tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23952133488561482322024-03-04T23:16:40.825-07:00Community Discussion Around The Nature of ThingsJoin the community conversation as The Nature of Things 2011 looks at "Reinventing Energy" in a lecture series presented by the Utah Museum of Natural History. You are invited to comment, join the discussion, and contribute ideas for future series speakers and guest bloggers.Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00622538021626257342noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2395213348856148232.post-32079864509689753102011-04-05T12:10:00.002-06:002011-04-05T12:15:30.138-06:00The Ecology of Dialogue<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz67AoJM0SMz8FSQW80bCr-z91NsXlG-O5pCk577k_k4qthkvqtbKv1XkbCH0FgNahSU6FH_Z5ao4S7InIpAluqcgoQMnrB_Cie_0xp0_tvvFphy7VOaPSiXhq3lYll6sexpItXLtqPJQ/s1600/174681_120651431338740_596443_q.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 50px; height: 50px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz67AoJM0SMz8FSQW80bCr-z91NsXlG-O5pCk577k_k4qthkvqtbKv1XkbCH0FgNahSU6FH_Z5ao4S7InIpAluqcgoQMnrB_Cie_0xp0_tvvFphy7VOaPSiXhq3lYll6sexpItXLtqPJQ/s200/174681_120651431338740_596443_q.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592164342493664802" /></a><br />Throughout my environmental studies education at the U, I think the single most important concept I have learned is that everything is interconnected. That is the heart of ecology, which is the heartbeat of the relationships between all life on our planet (forgive my lack of a source for that one). Due to these complex connections, one action can have serious effects on something that seems completely unrelated. Therefore, in addressing ecological issues, there is a dire need for balance and consideration of all entities affected by our actions. A watered-down example of this would be initial habitat destruction associated with coal mining, followed by air and water pollution caused by coal-burning, which spreads the impact of that mine much further than the excavation site.<br /><br />However, these entities not only include the animal populations and habitats damaged by the human hunt for resources, but the people themselves that are driven by the valid need for them. As much as I and others would love to see all land on the planet whole and untouched, that is not an entirely realistic option. We need to protect the planet, but are also by default obligated to sustain our own species. It is up to us to use the gifts of our environment responsibly, and find that balance.<br /><br />In order to do that, we must communicate. In regard to the specific task at hand, reinventing energy, consumers, utility companies, representatives at different governmental levels and environmental agencies need to work together. Each must provide their own insights to create a balanced solution that accommodates the energy demands of our society while still complying with regulations and the ethical treatment of ecosystems.<br /><br />Of course, this is easier said than done. That's why the Utah Museum of Natural History has assembled the upcoming panel of speakers with a diverse range of expertise. We will hear from people working for clean energy at the city, county, and state levels, as well as Piper Rhodes of Rio Tinto and Sarah Wright of Utah Clean Energy. By creating dialogue between these people as well as the attendees (you), we can hear different answers to difficult questions, and use this mixture of ideas to create solutions that benefit both people and the environment.<br /><br />An example of a successful outcome of this cooperation is highlighted in <a href="http://utahcleanenergy.org/files/u1/SSL_Press_Release.pdf">this </a>article from a few years ago. Salt Lake City received federal funding for large-scale solar power implementation project. The “Solar Salt Lake Project” between Salt Lake City and County, as well as Kennecott land, which owns a large portion of Salt Lake Valley’s developable land. In addition, Utah Clean Energy manages the project by sorting out the technical details, and Rocky Mountain Power also provides funding. If all goes well, 10,000 solar systems will be installed in the Salt Lake Valley by 2015.<br /><br />This is just one project of the many that are required to produce significant progress toward halting and reversing the environmental damage of fossil energy. Through further dialogue, teamwork, innovation, and combinations of expertise, we will continue to make changes and create the balance of a more ecological way of living and working. It’s not just up to the pros, either. The point of the community panel is to create connections between these experts and you, the people who need energy. If you need clarification or are frustrated with the pace of new energy development (I know I am), come and voice those concerns. If you are just awed by the power of the sun, that’s cool too! We need to hear from everyone, because we are all affected in one way or another.Alycia Parnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06224646471947782552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2395213348856148232.post-30090559837154516412011-04-01T00:44:00.003-06:002011-04-01T00:58:32.277-06:00Springing to Action<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzvE7_iAImHVNdYoKh1dyYc0dyDMmsPudUX_xhCXY8hYQbdGI65sIBDb5Ifso9MLNYSWQHwzU3e_eScvDeiAl9Ixh_EWNun_1pB4MwPkq5Wcwa8oU7pA1xk7tFmCPUQCir_kI7iXGRHWk/s1600/1202318429L5w9QW.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzvE7_iAImHVNdYoKh1dyYc0dyDMmsPudUX_xhCXY8hYQbdGI65sIBDb5Ifso9MLNYSWQHwzU3e_eScvDeiAl9Ixh_EWNun_1pB4MwPkq5Wcwa8oU7pA1xk7tFmCPUQCir_kI7iXGRHWk/s200/1202318429L5w9QW.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590505824471179618" /></a><br />At this point in the game, I am pretty sure that we can save the world. It might just be the warm weather and budding flowers sending a breeze of optimism through my heart, but I think that we have been presented with a powerful set of tools with which to combat climate change through the reinvention of energy. The first three lectures of The Nature of Things series have provided a clear picture of what needs to be done, and what is happening right now. The new technology presented by Jeff Muhs, Fred Krupp's success stories, and the challenges and innovative solutions that Jonathan Hoekstra discussed have collectively painted a landscape of hope that will soon be free of fossil-based fuel. <br /><br />I think we can all agree that actual implementation of renewable energy is often frustratingly evasive. We have been provided with the knowledge of what's out there, but we want it right here, too. To balance out the big picture with things we can do in our own lives, The Nature of Things will next feature a panel of energy leaders that specialize in making a difference in our own state of Utah. They will answer questions specific to our unique location, so that we can work together to make progress in our own communities, and by extension, the world at large. The panelists will provide a range of perspectives and a breadth of information about changes being implemented in Utah. For example, they will provide insight concerning where specifically to focus our efforts while building a clean energy economy in Utah, the most promising clean energy projects in Utah right now, and the most important ways that we as private citizens can contribute to clean energy development. The panelists also represent a range of scales, from city to county to state levels, as well as outside organizations such as PacifiCorp and Rio Tinto. <br /><br />I hope that this panel discussion will give us an even better idea of how to adjust our own behaviors to help keep the ball rolling towards further implementation of clean energy. If we set an example in our own community, others will see the light as well (pun intended). And as long as spring is in the air, I will continue to be cheery and optimistic, and tell you to join the discussion if you're interested in saving the world.Alycia Parnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06224646471947782552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2395213348856148232.post-62949541706443441532011-03-30T16:41:00.014-06:002011-04-11T16:27:45.762-06:00Not Just Throwing Money to the Wind<div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span>This shameless plug for the Renewable Energy Campaign was written by Paul Spencer, Office of Sustainability intern.<!--?xml:namespace prefix = o /--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span>In several of her recent posts, Alycia has talked about the importance of individual responsibility and cooperative efforts in reinventing energy. Of course, conservation and reducing consumption are probably the most important things we can do at an individual level. Making our voices heard in politics is also important, but not always immediately fruitful. And, at least as far as energy is concerned, many of us wonder what more we can do, short of outfitting our homes with expensive solar panels or giant electricity-generating gerbil wheels.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span>However, did you know that if you're a University of Utah student, you're already contributing to one of the biggest green energy purchases in the country, automatically? Every time a U of U student pays tuition, a dollar from that goes to the Renewable Energy Campaign, which uses the money to buy Green-E certified renewable energy credits that help develop wind energy. A dollar may not sound like much, but the collective effort has </span><span><a href="http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/toplists/top20ed.htm"><b><span>placed the U in 7th</span></b></a></span><span> on the EPA's rankings of colleges and universities for green power purchases. Now imagine if every student gave two dollars? Or more?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span>It's not just up to students to do their part, though. U Faculty and staff have been challenged to step up to the plate as well, </span><span><a href="http://www.facilities.utah.edu/portal/site/facilities/menuitem.d64fb9d023e43bec6368cbc2c1e916b9/?vgnextoid=f5dcf60c8df51210VgnVCM1000001c9e619bRCRD&vgnextchannel=94317a74ba121210VgnVCM1000001c9e619bRCRD"><b><span>with many departments already donating yearly</span></b></a></span><span> (which also allows for interdepartmental bragging rights, like when UMNH beat Undergraduate Studies in 2009). You don't even have to be associated with the U in order to donate, and it's a great way to help offset your personal electricity use at home. Of course, it also doesn't hurt that it's a tax deductible contribution. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span>So, if you're a starving student, we thank you for your contribution, and encourage you to challenge your professors, friends, relatives, neighbors, employers, Facebook friends (even the ones you don't like very much), etc., to go to </span><span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/windpower.utah.edu"><b><span>windpower.utah.edu</span></b></a></span><span> and match or better your own tuition-imposed generosity. </span></p> <p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <span>Lastly, we are looking for feedback on options for how the money is spent. Currently the money goes toward cost effective Green-E certified RECs that put power on and develop wind energy in the western US grid in general. Would you be more eager to donate if we invested directly in a more local renewable energy company, even if it pays for less energy? What about buying solar panels for campus buildings? Let us know in the comments!