOAA scientific research. Below is a transcript of my remarks. NOAA is the original … Read More “We are a maritime nation: my comments at the March 3 Defend NOAA rally.” »
This December, I published The Last Hunt for the Jabberwock: A Feywild Adventure in Ecologic Succession on the Dungeon Master’s Guild. Last Hunt for the Jabberwock is a 12 to 20 hour Dungeons & Dragons campaign with a twist: the adventure, set in a whimsical forest in the midst of tremendous environmental change is complemented … Read More “10 Tips for Running a Dungeons & Dragons Campaign for Education” »
NOAA, the US government science and management agency in charge of sustainable fisheries, the national weather service, and ocean exploration, is in the crosshairs of the Trump administration and Project 2025. Though criticisms from “small government” types imply that having a US government science agency at all represents some kind of expansion of government power … Read More “NOAA carries a two century legacy of America’s first government science agency” »
One day, 5 to 20 million years ago, a tongue-eating isopod parasitized some unknown Miocene fish, embedding itself in the fish’s mouth where wit would grow and consume scraps as its host feed. That partnership lasted until the fish, itself, became food, likely eaten by an ancestral sea turtle. And that’s where a million-year old … Read More “A tongue-eating isopod takes a 5-million+ year journey through fossilized feces” »
