Ponderings of a Scientist

“This insect exceeds even the elephant’s brute strength, as
measured against body size. The rhinoceros beetle can carry up to 850 times its
own weight. Elephants, by contrast, can only lift about a quarter of their
weight.” -National Geographic Online

-Programing note- I will be posting a picture of a species of interest approxiamately weekly.

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann

**Note this poem has been the source of lots of copyright controversy. Since I think copyrights are stupid (and I consulted with my personal librarian) I'm posting it here.  As long as you don't pay me for enlightening you with these words we should be all set.**

So I got a new job!! I accepted a position teaching marine science at a high technology, innovative, aquarium/ fisheries research center.  Now I just have to figure out how to transition from my old position, fit in my part-time job that will be 10 hours/week for the next few weeks instead of the usual 5 hours/month, and convince my former graduate advisor that I have no time to rework some of my old experiments. 

The kicker is that I have nothing (literally!!) to do at my old job, but in two weeks they will be extremely busy and likely need my help.  So do I leave before then or do I stay, with absolutely nothing to do for at least a week, to help them out.  I really like the people I currently work for and I don't want to inconvenience them, but they knew this was coming.  They encouraged me to look for a new position, because of major reorganization in my current program, and they knew I was the top prospect at what is now my new employer.  My new employer understands the time thing and is so far being very flexible, but I also don't want to disappoint them!! Argh!

On a cooler note I have $2000, courtesy of the new gig, to purchase a computer for myself. Any thoughts?

NEW TRAIN OF THOUGHT:

Last night I saw a commercial on T.V. (I wouldn't say for what type of vehicle) with the catch phrase, “You don't have to give up anything to get everything.”  At this point I thought to myself, boy, isn't that the mentality of most American citizens.  We are so needy and we expect everything without working for it or making any sacrifices.  This is especially prominent in the generation of kids raised on the “let's grow their self-esteem” model instead of the “you get what you earn” model.  Search my previous blogs from more on this (I can't find it).  I think this idea of no sacrifice is extremely pertinent at the moment since we are in a war (READ: occupation).  Has society forgotten that wartime usually means sacrifice states-side?  Oh yes, we don't have to worry about it because we are middle class or above, most of us don't have family fighting in Iraq, and as long as we don't, we can ignore the whole thing!  Once again, I would like to say thank you to our soldiers and sorry about the politicians keeping you there.  VOTE in the fall, re-seat Congress.

I just re-examined the Northeast Seafood Watch pocket guide and I would like to add the following:

I think its fine to eat Sea Scallops and Haddock (both on the avoid list). The scallop fishery is booming right now, just expect high prices as demand is high. Haddock stocks have recovered much better than Cod and new gear devices that specifically select Haddock (avoiding Cod and the flatfish - flounder, sole, plaice, etc.) have increased the viability of the fishery. Shrimp fishers caught tons of Gulf of Maine shrimp this spring (the season is now over), the stock appears healthy and the fishery will likely improve in years to come. This year the industry had a hard time selling product because all of the onshore infrastructure disappeared when shrimp disappeared in the 1990s. However, if you can find frozen northeast caught shrimp go for it.

Politicalese – the language of pacification; the lack of
fear-mongering

               Republicans:  say:
“Climate Change”   mean:  “Global Warming”
               Democrats: say: “Invest in the Future”    mean: “Raise Taxes”

Speaking of global warming (guess I’m never going to get elected
as a republican):

“Anthropogenically induced global
climate change has profound implications for marine ecosystems and the economic
and social systems that depend upon them. The relationship between temperature
and individual performance is reasonably well understood, and much
climate-related research has focused on potential shifts in distribution and
abundance driven directly by temperature. However, recent work has revealed
that both abiotic changes and biological responses in the ocean will be substantially
more complex. For example, changes in ocean chemistry may be more important
than changes in temperature for the performance and survival of many organisms.
Ocean circulation, which drives larval transport, will also change, with
important consequences for population dynamics. Furthermore, climatic impacts
on one or a few 'leverage species' may result in sweeping community-level
changes. Finally, synergistic effects between climate and other anthropogenic
variables, particularly fishing pressure, will likely exacerbate
climate-induced changes. Efforts to manage and conserve living marine systems
in the face of climate change will require improvements to the existing
predictive framework. Key directions for future research include identifying key
demographic transitions that influence population dynamics, predicting changes
in the community-level impacts of ecologically dominant species, incorporating
populations' ability to evolve (adapt), and understanding the scales over which
climate will change and living systems will respond.”