</span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2395213348856148232.post-79232453714922435752011-03-22T00:55:00.004-06:002011-03-22T01:09:55.475-06:00Things Sprawl Apart<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-CbfdjOZgA3Y0YTU2rIqAh_eidPBC4Wpbk_QwTQCT6elVEakBTutC-rfKeWKBaIzhnv8T1y2z-HLdDr5fYslfqA5977OeoGWbu0nq9ExhS1gdXtKlqTz41h1Bz3AfOjVSQ3Gg_jRiCxs/s1600/solar-array.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 100px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-CbfdjOZgA3Y0YTU2rIqAh_eidPBC4Wpbk_QwTQCT6elVEakBTutC-rfKeWKBaIzhnv8T1y2z-HLdDr5fYslfqA5977OeoGWbu0nq9ExhS1gdXtKlqTz41h1Bz3AfOjVSQ3Gg_jRiCxs/s200/solar-array.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586798062418235666" /></a><br />Jonathan Hoekstra’s lecture on Wednesday was both highly informative and empowering. He presented quite a bit of data that proved energy sprawl to be a formidable challenge, accompanied by a number of reasonable actions that we can take right now to prevent it.<br /><br />As stated in a previous post, I noticed a lack of individual accountability in the first two lectures of the series. Jeff Muhs and Fred Krupp described some great progress in the effort to reinvent energy, but they didn’t spend too much time on encouraging people to conserve energy in the first place. In contrast, Hoekstra stressed energy conservation as the main strategy in preventing energy sprawl and other issues. In what he dubbed the “one percent challenge,” Hoekstra discussed simple actions that we can take, such as thermostat adjustments, turning out lights, and walking instead of driving. Cutting energy consumption by just 1% could save 500,000 acres of land.<br /><br />However, as much as I like to champion sustainable lifestyle changes, actions need to be taken on all levels, from personal behavior to federal legislation. Hoekstra spent a lot of time discussing the need for a coherent national energy policy. One issue with renewable energy systems, especially wind power, is that they are often established in places where demand is highest, and not necessarily the most efficient locations. This lack of central organization results in a “willy nilly” distribution of power sites, and contributes to energy sprawl.<br /><br />The race to reinvent energy is an ongoing process with many hurdles along the way, but we are making progress. To go further, it's going to take effort on the part of everyone. When asked whether the public or private sector has more responsibility to fix our nation's energy problems, Hoekstra said that they have different roles to play. We need cohesive policies from the government, while local businesses and citizens seize the entrepreneurial opportunities provided by the need for change. For this local perspective on things, I am looking forward to the final event of the series, which will be a panel discussion of local energy leaders. I think they will provide insight into what we can do in our own city, and help bridge the gap between large-scale ideas and personal action.Alycia Parnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06224646471947782552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2395213348856148232.post-25906426120106220652011-03-14T16:25:00.004-06:002011-03-14T16:49:42.805-06:00Energy Sprawl Solutions<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3icfCgnWteaXzr3f5dZdbmZx7xiwfIVWD_4Fxr7R6WFGd-VmBfPHf4AFavix2CMOHJG3RB43l45HrUi9lBQuc5AlwsbpeR4NUyJd_OwtJ7mqqsWpvdVssrSiPBuA1KH5kES4XnORrDZM/s1600/Energy+Sprawl.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 132px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584068189965547234" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3icfCgnWteaXzr3f5dZdbmZx7xiwfIVWD_4Fxr7R6WFGd-VmBfPHf4AFavix2CMOHJG3RB43l45HrUi9lBQuc5AlwsbpeR4NUyJd_OwtJ7mqqsWpvdVssrSiPBuA1KH5kES4XnORrDZM/s200/Energy+Sprawl.jpg" /></a><br />Few would argue that clean energy is the best tool we have to combat climate change (but if you do, speak up!). The first two speakers of The Nature of Things series have delivered messages of innovation and hope for its implementation. The remarkable research and efforts of people involved with fixing our energy problems and cleaning up the planet have proven alternative energy to be extremely beneficial. However, clean energy faces issues that go beyond the unfair market challenges outlined by Fred Krupp and the lack of transformational progress that Jeff Muhs discussed. In particular, land demands associated with energy infrastructure present another problem. Powering our nation with sustainably will require large expanses of land to devote to solar panel installation, wind turbines, biofuel crops, etc. Energy sprawl, discussed more at length in <a href="http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/26/study-warns-of-energy-sprawl/">this </a>article, presents a bit of a challenge, but is by no means insurmountable.<br /><br />Jonathan Hoekstra, senior scientist at The Nature Conservancy, will discuss energy sprawl solutions at this week’s Nature of Things lecture. I’ll admit that this issue was news to me before getting involved with The Nature of Things, and I was rather dismayed that alternative energy isn’t entirely perfect (especially since I’ve been heralding its joys to the world for years). However, I appreciate the realistic approach that will be acknowledged in Wednesday’s lecture, and I look forward to the encouraging solutions that Hoekstra will surely present. Addressing these issues now will produce even better options to help the effort to reinvent energy.Alycia Parnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06224646471947782552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2395213348856148232.post-7566563466658519622011-03-11T10:32:00.004-07:002011-03-13T19:04:26.312-06:00Giving Clean Energy a Chance<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjac0xSSziQdtkSbnfNiMO6nJZrP-N_atvZtnZxXpjmI4XguoFvCiN_ox0e0m1W2SQ4gN5ln68qovhQZZdgMyCQ0DTEAhQmmpEElXCNmaPgnWmVtNebfI01k2ubvfV5q2TbNsG2Ulqk1yA/s1600/Krupp_300x300.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjac0xSSziQdtkSbnfNiMO6nJZrP-N_atvZtnZxXpjmI4XguoFvCiN_ox0e0m1W2SQ4gN5ln68qovhQZZdgMyCQ0DTEAhQmmpEElXCNmaPgnWmVtNebfI01k2ubvfV5q2TbNsG2Ulqk1yA/s320/Krupp_300x300.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582992160276438770" /></a><br />Fred Krupp's keynote lecture on March 2 provided a balance of practical solutions, willingness to compromise, and hope that is not entirely common in the world of lectures regarding environmental crises. I often find that lectures like this focus on the dire straits in which we have hurled the environment, and then maybe the cool technology that might haul us out, but not so much about implementation. Thankfully, Fred Krupp was full of ideas.<br /><br />Mainly, Krupp stressed the unequaled power of the marketplace in determining the success of any product. If given the opportunity, he is confident that consumers will drive the demand for clean energy. However, it will take some work to level out the playing field and give clean energy technology a fair chance. There will have to be compromises. Another aspect of Krupp's lecture that I appreciated was the acknowledgment that I order to make improvements, we have to listen to each other and come up a solution that will serve both sides. In the end, cooperation will yield the greatest results while still generating incredible wealth and environmental benefits. <br /><br />However, Krupp didn't cover a few things that I find important in dialogue about energy and other environmental issues. In both Krupp's and Jeff Muhs' lectures, I noticed that there was little mention of holding individuals accountable for their energy demands. There was some talk about leaving lights on unnecessarily, but there wasn't a lot about reducing the amount of energy we use in the first place, not to mention other lifestyle changes necessary to live in a truly sustainable manner. But that's another blog post. I just don't think technology will solve all of our problems; a lot of the responsibility lies in our own hands as well. <br /><br />As The Nature of Things gets ready to welcome Jonathan Hoekstra, some of the deeper issues associated with energy use and production will hopefully be addressed. In his discussion about the potential sprawl of energy infrastructure, I hope to hear something about how much energy is reasonable to produce in the first place. We can wait for solutions to appear, but we can also take action ourselves and adjust our own behaviors. It's going to take a huge amount of change from different sources. Keep up with the Nature of Things series to hear about many of them, and generate your own ideas about how to reinvent energy!Alycia Parnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06224646471947782552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2395213348856148232.post-39174774781540564862011-03-01T01:37:00.005-07:002011-03-01T01:48:25.678-07:00Changes, Big and SmallAfter full immersion in the planning stages of The Nature of Things, watching Jeff Muhs kick off the series with his talk about transformational energy technologies was extra refreshing. Not only did he discuss some truly ground-breaking innovations as promised (electrified roadways? Who would have thought!), but he also frankly addressed the reasons why new energy systems have a hard time being implemented. Unsurprisingly, a primary challenge is the traditional incremental system of technological progress that favors gradually building upon existing methods rather than replacing them with different systems that could work a lot better.<br /><br />Of Muhs’ many solutions to our energy crisis, I particularly enjoyed his shoutout to universities and other non-federal organizations as capable keyholders to a bright energy future. I see that truth every day as I roam the U of U campus. My peers and I are highly sensitive to the fact that things aren’t moving quite as fast as they should be, and we’re dead set on achieving real change. We are thankful for the few ‘compostable’ plastic spoons in the Union cafeteria over here, but most of us realize that a corn-based spoon is not really going to reverse global warming. I have faith that my generation has the ability to move beyond cutlery, beat the system, and save the world.<br /><br />And in order to do that, we have to start at home. Another reason I liked hearing from Jeff Muhs is that he is innovating right here in Utah, where his work is extremely important. Utah is one of the US regions most severely impacted by climate change. We are already painfully aware of the limited amount of water available in our arid climate, which will only become more scarce as we release more emissions that mess with the weather and make Utah even more susceptible to drought. As summer starts earlier and ends later, the amount of snowpack on our mountains will not be able to provide the required amount of water to sustain us. Not to mention the myriad other ecological impacts of wonky weather (don’t even get me started on the ski season).