Growing up in California, it never occurred to me that my heritage as a great-great-great-granddaughter of Stonewall Jackson was something to note or be proud of. I went to school and learned about the evils of the Civil War, and determined for myself at an early age that slavery was absolutely abhorrent. It took me […]
I grew up in a very interesting town. Despite its proximity to San Francisco, or its name (Castro Valley), there were still quite a few stark contrasts when it came to talking about race, religion, and diversity in general among my friends and myself. Sure we had a diverse school, with plenty of first generation students […]
After a long summer and even longer start to my fall semester, the Pacific Leatherback Sea Turtle Conservation Summit has come and gone. Over the last 3 days, there were 15 delegates from the Tambrauw Regency of Indonesia and about 30 representatives of different marine organizations/agencies (except those from the federal government). Everything went smoothly at […]
Pacific leatherbacks need our help more than ever. Despite being listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 1970 their population is currently declining at 6% per year. If this trend continues we could lose these magnificent turtles in 20 years. In order to provide more protection for the species, political and scientific leaders from […]
In response to Governor Brown’s signing of Assembly Bill 1776, which designates the endangered leatherback sea turtle as California’s official state reptile and designates October 15 as Leatherback Conservation Day, state and federal agencies have been encouraged to build cooperative relationships with the Western Pacific island nations, where Pacific leatherback sea turtlesreturn from California waters to nest. This fall, from […]
After a month in this lovely Mediterranean climate, I can safely say I’m glad to be here. Unlike the other CBE summer fellows in Palau, Papua New Guinea, and Bali (despite researching these areas intensely) I am in one of the five mediterranean climates. From the map, you can see that Chile, South Africa, Australia, and, of course, […]
In my office for the past few weeks there has been a lot of talk about the (West Coast) great white sharks and the possible Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). From the perspective of my colleagues at Oceana and many other marine scientists, this subspecies of great whites […]
A few weeks ago (I know, I know… worst blogger ever) I had the awesome opportunity to attend California Academy of Sciences’ “Sustainable Catch” Nightlife with the FishWise crew. Now, for those of us Bay Area locals, Cal Academy Nightlife if a well known excuse to drink while walking through an indoor rainforest, a kick-ass aquarium, […]
We’re already gearing up for this year’s first official Pacific Leatherback Sea Turtle Conservation Day on October 15! When Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 1776 into law last year, he declared an official celebratory day for the Pacific leatherback sea turtle and made it the state’s marine reptile, in order to increase awareness and conservation of this endangered species. With […]
If you were lucky enough to catch The Animal Planet’s two new documentaries about mermaids, The Body Found and The New Evidence, you were probably left confused and uninformed. The audience was only informed at one point in the credits that the interviewees were actors, not scientists. And rather than covering the long list of problems that the […]
Tag: United States