-        
Hardy, C.D.G et
al. 2006 The impacts of climate
change in coastal marine systems. Ecology
Letters. 9:228

I hope I didn’t violate some copyright by reproducing the
abstract of this article!  For those not
familiar with biology-speak, what the authors are saying is the increasing
ocean temperature could be the least of our problems, ecologically
speaking.  Changes in other physical
features of the ocean could result in major issues for all sorts of marine
organisms, and if certain key species are disturbed whole ecosystems could
crash!  My sense is that coastal zones
will be most affected as rising ocean levels will completely cover tidal plains
and wetland marshes.

On a related note (boy this post is all over the place).  Researchers at the University
of New Hampshire are working with
Great Bay Aquaculture (GBA) to develop sustainable aquaculture (fish farming)
techniques.  Currently, GBA circulates
brackish river water through their tanks, filtering and otherwise treating it  before returning it to the river.  They use heat exchange between in- and
out-going water to prevent heat pollution in the river.  The UNH researchers come in by developing a
technique to utilize the filtered out waste/nutrients to grow nori seaweed.  The nori is then used as a fish feed product.
Fish eat nori à
fish excrete waste à waste feeds nori à and around we go!

Personally, I’m not yet sold on fish aquaculture.  I understand the need, given the current
state of the world’s natural fish populations, however most companies/countries
are going about it all wrong.  As
consumers we influence policy every time we spend money and its important to
spend money on products you support. 
Unfortunately, most Americans are so detached from their food supply they
don’t realize the difference between local grown or caught products versus
those created in a far off country with policies they may not support.  Back to fish specifically, I try to always
purchase U.S.
caught wild fish.  This (like with all
other food products) limits your choices considerable and you need to become
aware of fishing seasons if you want fresh product.  I will purchase farmed fish from the U.S.
(shrimp and tilapia are good choices), but I just can’t support the shrimp
farms of other countries.  Shrimp farming
is notorious for destroying coastal habitat (think the mangrove forests that
can absorb lots of hurricane/tsunami energy) and treating their workers poorly,
never mind the condition of their shrimp ponds or the antibiotics they feed the
shrimp.  Farmed salmon (even from the U.S.)
is also a bad choice in my opinion.  Fish
are genetic modified and Pacific species are farmed off the Atlantic coast,
causing all types of problems to wild stocks if farmed animals escape.  Also, farmed salmon is naturally white (not
pink or red) because of their feed lacking the pink pigment, however, most
farmers dye the salmon so that consumers don’t freak out.  That orangey-pink color is not natural!!  However, organic salmon farms are coming online
that will provide a good alternative to the high costs of wild salmon and the
poor quality of other farmed salmon.

Everyone that eats fish should check out the Monterey Bay
Aquarium Seafood Watch Guide.  You can
print out location specific, wallet-sized guides to which seafood products are
good choices and which aren’t. 
Determinations are based on the health of fishery/farm and pollutants in
certain species.  Eat Fish!!

Did you know if you disagree with any of the administrations policies your are:

1. Unpatriotic,
2. Compromising National Security,
3. A Liberal!!

I bet The Dresden Dolls are all three and I recommend their newish CD, “Yes, Virginia” and if you disagree with me I’m going to tell everyone that you are unpatriotic and a threat to national security you damn mentally unstable liberal!!! (Zipy did you catch the sarcasm??)

Three comments:

1. A recent study found that some Honda and Toyota vehicles produced in the U.S. have more U.S. made parts in them than traditional American Companies, Ford, GM, and Daimler-Chrysler (not really American any more, but included in the article).

2. I hate car companies that try to appeal to both environmentally minded consumers and those wanting big, powerful, prestigous SUVs and trucks. This is one reason I chose a Honda hybrid over a Toyota hybrid; Honda makes more small cars and while they do have big cars those cars are more fuel efficient and less in number than the big Toyotas.