<br /><br />There is a lot at stake, both at home and the world at large, and it’s time to put solutions to action. There are many possibilities out there, which we will continue to explore in the coming Nature of Things lectures. For example, a member of the audience brought up a question about the controversial cap and trade system as a solution to reducing climate-changing carbon emissions. Muhs chose not to touch that can of worms, but this Wednesday’s speaker, Fred Krupp, is bringing a can opener. As president of the Environmental Defense Fund and a leading proponent of the cap and trade system, Krupp will bring new insight to cap and trade as well as a host of other large-scale ideas to battle climate change and reinvent energy. Don’t forget to reserve your free tickets, and we will see you there!Alycia Parnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06224646471947782552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2395213348856148232.post-60317544735562768152011-02-24T17:45:00.010-07:002011-02-24T18:05:25.167-07:00Jeff Muhs' Energy Predictions<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCWNenOAvq1WmnD_YSHoCpy_xsysfZpWaMpVN34bn-h6-EXWHAY_Fyf1z3d9gFFAoVOpSRGeFhmnQP5XaB-QvasdrqQTcz55Te5wy_YWy0BDoOigkM22QcAjM1-Abn5QL5FxtAUnStbP1a/s1600/Jeff_Muhs_Lecture_285.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 220px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCWNenOAvq1WmnD_YSHoCpy_xsysfZpWaMpVN34bn-h6-EXWHAY_Fyf1z3d9gFFAoVOpSRGeFhmnQP5XaB-QvasdrqQTcz55Te5wy_YWy0BDoOigkM22QcAjM1-Abn5QL5FxtAUnStbP1a/s320/Jeff_Muhs_Lecture_285.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577426160548486402" border="0" /></a>The Nature of Things 2011 lecture series kicked off<br />last week with <a href="http://www.innovationutah.com/biofuels/jeffmuhs.html">Jeff Muhs</a>, (left) director of the<br /><a href="http://energydynamicslab.com/">Energy Dynamics Laboratory at Utah State University</a>.<br /><br />During the lecture, Jeff shared his predictions for the "energy future", and we thought you would appreciate reading them!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jeff Muhs' Energy Predictions</span><br />Presented at <a href="http://www.umnh.utah.edu/nature">The Nature of Things Lecture</a> on 2/16/11<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">#1 </span>Liquid fuels derived from renewable and unconventional sources will be the bridge to electricity in surface transportation over the next few decades.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">#2</span> Surface transportation will be transformed by electricity when its value propositions as an energy carrier are fully realized.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">#3 </span> Wireless technology will enable significant improvements in the mobility of people and goods just as it did the mobility of information in recent decades.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">#4</span> Because of inherent advantages, algae energy systems will gain a foothold over the next decade.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">#5 </span> In buildings, “manual, binary and reactive” energy systems will give way to those that are “automated, continually-adjustable, and intuitive”.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">#6</span> Though hidden behind the quest for better solar cells, use of sunlight in buildings will continue as our most valuable and cost-effective use of solar energy.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">#7</span> Increasingly, outsiders to the federal system – universities and small businesses – will be the providers of game-changing energy innovation.<br /><br />These predictions are based upon the type of innovative work that the Jeff, as a <a href="http://www.innovationutah.com/">USTAR </a>professor, oversees at the Energy Dynamics Laboratory. To learn more about the focus of the EDL's work, and why Jeff's predictions are what they are, listen to the podcast of his Nature of Things lecture!<br /><br /><a href="http://umnh.utah.edu/databaseshowitem.aspx?id=77423">Listen to Jeff Muhs' Nature of Things Lecture</a><br /><br />What do you think??Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00622538021626257342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2395213348856148232.post-55064858840087402132011-02-23T23:35:00.004-07:002011-02-24T13:16:05.006-07:00Climate Goals: Local Perspective Needed!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh9g5sLlfvsmb9xTZKiMMz_HMiRogsStILksYxSN5PhDZ_wlBQsAAGNrxwyl5d2MIr1TOhZEvMtlOu_uU_eyVN_bYXuxV5k7OXp97KYwoRQ4v9Z-oavwAw3LwFdhWlTM_7ozkJLk3QjwQ/s1600/EDF.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 180px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 155px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577351838041943122" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh9g5sLlfvsmb9xTZKiMMz_HMiRogsStILksYxSN5PhDZ_wlBQsAAGNrxwyl5d2MIr1TOhZEvMtlOu_uU_eyVN_bYXuxV5k7OXp97KYwoRQ4v9Z-oavwAw3LwFdhWlTM_7ozkJLk3QjwQ/s320/EDF.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><ul><li>As we gear up for the keynote lecture of The Nature of Things series, there is no better time to consider active legislation efforts regarding climate change. Next Wednesday, Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund, will speak to us about the EDF’s ambitious efforts toward a bright future.<br /><br />Until then, <a href="http://www.edf.org/article.cfm?contentID=11516">this </a>article provides a list of goals that the EDF has formulated in preparation for this year's round of climate and energy legislation. At a national level, they are prolonging efforts to enact further regulations that would limit emissions, as well as defending the Environmental Protection Agency's power to regulate our air quality.<br /><br />Unfortunately, these are formidable challenges indeed. As we know, the fight to stop climate change, clean up our air, and implement effective alternative energy technologies on a large scale is rife with obstacles. And these issues aren't just vague entities that float around in the ether of federal legislative debate; actions must be taken on every scale, from the federal domain to the state level, right on down to the individual. This brings us to another of the EDF's goals, which involves finding messages that truly spark concern and participation among the public.<br /><br />So, as a respirating resident of our blue earth and red state (referring to geology, of course): </li><li>What do you think are the most effective messages to present to both fellow citizens and policy makers? </li><li>At what level do you think new regulations will be most effective? Surely, the big polluters will avoid cutting emissions unless faced with some serious action at the federal level, but state, local, and personal actions are also important. </li><li>How will Utah be affected?<br /><br />Don't worry, you're not being graded; just join the conversation!</li></ul>Alycia Parnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06224646471947782552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2395213348856148232.post-9516012745207621012011-02-15T10:49:00.019-07:002011-02-15T17:06:31.889-07:00From Kindergarten to Carbon Clouds: Time to Reinvent EnergySome people call me a hippie. It might be the fact that I’m an <a href="http://www.envst.utah.edu/">Environmental Studies</a> major, or that I never leave the apartment without my reusable coffee mug, or that I haven’t trimmed my hair since 2009. Or that I get internships like this one, where I write blog posts about things like alternative energy and being a hippie.<br /><br />But I think the heart of my identity is just the fact that I've figured out that as I get older, the world isn't getting quite as awesome as I thought it would. In 1996, my kindergarten teacher told us how to <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">reduce</span>, <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">reuse </span>and <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">recycle</span>, and to turn out the lights when we left a room. I did as I was told and trusted that the adults would take care of the rest.<br /><br />But as I grew older, I craved the 'great outdoors' and fresh air that I'd read about, I helped preserve with every milk carton my little hands recycled, and yet I was greeted with expanses of red pine, and smog reminiscent of something that would seep out of a Stephen King novel. I felt let down, and asked a question: "What on Earth have we been doing for fifteen years?" My research on that one has produced little beyond evidence of increased dependency on carbon-based fuel, so, instead, I pose another question: "What can we do now?"<br /><br />Which brings me to the aforementioned job description. As the intern for The Nature of Things 2011 lecture series, the theme of which is <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Reinventing Energy</span>, I am going beyond personal usage of stainless steel mugs and dealing with <a href="http://www.rideuta.com/">UTA</a> to <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">getting all of you involved</span>. Because it can't just be me that's noticed that things can change. For years now, we've been hearing about emerging renewable energy technologies, seeing windmill prototypes, and puzzling over diagrams of how photovoltaic cells work. The solutions are out there, and to use a hippie term, that's pretty rad! Now we need to quickly make the transition from talk to reality. Fifteen years is enough for me.<br /><br />This year’s speakers have some answers. The series will open up with <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Jeff <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Muhs</span></span>, director of <a href="http://energydynamicslab.com/"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">USU’s Energy Dynamics Lab</span></a>, who will discuss how to transform our energy system without delay. <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Fred Krupp</span>, our keynote speaker, will talk about the unfair market challenges faced by clean energy, and how to fix that. <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Jonathan <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Hoekstra</span></span> acknowledges the challenges of establishing clean energy infrastructure, and will teach us how to deal with it. And finally, a <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">community panel</span> of energy leaders will bring a local perspective to it all.<br /><br />The way our energy is produced affects every single one of us. We breathe carbon emissions. We fall in love with landscapes that succumb to drills. And now we know that things can change. Join me over the next several weeks as the <a href="http://www.umnh.utah.edu/nature">Utah Museum of Natural History</a> presents some people who are making “reinventing energy” a reality. Bring your questions, tell your friends, and talk about it, because learning is the first step. Come to the lectures as a way to commit to creating a future that will not disappoint <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">kindergarteners</span> sitting in classrooms right now. You don’t need to be a hippie, just someone who's sick of waiting.<br /><br />You can view the complete schedule for <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">The Nature of Things 2011</span> on the <a href="http://www.umnh.utah.edu/nature">Museum’s website</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/utahmuseumofnaturalhistory"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">Facebook</span> page</a>. I invite you to follow this blog to join the conversation.Alycia Parnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06224646471947782552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2395213348856148232.post-25959126680686140632010-02-23T11:59:00.001-07:002011-02-14T13:44:12.603-07:00Carba, Wha?? The Intern Speaks<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_-CHO7DxXEIU/S4QuAB59qTI/AAAAAAAAABI/Sm_OzQ_z9CE/s1600-h/1-statoilhydro.