Over 15 years of ocean science and conservation online
On Thursday, September 2nd at 7:00 P.M., I will be the South Carolina Sierra Club’s Speaker of the Month! The event will be held at MUSC’s Baruch Auditorium, which is 284 Calhoun Street. I have prepared a 45 minute multimedia presentation on shark conservation, followed by a question and answer session. If any of our … Read More “The Sierra Club Presents: WhySharksMatter!” »
In light of the BP oil spill, this week’s installment of Chemistry of the Great Big Blue will be particularly relevant to current events and hopefully already on the minds of everyone reading. Where do petrochemicals in the marine environment come from other than oil spills? Road runoff, refineries, plastic production, plastic degradation, atmospheric deposition and ocean circulation from other parts of the world, natural seeps, and the list goes on and on. It is important to note, however, that oil spills are not necessarily the predominant source of petrochemicals. So what exactly is a petrochemical and what does it do?
Read More “Chemistry of the Great Big Blue: Petroleum Byproducts” »
In addition to being a scientist, blogger, and a good friend of mine, Daniel Brown of BioChemicalSoul is also a very talented artist. His latest series is called “Ocean Invasions“, and they show marine animals entering the terrestrial world. One of the most recent pieces deals with my favorite subclass- Elasmobranchs! “The Great Migration” shows … Read More “Invasion of the Mantas?” »
No visit to Pittsburgh is complete without examining the “Steel City’s” industrial heritage. Charlie, WhySharksMatter, and Bluegrass blue crab visited the abandoned Carrie Furnace, which is now part of the Rivers of Steel national heritage area. Pittsburgh’s transformation from industrial center to green industry leader is impressive to say the least.
Charlie, WhySharksMatter, and Bluegrass Blue Crab check out a Pittsburgh Pirates game. The Pirates won, but today’s New York Times reported that the Pirates officially have the most consecutive losing seasons of any team in any major sport.
While walking around Pittsburgh, Charlie stops to admire the Rachel Carson bridge. The author of “Silent Spring” was born in nearby Springdale in 1907 and studied at Pittsburgh-based Chatham.
