http://www.vimeo.com/7457522

After spending numerous meetings with Maya Lin at the Academy and seeing how she distilled the stories told by some of the most venerable figures in the field of conservation biology into a final artwork, it seemed fitting that we should give a voice to someone who took a chance to give a different perspective to science. Shaped like a giant megaphone, the “Listening Cone” unveiled September 17, 2009 on the Academy’s East Terrace is not just an art exhibit, nor is it just a memorial. It is at once a portal to planet Earth and a sounding device to the work that is currently being done to conserve its resources. Take your shoes off and step inside!

The Listening Cone is part of a multi-site memorial called “What is Missing”. To learn more about what others are doing and what you can do to prevent species and habitat loss visit a selection of the institutions and organizations that played an advisory role to the “What is Missing” project.

Cornell Lab of Ornithology
National Geographic Society
Conservation International
National Resources Defense Council
World Wildlife Fund
Freedom to Roam

-Lindsay

 

 Science Informing Art: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Is the recent dust storm that swept through Sydney a sign of climate change?

The images were too amazing to pass this story up. As we were doing our research, we found this interesting article saying that dust storms help decrease the affects of global warming. No scientists were named in the story, so we decided to dig deeper. Contacting various departments at UC Berkeley, we were put in contact with Charlie Koven, who had done his PhD thesis on dust and climate change. What a great find. Thanks to Skype, we were able to interview him in France, where he’s currently a postdoc.

 

 Dust Storms and Climate Change: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The effects of global climate change could be devastating: rising sea levels, melting Arctic ice, stronger heat waves, intense wildfires…and now, shrinking sheep?

(Flickr Creative Commons photo by jonesor)

 

 Shrinking Sheep: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

A voyage across the ocean in a plastic boat seems an unlikely way to fight the buildup of plastic in the ocean. Yet that is just what David de Rothschild and team are planning as they build a 60 foot boat made entirely from recycled plastic. Dubbed “Plastiki”, after Thor Hyerdahl’s “Kon-Tiki” that made a similar voyage in 1947, the vessel is being manufactured out of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) - the same material used to make water bottles. Their goal is to change the public view of plastic as a one-use material into one that sees plastic for what it really is - a cheap and versatile raw material that can be reused time and time again.

The voyage calls attention to the toxic soup created from decades of dumping used plastic into the ocean. The mess created by our throw-away society has been consolidated by the winds and currents of the North Pacific Gyre into vast floating garbage patches. Much of the plastic is visible - bottles, toys, bags, netting, etc., but most of what is floating is invisible, because over time, plastic breaks apart into micro-particles. In some areas of the gyre the ratio of plastic to plankton is as high six to one.  Birds, fish and mammals choke on and are poisoned by the bigger pieces, while the tiny particles are ingested by small marine life and enter the food chain. To make matters worse, the micro-particles attract and absorb toxic chemicals that are ingested as well.

As de Rothschild likes to say, the solution to pollution is not dilution. We need to change our thinking about the life cycle of plastic.  The voyage of Plastiki demonstrates that plastic is not the problem – it’s how we use plastic. We don’t think of steel as a material to be dumped in the ocean after a single use. Steel is melted down and reformed. We can do the same with plastic - it is a matter of changing how we view it.

-Pete

 

 Plastics in our Oceans: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Last night’s Science in Action at Nightlife was a hit! Kishore Hari led a great conversation about the worldwide amphibian decline with Dr. Tyrone Hayes and Allison Argo. Allison’s film, Frogs: The Thin Green Line had three popular screenings in the Forum Theater and Tyrone walked around the Academy like the scientist rock star he is.

Did you hear the conversation? See the film? What did you think? What will you do to help frogs?

Do you have topics you’d like to discuss at Nightlife? Let us know.