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_-CHO7DxXEIU/S4QuAB59qTI/AAAAAAAAABI/Sm_OzQ_z9CE/s400/1-statoilhydro.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441524827816831282" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />This post was written by Daisy A.Rocha, Nature of Things Intern at the <a href="http://www.umnh.utah.edu/">Utah Museum of Natural History. </a><br /><br />So, I’m the intern. For those of you who have never been one, it’s kinda like being a coffee girl on a movie set…only having no idea what movie is being shot…or what coffee is. In other words, it is a perpetual state of confusion.<br />Yet, it is a quick-as-you-can-learn on your feet, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, that’s for sure. Every day I accomplish things that if you would asked me a week ago were possible, I would have laughed and shook my head. Like what? Well like when my boss asked me to prepare an interview for <a href="http://www.civil.utah.edu/faculty/mcpherson.html">Dr. Brian McPherson</a>, an “international leader” on <a href="http://co2.civil.utah.edu/">Carbon Sequestration</a>, on the topic of what else, Carbon Sequestration. An interview about what? Carbon Se-ques-tra-tion. Oh that.<br />Now I’m a pretty smart girl, I like to nose a <a href="http://www.britannica.com/">Britannica</a> just as much as the next <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egghead">egghead</a>. But how was I to quickly create questions for an expert about something I had never heard of and could barely pronounce? Hmmm…what is a lowly intern to do? Hit the books of course, 2010 style…Google it baby!<br /><br />Here’s what I gleaned in a tiny little nutshell: Carbon Sequestration, specifically <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_capture_and_storage">Carbon Capture and Storage</a>, is a technology. This technology captures nasty, yucky, man-made <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide">CO2 </a>from X source (think coal plants) and redirects it. The idea is to get it away from our fragile atmosphere and pump it into an alternate location. Some forms of Carbon Sequestration suggest injecting the excessive CO2 into flora, soil and/or the ocean. Which is bit unsettling to me but then I think, “How is pumping it into the atmosphere any better?!”<br />There are also other forms of Carbon Capture out there, like Dr. McPherson’s specialty, ones that propose pumping it thousands of feet underground into tightly sealed receptacles for long-term storage. From what I gather, this is not meant to be a permanent solution to climate change, not a “silver bullet”, but rather a temporary mitigation, more to provide an immediate band-aid like relief to the gaping wound of global warming.<br /><br />As I read on, I discovered that Carbon Sequestration is not just something scientists in white coats are sitting around a table theorizing about, but it is actually happening, this very moment, here, in Utah.<br />Dr. McPherson has received a $67 million dollar grant from the <a href="http://www.energy.gov/index.htm">U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) </a>to spearhead a multi-state project testing the feasibility of the geologic sequestration of CO2. McPherson is the Principal Investigator of the <a href="http://www.southwestcarbonpartnership.org/AboutSWP.aspx">Southwest Regional Partnership on Carbon Sequestration </a>and the partnership is one of only seven nationwide DOE funded inquires. In fact, in a <a href="http://www.innovationutah.com/research/fossil/documents/CarbonSequestration.pdf">Salt Lake Tribune opinion editorial</a>, McPherson described how his project is the largest single-injection storage project in the U.S. Set in a site near Price, Utah the research injects one million tons of liquid CO2 per year and uses sophisticated monitoring to determine the safety of the technology.<br />All this to mitigate human impact on climate change, to provide some kind of sustainable development for the future. Yet McPherson himself says that it is not entirely a technological issue, but a political and market-driven one too. How we deploy various technologies will depend on consumer behavior and citizen choice. Really? I have a say?<br />As a young adult, with yet unborn children before me and days of running barefoot in the grass and climbing trees behind me, I realized that I do have some power in that decision. The future of many so many technologies and solutions lies within my purchasing and voting choices…I’m suddenly more sincerely motivated to learn about Carbon Sequestration at Dr. McPherson’s lecture…that and all the other alternatives I can’t pronounce. The earth that my children and grandchildren will know is being chosen today, by us, one new idea at a time.Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00622538021626257342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2395213348856148232.post-56502892669998934552010-01-19T10:39:00.001-07:002011-02-14T13:44:51.091-07:00Helen Thayer at Nature of Things 2010<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RL6vkm0asYo/S1X0FIK7BDI/AAAAAAAAACA/igaboJbW1l4/s1600-h/Helen+Thayer_polo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RL6vkm0asYo/S1X0FIK7BDI/AAAAAAAAACA/igaboJbW1l4/s320/Helen+Thayer_polo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428513294794818610" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />This week, UMNH kicks-off the <a href="http://www.umnh.utah.edu/nature">Nature of Things 2010</a> lecture series.<br /><br />This year's theme is <span style="font-weight: bold;">"Report from the Frontlines" </span>and presents six speakers in five events, each with a unique perspective on their efforts toward building a more sustainable future. The speakers are all controversial in one way or another , and will not all necessarily agree with one another! The Museum is honored, through support from our sponsors and partners, to facilitate complex discussion and community dialogue around some of the most critical issues facing our society.<br /><br />The series kicks-off tonight with global trekker, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Helen Thayer</span>. We asked Helen a few questions as she prepared for her trip to Salt Lake City.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">JF: </span>How much time have you spent in Utah and what are your impressions of our land?<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">HT: </span>As a spokesperson for the CORDURA® brand, I have traveled to Utah several times to speak to community organizations and attend the Outdoor Retailer show. Though I have never had the opportunity to trek Utah, I find it to be a beautiful state and look forward to spending more time here.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">JF:</span> Ah, you need to spend some time in Utah wilderness! How did you end up as a ‘global trekker’?<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">HT: </span>I began climbing mountains when I was nine years old and my global trekking evolved as a natural way to satisfy my desire to learn more about remote people and places.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">JF: </span></span>Your lecture kicks-off of the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Nature of Things lecture series</span>, which, this year, has the theme of “Report from the Frontlines". How do your adventures contribute to the series?<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">HT: </span></span>My job is to make people aware of the remote corners of the world, the indigenous cultures that inhabit them and how it all fits into the big picture environmental awareness and the need for greater intercultural respect. It is only when we can respect each other and the world around us that we can all come together to make a better world for all the citizens across the globe.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">JF:</span> Polar Dream is the story of your first trek. Have you returned to the North Pole? Have you noticed any changes?<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">HT: </span>I returned four years after my solo walk to the magnetic North Pole, this time with my husband to celebrate our 30th year of marriage. During my second trek I discovered changes in the ice thickness. Since then we have explored the Arctic regions extensively, and every year we have noticed changes not only to the ice and permafrost but also to the flora in general.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">JF:</span> What will people expect at this lecture?<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">HT: </span>Attendees can expect to hear stories from my many journeys and expeditions across the world. I also hope to inspire individuals to set goals, plan for success and always use persistence in reaching those goals.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">JF: </span>You will be presenting at the <a href="http://slcse.slc.k12.ut.us/">Salt Lake Center for Science Education</a>, a newly-formed charter school that focuses on science education, with an emphasis on outdoor experiences. What does science education represent to you?<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">HT: </span>Speaking to a targeted group of students is a wonderful opportunity to reach an audience who can understand the importance of taking care of the environment, each other and most importantly giving back to the world around them.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">JF: </span>What prompted you to develop <span style="font-weight: bold;">Adventure Classroom</span>?<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">HT: </span>My desire to share my expeditions with others led me to take the four corners of the world to K-12 kids though my Adventure Classroom program. Discovering nature in its untouched form, as well as ways to protect our environment, helped me make the realization that through my worldwide expeditions I could create educational programs to inspire students to find ways to help preserve a world they will inherit. Further, the program is aimed at encouraging kids to be confident and believe in themselves.</span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">JF: </span>You are known as an inspirational speaker, sharing adventures in which "going back is not an option". How do your audiences relate to your adventures?<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">HT: </span>My experiences show that age is no barrier to our dreams and goals. It’s never too late to make this world or ourselves a better place.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">JF: </span>Can you tell us about some recent adventures?<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">HT: </span>We have just returned from Africa after living for an extended period of time with the Maasai tribe. There we learned their ancient lifestyle by living amongst the people. In February we will return to Africa to live with the Bushmen - a culture even more ancient than the Maasai and threatened by extinction.