Over 15 years of ocean science and conservation online
The upcoming 2024 Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists is in my hometown of Pittsburgh! I can’t wait to show yinz around dahntahn n’at! Don’t be a jagoff, learn a little about the city before you go aht and explore! What’s with the weird accent? Lots of cities have regional dialects, and we have Pittsburghese. … Read More “Stuff to do in Pittsburgh if you’re in town for JMIH 2024” »
A groundbreaking journal article, recently published in Environmental Justice, calls for a significant shift in the approach to conservation in the Pacific Remote Islands Area (PRIA). The article, titled “Disavowing the Doctrine of Discovery: Indigenous Healing, Decolonization, and Implications for Environmental Justice in the Pacific Remote Islands Area,” presents a critical analysis of the proposal … Read More “Decolonize the Pacific Remote Islands” »
The first time I went to test an OpenCTD head-to-head against a hand-held commercial CTD, something was wrong. It was early in the OpenCTD development, but we were deep enough into the weeds that we had what we thought was a pretty good calibration process. The OpenCTD looked good against our standards. But the devices … Read More “Did you calibrate you CTD today?” »
The ocean is a gigantic places absolutely chock full of weirdos. Oliver touched on quite a few points I’ve made over the year, including the fact that deep-sea mining is absolutely not inevitable and that new battery chemistries could dramatically reduce the demand for these critical minerals over the next decade. Read more about deep-sea … Read More “John Oliver covers Deep-sea Mining on Last Week Tonight” »
I have a problem with the OpenCTD. The OpenCTD is a low-cost, open-source oceanographic instrument that lets you take fundamental water quality measurements for a fraction the cost of commercial alternatives without sacrificing data quality. It’s rated to 140 meters, and we’ve tested that, once, in a bathymetric chamber, and then, occasionally, in the field. … Read More “I built a DIY hardware store pressure vessel to test ocean science tools from the comfort of my shed.” »
Friends of the Mariana Trench Express Gratitude for the Successful Publication of Monument Management Plan
A joint statement from David Shiffman Consulting, Inc and Blackbeard Biologic: Science and Environmental Advisors A 2024 presidential hopeful recently expressed concerns regarding the relative risks of electric boats and shark attacks, stating that: “What would happen if the boat sank from its weight, and you have this tremendously powerful battery, and the battery is … Read More “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Experts respond to concerns over the relative risks of electric boats and shark encounters” »
On July 4, 2011, I unveiled my designs for the Pico Farm, a tiny chicken coop and garden that fit into a 4′ by 8′ footprint. It was a cool little thing that fit into just about any backyard and laid the foundation for my decades long love of raising chickens. We even got an … Read More “Reflecting on my favorite chicken coops.” »
Fourteen years ago, when Social Media was fresh and new and full of hope, I started teaching Social Media for Environmental Communications at Duke University. The internet was bursting with potential and we wanted to help ocean campaigners tap into that cognitive surplus for the good of the planet. This was a data driven course, … Read More “This is not an article about epoxy river tables.” »
I sat down with Andrew Lewin last week to talk about science funding, crowdfunding, and 10 years raising seed funding for high risk projects using Patreon.