Recently I saw a commercial for Chevy vehicles that I found really funny, because Chevy can’t even dedicate a whole commercial to it’s environmentally conscious campaign. The first 20 seconds are spent trying to convince you that Chevy’s big cars get better fuel efficiency than you would expect and that many use 4 cylinder engines to do so. Then they say this, ” Four cylinders for fuel efficiency or eight cylinders for power….” What, were they afraid they would lose their big powerful truck desiring consumers if they didn’t remind us all that they make overpowered gas guzzlers? Come on! If they want to make large cars (which they say they only make because the market demands it and if the market wanted small cars they would make them) just do it, don’t try to pretend to be environmentally friendly too.

3. Speaking of environmentally friendly cars I’m intrigued by the Fit and Yaris. My only question is why does my Civic Hybrid get better gas mileage? You would think the hybrid technology could be place in any car at this point and why make a tiny car and try to sell it as fuel efficient and good for the environment while not makeing if available with an alternative technology option (hybrid, biodiesel, flex-fuel)?

ARGGGHHHHH!!! Will our legislative body ever take on a cause that matters to more than the lobbyists and rich of this country? I can not believe that the House is wasting my time and money discussing the Estate Tax, which the Republicans have slyly renamed the “Death Tax” (I’m so sick of political vernacular!!). Should we really be worried about how much in taxes the heir’s of the ultra-rich have to pay? Please, if you’re getting 5 million from Daddy I think you can afford a little tax, even a lot of tax. The republicans’ compromise bill, which the wussy democrats may agree to, would cause the Feds to loss 60 billion a year in tax revenue! Sixty billion; its not like we’re in a deficit of monumental proportions and need that money!!!! Stupid Stupid Stupid!

Also, if I hear that the “Death Tax” is immoral because it taxes the same money twice one more time I’m going to scream. You can’t tax dead people!! In reality it works like this: you taxed Dad’s money once when he earned it our through capital gains, then it became the kid’s money via inheritance and their new money gets taxed once! Sort of like all the other taxes out there! For example, my Dad’s income is taxed, then he is nice enough to give me money to help with a down payment on a house purchase (hint, hint), if that amount is larger than $10,000 or $15,000 (I’m not exactly sure and too irritated to look it up) it is considered a gift which I then pay taxes on. Mr and Mrs. House Representatives when are you going to repeal the gift tax law? Isn’t it immoral too?

Oh wait I have an idea, why don’t you worry about something useful like increasing the minimum wage or ending our invasion (not WAR) in Iraq!

This message brought to you because of a thoughtful conversation with my husband last night and a segment on NPR.

Three environmentally related stories involving the
President have recently come to my attention.
The way I see it his plus/minus is zero.
A neutral plus/minus is just about the best we can expect from the Texas
oil barren cowboy (how depressing is that).

+1. Enacting the
Antiquities Act of 1906 (I think) to designate the North
West Islands of Hawaii
a National Monument. This area,approximately
140,000 square miles, is the largest marine sanctuary in the world and this designation will protect one of the
last truly natural (read: not affected by humans) marine ecosystems in the world. While I very much appreciate this designation
I can’t help but be cynical. What is
G.W. up to? Did he secretly sign a bill
to open all of Alaska to oil drilling while the environmentalist of the country
were awestruck by the Hawaii announcement?
Perhaps nothing this cynical is at play, but still he has an alterior
motive I’m sure. The area he designated
was already part of a 5 year pilot marine sanctuary program and would have
likely been authorized as such by Congress in the next few years, he just took
the thunder and glory for himself!

Neutral. Some high up
in the administration announced this week after years (perhaps decades) of
debate that the federal government’s official stand on national parks will be
such: “Conservation before Utilization”. For some reason this wasn’t an obvious
decision. I rank this as neutral however
because there is no law involved; we now must wait an see what happens when
some big business interest wants access to a park for some profit. Hopefully, we will have a more environmentally
minded administration by that point.

-1. Thank you Supreme
Court Justice Kennedy for casting the deciding vote on the save our wetlands debate. Apparently the EPA’s Clean Water Act is too bothersome for home builders eager to turn low-lying land into
multi-million dollar house with estuary, pond or ocean views. Lobbyists tried to convince the Supreme Court
that the rules protecting all water in the country were too strict and water that
doesn’t directly drain into a river or ocean shouldn’t be included in the rules. All of the Bush appointees agreed with the
builders (4 total), fourothers sided with the original ruling, and then Justice
Kennedy came in with a rather vague ruling that essential sends the whole issue
back to a lower court, but does save our wetlands for now. If I weren’t about to run out the door I
would leave you with a spiel on the importance of wetlands, instead I direct you to the court documents.