<br />_______________________________<br /><br />You can read more about Helen Thayer's Nature of Things lecture at <a href="http://www.umnh.utah.edu/nature#thayer">www.umnh.utah.edu/nature</a><br /><br />You can read more about Helen and see some of her photographs at <a href="http://www.helenthayer.com/">www.helenthayer.com<br /></a><br /></span>Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00622538021626257342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2395213348856148232.post-62144960413057114022009-12-10T04:59:00.003-07:002011-02-14T13:53:55.481-07:00New curator, really old dinosaur!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RL6vkm0asYo/SyDz538M2OI/AAAAAAAAABk/eLGqRQzD7Bo/s1600-h/Irmis_Overlook_375.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 177px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RL6vkm0asYo/SyDz538M2OI/AAAAAAAAABk/eLGqRQzD7Bo/s320/Irmis_Overlook_375.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413594927693879522" border="0" /></a> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:documentproperties> <o:template>Normal</o:Template> <o:revision>0</o:Revision> <o:totaltime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:pages>1</o:Pages> <o:words>65</o:Words> <o:characters>338</o:Characters> <o:lines>9</o:Lines> <o:paragraphs>4</o:Paragraphs> <o:characterswithspaces>455</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:version>11.1282</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:donotshowrevisions/> <w:donotprintrevisions/> <w:displayhorizontaldrawinggridevery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:displayverticaldrawinggridevery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:usemarginsfordrawinggridorigin/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !supportAnnotations]--> <style id="dynCom" type="text/css"><!-- --></style> <script language="JavaScript"><!-- function msoCommentShow(anchor_id, com_id) { if(msoBrowserCheck()) { c = document.all(com_id); 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document.styleSheets.dynCom.addRule(".msocomtxt","border-left: 1pt solid threedlightshadow"); document.styleSheets.dynCom.addRule(".msocomtxt","padding: 3pt 3pt 3pt 3pt"); } // --></script> <!--[endif]--> <style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Times New Roman"; panose-1:0 2 2 6 3 5 4 5 2 3; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:50331648 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:0 2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:50331648 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:Calibri;} p.MsoCommentText, li.MsoCommentText, div.MsoCommentText {margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Calibri;} span.MsoCommentReference {font-size:8.0pt;} table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-parent:""; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:45.0pt 1.0in 45.0pt 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><span style="font-size:100%;">Randall B. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Irmis</span> joined the Utah Museum of Natural History as curator of paleontology at the beginning of this year with a freshly-minted doctorate! This week, his identification of a new dinosaur species,</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Tawa</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">hallae</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">, was published in the journal <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/journals/">Science</a>. </span>This discovery was made by a team that includes scientists from the American Museum of Natural History, the Field Museum, the State University of New York in <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Stony brook</span>, and the University of Texas.<br /><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">I talked with Randy earlier this week about his work and how a paleontologist discovers something new that is also over 200 million years old!</span><br /></p><div style=""><!--[if !supportAnnotations]--> <hr class="msocomoff" align="left" width="33%" style="font-size:78%;"> <!--[endif]--> <div style=""><!--[if !supportAnnotations]--> <div id="_com_1" class="msocomtxt" language="JavaScript" onmouseover="msoCommentShow('_anchor_1','_com_1')" onmouseout="msoCommentHide('_com_1')"><!--[endif]--><span style=""><!--[if !supportAnnotations]--><a name="_msocom_1"></a><!--[endif]--></span><!--[if !supportAnnotations]--></div> <!--[endif]--></div> </div> <span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">JF</span>: </span> What are the big questions for you in your research at this point?<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">RBI: </span>Well, most of my work has focused on the early Mesozoic Era (250-180 million years ago), and particularly during the Late Triassic (235-201 m.y.a.). For my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Ph</span>.D. dissertation, I investigated the origin and rise of early dinosaurs. I’m particularly interested in why dinosaurs became so successful, whereas other contemporaneous groups fell by the wayside. I also want to know how terrestrial ecosystems during this time responded to global climate change, similar to changes we are seeing today.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">JF</span>:</span> Tell us about the new species of dinosaur that is part of your research publication?<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">RBI:</span> This week we announced the publication of a new species of early carnivorous dinosaur called <a href="http://www.nsf.gov/tawa"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Tawa</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">hallae</span></span></a>, discovered in northern New Mexico at a place called <a href="http://www.ghostranch.org/">Ghost Ranch</a>. <span style="font-style: italic;">“<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Tawa</span>”</span> is the Hopi name for the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Pueblo</span> sun god, and is a reference to the rich Native American heritage in the area where the fossils were discovered, as well as to New Mexico itself, whose state symbol is a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Puebloan</span> representation of the sun. The species name “<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">hallae</span>” is for <a href="http://www.ghostranch.org/museums--activities/the-ruth-hall-museum-of-paleontology.html">Ruth Hall</a>, the woman who founded the paleontology museum at Ghost Ranch.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Tawa</span></span> was found in rocks called the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinle_Formation"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Chinle</span> Formation</a>, and is approximately 213 million years old. This places it in a time period called the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Triassic">Late Triassic</a>, when all the continents were together as a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">super continent</span> called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangaea">Pangaea</a>. During this time, North America was near the equator and had a warm and seasonal climate.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">JF</span>: </span>What makes <span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Tawa</span></span> special to science?<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">RBI:</span> The fossils are really complete and well-preserved; we have pretty much every bone in the body. The new species fills a gap in the evolutionary tree between the earliest carnivorous dinosaurs <span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Herrerasaurus</span></span> and <span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Eoraptor</span></span> (from Argentina), and later Triassic carnivorous dinosaurs like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coelophysis"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Coelophysis</span></span></a> (also found at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico).<br /><br />Using data from <span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Tawa</span></span> and other species, we were able to determine that the first dinosaurs evolved in South America, and then spread across Pangaea. In fact, the three species of carnivorous dinosaurs we find at Ghost Ranch each represent <span style="font-weight: bold;">separate emigration events</span> from the southern continents. This indicates that early dinosaurs were able to freely move across Pangaea without interference from physical barriers such as mountain ranges.<br /><br />What’s really interesting is that some other dinosaur groups, namely <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">ornithischians</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">sauropodomorphs</span>, never made it to North America during the Triassic. This got us wondering – why <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">didn</span>’t these two groups arrive in North America when it is clear that early dinosaurs could freely move around? We think it has to do with climate – areas near the equator during the Triassic <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">weren</span>’t hospitable to the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">ornithischian</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">sauropodomorph</span> dinosaurs, but the carnivorous dinosaurs could tolerate it.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">JF</span>: </span>What drew you to conducting fieldwork in Ghost Ranch?<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">RBI: </span>Ghost Ranch is world famous for the discovery of many skeletons of the Triassic dinosaur <span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">Coelophysis</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">bauri</span></span>, in addition to other lesser-known paleontological discoveries in the Late Triassic rocks there. It has always been a mecca for Triassic paleontologists. In fact, some of the very first Triassic vertebrate fossils to be described from the western U.S. were discovered in the vicinity of Ghost Ranch in the 1870s.<br /><br />All of us on the research team had been to Ghost Ranch as paleontological tourists, but our field research there really was a result of serendipitous events starting in 2004. During the fall of that year, Sterling <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">Nesbitt</span> and I attended the Annual Meeting of the <a href="http://www.vertpaleo.org/">Society of Vertebrate Paleontology</a> in Denver, Colorado. At that meeting, Alex Downs from the <a href="http://www.ghostranch.org/museums--activities/the-ruth-hall-museum-of-paleontology.html">Ruth Hall Museum of Paleontology</a>, showed us some early dinosaur bones from a new site, called the Hayden Quarry, that he was excavating at Ghost Ranch. We got excited, because they looked to be a new species.<br /><br />We agreed to work with Alex on scientifically describing the new material, and the next spring we went to Ghost Ranch to do this work. When we got there, we were amazed at how many early dinosaur specimens had been excavated from the site – it was a treasure trove! Sterling and I spent only an afternoon at the site and we discovered half a dozen dinosaur bones. This was <span style="font-weight: bold;">unprecedented for Triassic rocks</span> in North America. No one else had ever found a site of this age where early dinosaur specimens were so numerous. So, we resolved to return the next summer, to begin large scale excavations.