I’m coming out of my self-imposed July Blog-cation to comment of the events that have transpired over the last two days. If you haven’t been keeping up, Orac at Respectful Insolence has the full story. Long story short – Science Blogs released a new blog, Frontiers in Food, sponsored by PepsiCo and written by PepsiCo … Read More “Blogging with integrity” »
I am pleased to announce that I will be working with Cindy and Alexa of Oceans 4 Ever during their Summer Sharktakular! The week of July 19th will be dedicated to shark conservation education. As with most things involving Oceans 4 Ever, a major component of the SharkTakular is a contest- specifically a shark conservation … Read More “Introducing the Summer SharkTakular photo contest!” »
We have been and continue to be critical of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Although their goals are admirable their methods are not only ineffective, but in some cases impair the achievement of those goals. With the premier of Whale Wars season 3 tomorrow evening, we’d like to take a moment to highlight the issues … Read More “Sea Shepherd and Whale Wars” »
The online shark science community has been critical of the Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week” in the past because some of the documentaries promote fear of sharks at a time when we should be promoting respect and conservation. According to the Dorsal Fin blog, this year is looking like it will bring us more of the … Read More “Last year’s Shark Week coverage” »
Yup, the rumors are true, Southern Fried Science has sold out. Sold out in a Big Way. We’re abandoning our values and beliefs to become shills for the novelty t-shirt industry. But seriously, it costs about $150 a year to produce Southern Fried Science, which is not a trivial amount for graduate students. And while … Read More “Southern Fried Science sells out” »
A few weeks ago, I asked readers to voice their support for a proposed anti-shark finning bill in Hawaii. Those of you who follow me on Twitter have seen numerous updates about this important issue. I am pleased to report that the bill passed both the House and Senate this morning, and it will soon … Read More “Hawaii shark fin bill passes!” »
The first shark conservation proposal at CITES has been defeated. This was not a proposed appendix II listing that I wrote about yesterday, but rather a nonbinding measure that “called for increased transparency in the shark trade and more research into the threat posed to sharks by illegal fishing” (from the AP article linked to … Read More “Shark conservation is not off to a good start at CITES” »
Although vertebrates, sharks have cartilaginous skeletons. Why can’t they make up their minds? Sharks don’t fly anymore. Seriously, there used to be flying sharks. Flying Sharks. You can’t make this stuff up. Shark fins have no flavor. None. I mean what’s the point? Dermatologists get confused. Teeth for skin? What’s up with that? Sharks aren’t … Read More “10 things I hate about sharks” »
The government of Hawaii has proposed a bill banning the sale of shark fins within their state. It currently has the catchy title of “SB 2169: A bill for an act relating to shark fins”, and you can read it here. This bill is progressing much faster than my shark conservation friends working in Hawaii … Read More “Hawaii’s shark fin bill: Public comment period closes Monday” »
It’s time for another “philosophy of activism” discussion, in which we debate a tactic that a particular group of activists is using in order to determine if the environmental movement should adopt it. This time, we turn to Facebook. As a Facebook addict, I’ve noticed a new trend: groups that say “I bet we can … Read More “Philosophy of activism: “I bet we can find one million” facebook groups” »