<br /><br />During our first season of excavation, we were fortunate to discover several nearly complete skeletons, which ultimately gave us a complete picture of this new species. It has taken three years of lab work to remove these bones from the rock that encases them.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">JF</span>: </span>What does it mean to be classified as “a new species”?<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">RBI:</span> As paleontologists, we typically only have bones to look at when trying to distinguish different species. We look for anatomical characters on the bones – bumps, ridges, depressions, and other small features – that tell us if a specimen is distinct or not. If a fossil specimen has a unique character or unique combination of anatomical characters preserved on the bones, these tells us it is a new species not known to science.<br /><br />But we have to be careful – we compare the bones to all other known species first to make sure that some other species don’t already have these anatomical characters on the bones. This requires a lot of time and effort – particularly visiting museums across the world to look at their fossil collections.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">JF</span>: </span>That sounds like fun work! How do you work with artists to come up with a rendering of what the dinosaur may have looked like?<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">RBI: </span>A good <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">paleoartist</span> has an excellent knowledge of anatomy, and there is a constant dialogue between the artist and scientists as work progresses. We provide images of the bones, our skeletal reconstruction, notes on anatomy, things like that to the artist to give them an idea of what the skeleton looked like.<br /><br />The artist then uses their knowledge of anatomy of living relatives of the dinosaur -- like, birds, for example -- to flesh out the skeleton and bring the animal to life. As the artist works, they’ll provide sketches and preliminary renderings that us as scientists can comment on and make suggestions. Jorge Gonzalez was our <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">paleoartist</span>, and he did an amazing job!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">JF</span>:</span> How do you know that this is what <span style="font-style: italic;">this species</span> looked like?<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">RBI: </span> Some of it we know based on the skeleton, whereas other parts are scientifically informed inferences. For example, the general body and head shape is clear from the complete skeletons we have. But we don’t know for sure what color <span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">Tawa</span></span> was, or what it was covered in. You’ll notice that Jorge’s reconstruction of <span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_38">Tawa</span></span> is covered in a downy plumage of “<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_39">protofeathers</span>.”<br /><br />Although we only have the bones of <span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_40">Tawa</span></span>, we know from fantastic discoveries of fossils with soft tissue preservation from China that a wide variety of dinosaurs had these <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_41">protofeathers</span>. So, we thought it was a reasonable inference that <span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_42">Tawa</span></span> would have had a similar covering.<br /><br />Color really is up to the artist – but even here we can make some guesses. For example, carnivores today generally <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_43">aren</span>’t a garish bright color, because they don’t want their potential prey to spot them prematurely. So it’s a reasonable guess that as a carnivore, <span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_44">Tawa</span></span> also had a subdued color scheme.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_45">JF</span>:</span> How can the public see the<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>fossils?<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">RBI:</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>We’ll have original fossils of <span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_46">Tawa</span></span>, along with fossils of other creatures from the same time, on display in the <a href="http://www.umnh.utah.edu/dinos">Utah Museum of Natural History</a> lobby for the next few months – so I encourage you all to come down and see them! I’ll also be doing a special presentation in the museum from Noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, December 12<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_47">th</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_48">JF</span>: </span>You participate in several <a href="http://www.umnh.utah.edu/spotlight">Scientist in the Spotlight</a> events like this at the Museum. What will people see when they come Saturday?<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">RBI:</span> </span>I’ll have a variety of original dinosaur fossils available for people to see up close. We also demonstrate how specimens are removed in the lab from their rocky tombs, and show what it’s like to excavate dinosaurs in the field.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_49">JF</span>: </span>How does this new research, and your work in general, contribute to the overall work of the Museum and the University of Utah?<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">RBI:</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_50">UMNH</span> has a long tradition of dinosaur research, and is currently</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> one of the only museums in the world to have an active research program in all three periods of the Age of Dinosaurs. </span><span style="font-size:100%;"> In recent years, we’<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_51">ve</span> been particularly strong in studying the latter two geologic periods of the Age of Dinosaurs, the Jurassic and Cretaceous. My research gives us expertise and active research in the Triassic, at the beginning of the dinosaur age.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_52">JF</span>: </span>What are you working on next?<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">RBI:</span> I have a variety of Triassic and early dinosaur research projects in the works right now. Several of these should be published in the coming year. Look for a major announcement about the earliest relatives of dinosaurs in early 2010! I’m also involved in the long-term <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_53">Kaiparowits</span> Basin Project, which aims to understand terrestrial ecosystems from the end of the Age of Dinosaurs, during the Late Cretaceous (80-70 m.y.a.) in <a href="http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/grand_staircase-escalante.html">Grand Staircase-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_54">Escalante</span> National Monument</a> of southern Utah. We have discovered a variety of new dinosaur species, some of which we hope will be announced in the next year.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_55">JF</span>:</span> One last question: How did you end up as a paleontologist, anyway?<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">RBI:</span> I always wanted to be a paleontologist since my childhood love affair with dinosaurs. As I got older, my interests broadened to geology and evolutionary biology, but I never lost sight of the goal of becoming a paleontologist. In college, I majored in Geology with an emphasis in Paleontology, and got involved in several undergraduate research projects. This propelled me into the field, and I was lucky enough to be accepted into the Ph.D. program at University of California, Berkeley. The rest, as they say, is history!<br /><br />To see photos and the paleoartist's rendition of <span style="font-style: italic;">Tawa hallae</span>, visit <a href="http://www.umnh.utah.edu/dinos">umnh.utah.edu/dinos</a></span><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><b><o:p></o:p></b></p> <!--EndFragment-->Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00622538021626257342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2395213348856148232.post-63204307301625430352009-12-08T08:36:00.001-07:002011-02-14T13:46:44.671-07:00Follow up with Scott Sampson<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RL6vkm0asYo/Sx5_a52_1XI/AAAAAAAAABc/747l1c1TIGE/s1600-h/ScottSampson_LeahHogsten_230.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 230px; height: 296px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RL6vkm0asYo/Sx5_a52_1XI/AAAAAAAAABc/747l1c1TIGE/s320/ScottSampson_LeahHogsten_230.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412903902330738034" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">Last month, we spoke with Scott just prior to his visit to Utah to launch his new book <a href="http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/10208.php"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dinosaur Odyssey: Fossil Threads in the Web of Life.</span></span></a><br /><br />I followed up with Scott to see how the launch of his book and his new blog are going:<br /><br /><br /><br /></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" ><b></b></span></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">JF:</span> How did your lecture in Salt Lake City go month?<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">SS:</span> It was a terrific experience for me! It was certainly fitting that my book tour was launched in Utah, given my involvement with dinosaur paleontology there over the past decade. And it was particularly heart-warming to be surrounded by friends and long-time supporters of paleontology, including numerous volunteers who have put in long hours in the field and the lab. I had a great time, in particular, interacting with all those kids who are getting even more hooked on dinosaurs from watching [Jim Henson's] <a href="http://pbskids.org/dinosaurtrain/"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Dinosaur Train</span></a>. The question & answer period was fun and surprising, and, as usual, the kids asked the best questions!<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">JF:</span> What has the initial response to the book been?<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">SS:</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>Although we are still in the early days (the formal release date of the book was last week, November 30th), <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Dinosaur Odyssey</span> has had some extremely positive reviews. An author never knows how a book is going to be received, so it feels great to see one’s writing described with words like “engaging”. I am particularly excited that so many readers are picking up not only on the web of life approach, which aims to make diverse connections, but also on the fact that we humans still have a lot to learn from dinosaurs.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">JF:</span> Tell us about the blog that you have just launched?<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">SS:</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>I launched <a href="http://scottsampson.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Whirlpool of Life</span></a> on Tuesday, November 24, the sesquicentennial anniversary of the publication of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Darwin">Charles Darwin’s</a> <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">On the Origin of Species</span>. Posts will encompass a wide range of topics, spanning paleontology, evolution, ecology, education, sustainability, philosophy, and psychology. The thread that I will use to weave these topics together is science education in general, and nature literacy more specifically.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">JF: </span>How is the work of Darwin relevant today, 150-years later?<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">SS:</span> </span>Darwin triggered an intellectual revolution, with effects that have cascaded through science and society. Yet, one hundred and fifty years later, a portion of Darwin’s legacy, the foundational concept of common descent through deep time, remains virtually untapped outside academia. In particular, this concept has not been communicated in such a way as to shift our relationship with nature.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">JF:</span> </span>When did Charles Darwin first enter <span style="font-style: italic;">your</span> consciousness?<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">SS: </span>As I recall, Darwin first entered my consciousness as a 14 year-old student in ninth grade biology class. But this introduction was anything but inspiring, and it really wasn’t until my undergraduate years at the <a href="http://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia</a> that I truly began to plumb the depths of evolutionary thinking.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">JF:</span> As a paleontologist, what contribution do you feel museum collections make to science and culture?<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">SS:</span> Museums are the storehouses of living and ancient life. Fossil collections are used by researchers to conduct science. Some of the greatest “aha!” moments in paleontology occur in the bowels of museums when one is surrounded by the bones of ancient creatures.<br /><br />Of course, museums also spark the imaginations of non-scientists too, and this is another of their crucial roles. Now it is time for natural history museums to enter the 21st century and define their place in helping the general public connect more deeply with the natural world.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"></span>Natural history museums were founded by people with a true love of nature, people who understood the plants and animals of their region, people who were naturalists. Today there are all too few naturalists around. Indeed the skill of knowing one’s place and communicating it to others might be regarded as a disappearing art. Yet this skill is more needed now than ever before. Natural history museums need to go back to their roots and foster a world of naturalists!<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">JF:</span> </span>What attracted you to paleontology as a field of study?<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">SS: </span>I was the classic 5 year-old with a fascination for dinosaurs. Without any exaggeration, paleontology was one of the first words I learned how to spell. For me, one of the most attractive aspects of paleontology is that it requires mental time travel to places from the distant past. Imagining those worlds excited me as a youngster, and that excitement is still there today.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">JF:</span> </span>With a book and a blog both geared for people like me (<span style="font-style: italic;">not</span> a professional scientist) and involvement in popular, almost mass media television shows, you seem to have moved beyond a life of traditional academic work. Can you tell us about that, <span style="font-style: italic;">ahem</span>, evolution?<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">SS:</span> In short, I felt that the pressing issues facing us today required that I move beyond the narrow domain of paleontology research and education within a university. My underlying contention is that the current sustainability crisis is not merely an external crisis of the environment. More fundamentally, it is an internal crisis of worldview rooted in a dysfunctional relationship between humans and nonhuman nature. Thus, any meaningful resolution to the eco-crisis will require not only more and “greener” technologies, but also a fundamental shift in awareness and understanding, particularly within industrialized nations.<br /><br />Since worldviews are built upon a lifetime of experience, it’s highly doubtful that the necessary transformation will occur solely among adults. Rather we must rethink, indeed reinvent, education, placing less emphasis on upward mobility and more on living well; less on generating consumers and more on serving communities, including communities of nature. Surprisingly, perhaps, I am convinced that the concept of evolution has a pivotal role to play in this gargantuan effort of “schooling for sustainability”.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">JF:</span> Tell us more about “schooling for sustainability”....<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">SS: </span>Schooling for sustainability should be rooted in three intertwined elements, each of which informs the other two:<br /></span> <ul><li><span style="font-size:100%;">new metaphors that augment the dominant “life-as-machine” and “web of life examples, enabling us to perceive reality in new and instructive ways;<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;">the Great Story encompassing the evolution of cosmos, life, and culture, which provides a universal origin myth and anchors us in the deep time evolution of life on Earth; and</span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;">a strong emphasis on place. </span></li></ul><span style="font-size:100%;"> Together, this trio of elements—metaphor, story, and place—have the power to transform education and help trigger a change in the dominant worldview, thereby serving as a springboard to a sustainable future.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">JF:</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"> </span>How can public education organizations — like natural history museums and public television — play a role in “schooling for sustainability”<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">SS: </span>I see two fundamental roles for natural history museums and other natural science institutions in this redefinition of education. First, museums of natural history—home to both extensive collections and scientific expertise--are better positioned than perhaps any other institutions to communicate the nature of place and reconnect people to their local environs. Second, museums can communicate the Great Story, linking the origin of the universe, of life, and of humanity into a single story, and related that story back to their home regions. In particular, great potential exists for museums to help school teachers access the information and resources necessary for them to feel comfortable teaching these big ideas to their students.<br /><br />However, both of these efforts will require that museum get beyond their four walls and guide visitors in direct experiences with nature. Television, on the other hand, is currently much more a part of the problem than the solution. To turn this situation around, public television in particular has potential to generate even more programming that helps viewers reconnect with the natural settings around their homes. And television too needs to do a much better job of communicating the Great Story at age-appropriate levels.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">JF: </span>One last question: Since the Museum's blog is a community exchange of ideas and books, what book is on your nightstand these days??<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">SS: </span>I am currently reading a marvelous, though frighting, book by Lester Brown called, <a href="https://books.wwnorton.com/books/Plan-B-40/"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization</span></a> (Norton, 2009). If ever there was a succinct description of our current ecological predicament, together with necessary steps that must be taken, this is it. Highly recommended!<br /></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 22.5pt;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <!--EndFragment-->Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00622538021626257342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2395213348856148232.post-71157785616467162082009-11-12T08:42:00.001-07:002011-02-14T13:46:59.430-07:00Conversation with "Dr. Scott"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RL6vkm0asYo/SvwzjOb-UiI/AAAAAAAAABU/T1oJTpDpiIM/s1600-h/Sampson+book+photo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 353px; height: 236px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RL6vkm0asYo/SvwzjOb-UiI/AAAAAAAAABU/T1oJTpDpiIM/s320/Sampson+book+photo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403250333201617442" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">UMNH</span> team has been preparing for our colleague and friend's lecture in Salt Lake City this evening. Scott D. Sampson, paleontologist and UMNH research curator, is launching his new book, <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/10208.php">Dinosaur Odyssey: Fossil Threads in the Web of Life</a>, </span></span><span><span>in Salt Lake City tonight! </span></span>This <a href="http://www.umnh.utah.edu/sampsonlecture">public event</a> kicks off of over six months of visits, lectures, signings, special appearances and more across the continent. Not the lost one, but the one we currently know as North America!<br /><br />Reading through the first hundred pages of Scott's book -- and working on the communications materials for Scott's visit -- has been great fun because we can see how Scott's ideas, research topics, themes, and, quite frankly, passion that we know from working with him have come together into a new, bold, and very public forum. For Scott, it's not just about dinosaurs (although, he does <span style="font-style: italic;">love </span>them!). It is about how we, the <span style="font-weight: bold;">human species</span>, can learn from <span style="font-weight: bold;">dinosaurs</span> -- the way they lived, the way they lived <span style="font-style: italic;">together</span>, the ways in which they went extinct or evolved into species alive today -- a deeper understanding of our own intricate relationship with the natural world.<br /><br />Scott and I have been conversing electronically over these past several weeks, and we'd like to bring you into the conversation:<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">JF</span>: Scott, as a dinosaur paleontologist who often thinks in terms of <span style="font-style: italic;">millions of years of deep time</span>, your work tends to unfold at a relatively slow pace. How is all that going for you these days?<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">SS</span>: 2009 has been an <span style="font-style: italic;">action-packed year</span> both for the study of dinosaurs and for me personally, with plenty of new discoveries and projects. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Dinosaur Train</span>, an animated kids show produced by the Jim Henson Company and now airing daily on PBS, premiered on Labor Day following an intense year of production. As the science advisor and on-air host of the series, <a href="http://video.pbs.org/video/1314015654/">"Dr. Scott"</a>, I have had great fun with this project, and those of us involved have been overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response received both from children and parents. Two days before the show first aired, I had the pleasure of kicking off this national series for an audience of families right here in Salt Lake City at the Utah Museum of Natural History.<br /><br />This month, my book, <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Dinosaur Odyssey: Fossil Threads in the Web of Life</span>, will finally be published, the culmination of several years of work.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">JF</span>: I am enjoying working my way through the opening pages of your book. Can you give us an overview of the story you've set out to tell?<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">SS</span>: This book describes both the ancient world of dinosaurs and the present-day world of paleontology. It represents the first attempt to provide a general audience summary of the entire field of dinosaur paleontology in about a generation—a generation that has witnessed more discoveries of “new” dinosaurs than in all prior history combined. More important, at least from my perspective, the book utilizes these amazing creatures as a window into understanding not just the ancient Earth of the Mesozoic, but today’s changing world as well.<br /><br />It is perhaps ironic that long-extinct animals like dinosaurs can inform our present-day situation, but that is exactly my contention. Dinosaurs lived in a hothouse world characterized by climates that far exceed the most dire present day climate predictions. They suffered the last major extinction endured by our biosphere, although we may now be in the middle of another such event. And, through their living descendants, the birds, dinosaurs help anchor us into the story of everything, from the Big Bang to us, a story that needs to be communicated today more than ever before.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">JF</span>: I can't believe that after, what 150 or so years, paleontologists are still discovering new dinosaurs! And, in listening to the UMNH paleo team, it seems that <span style="font-style: italic;">what</span> we know about them, even how they are drawn or portrayed in museums, is changing!<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">SS</span>: One of the key points I try to make in the book is that the body of scientific knowledge is <span style="font-style: italic;">always changing</span>. This does not mean that all scientific ideas are tentative or prone to easy dismissal. But new findings are made all the time that cause us to re-evaluate long-held assumptions.<br /><br />In the realm of dinosaur paleontology, Utah is an exemplar in the realm of shifting ideas. Research conducted over the past decade by our group from the <a href="http://www.utah.edu/">University of Utah</a> -- through the <a href="http://www.umnh.utah.edu/dinos">Utah Museum of Natural History</a> and the <a href="http://www.earth.utah.edu/">Department of Geology and Geophysics</a> -- has unearthed a previously unknown assemblage of dinosaurs, from ornate horned herbivores to giant tyrannosaur meat-eaters. Many of these beasts are so new that they have yet to be given names.<br /><br />Most of these discoveries are being made in <a href="http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/grand_staircase-escalante.html">Grand Staircase-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Escalante</span> National Monument</a> in southern Utah; this fall, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">UMNH</span> crews working in a single quarry unearthed the nearly complete skull of a giant duck-billed dinosaur (to go with the skeleton found previously), the skull and partial skeleton of an huge armored dinosaur, a nearly complete turtle and crocodile, and some other strange bones that may turn out to belong to some sort of flying reptile.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">JF</span>: Where does the "lost continent" come into the story?<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">SS</span>: Well, around 75 million years ago, near the end of the Cretaceous Period, these dinosaurs and many others lived on an island continent of sorts, formed by the flooding of the central region of North America, from the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. The marooned western landmass, today known as <span style="font-weight: bold;" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Laramidia</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">,</span> witnessed what is arguably the greatest known florescence of dinosaurs.<br /><br />All of these finds and more are causing us to question some long held ideas about the world of dinosaurs. Why did so many different and wondrous varieties of dinosaurs evolve here? How were so many giants able to co-exist on a chunk of land less than one-fifth the size of present day North America? Why should we care about animals that disappeared so long ago? Those are the questions that I've started to address in my book, and, in my lectures will try to answer.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">JF</span>: You have been working with these themes and ideas over the past decade of your involvement with the Museum. Now that the book is released, what happens next?<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">SS</span>: Well, in support of the book, I will be conducting a North American speaking tour that will include at least 15 cities in the US and Canada. I am very excited to be launching this tour in the same locale that the book found its origins - Salt Lake City, Utah! So, if folks want to learn more about Utah’s pivotal role in the world of dinosaur paleontology, please join us for the event or one that will happen in another city.<br /><br /><br />And we are, too! We hope you can join us with Scott this evening and continue to follow the development of his ideas and research in the months ahead! Event details, including location and times, can be found at <a href="http://www.umnh.utah.edu/dinos">www.umnh.utah.edu/dinos</a>.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.umnh.utah.edu/bookclub"><span style="font-weight: bold;">UMNH Book Group</span></a> will be discussion <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dinosaur Odyssey</span></span> both at the Museum and online in January 2010. Follow the blog or <a href="http://www.umnh.utah.edu/bookclub">join our mailing list</a> to be notified of details!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.umnh.utah.edu/sampson"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Scott D. Sampson</span></a> is research curator at the Utah Museum of Natural History, adjunct associate professor in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Utah, author of several articles and books including <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dinosaur Odyssey</span></span>, scientific advisor and on-air host of <a href="http://pbskids.org/dinosaurtrain/">Jim Henson's Dinosaur Train</a>, and much more!<br /><br />You can follow Scott's book tour and blog at <a href="http://www.scottsampson.net/">www.scottsampson.net</a>. And we'll check in on him from time to time on this blog as well!Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00622538021626257342noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2395213348856148232.post-56797539148593981872009-09-01T08:39:00.000-06:002011-02-14T13:47:08.663-07:00The Gift of Good Land<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RL6vkm0asYo/Sp1aYd94zhI/AAAAAAAAABM/URII0TD8cjg/s1600-h/Wendell_Berry_185.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 185px; height: 259px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RL6vkm0asYo/Sp1aYd94zhI/AAAAAAAAABM/URII0TD8cjg/s320/Wendell_Berry_185.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376552906557804050" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">The Gift of Good Land: Further Essays Cultural and Agricultural </span>is again available in paperback, published by Counterpoint (Berkeley, CA). I've finally begun to weave through these essays by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendell_Berry">Wendell Berry</a>, written mostly between 1979 and 1981, when the collection was originally released.<br /><br />Through these essays, most of which were originally published in magazines, Berry questions the true value and costs of <span style="font-weight: bold;">economies of scale</span>, the basis of the Cold War era <a href="http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahome">United States Department of Agriculture</a> ethic of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Butz">"Get Big or Get Out".</a> With my professional background in wholesale distribution sales and marketing, I've always put great faith in economies of scale and the benefits of driving the costs out of distribution, out of the supply change. However, based upon the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.umnh.utah.edu/bookclub">UMNH Book Club</a> reading, I have come to question our current industrial food system, and the viability of the small farmer. Have the economies of scale gone too far? Are we losing from land fertility, biodiversity, economic sustainability and community culture more that we are gaining?<br /><br />These are issues Berry raised 30 years ago, and yet it seems that only in the past five years have they started to hit the national dialogue. </span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >What has caused our national community to be so slow to respond to Berry's call for small farming and the protection of biodiversity as well as the health of humans, animals, and soil? Does the “fault” lay within our "get big or get out" culture? Is it a lack of understanding on the part of especially urban and metropolitan citizens? Is it because of the strength of special interest and agribusiness on policy? And what are the land-use policies within our own state? Are they supportive of small-scale farming and sustainable agriculture??<br /><br />Our partner in the Wendell Berry discussion is the <a href="http://www.law.utah.edu/stegner/">Wallace Stegner Center for Land, Resources and the Environment</a>, an excellent program within the <a href="http://www.law.utah.edu/">S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah</a>. The Stegner Center brought Wendell Berry to Utah this past March as part of the Stegner Symposium, which celebrated the centennial of Wallace Stegner's birth and explored his legacy in the West.<br /><br />The last time we partnered with the Stegner Center, we discussed <a href="http://www.law.utah.edu/profiles/default.asp?PersonID=69&name=Keiter,Robert">Robert Keiter's</a> book, <span style="font-style: italic;">Keeping Faith with Nature: Ecosystems, Democracy, and America's Public Lands. </span>Keiter himself participated in our book club discussion. I was struck by his perspective, as a lawyer, on how Congress takes a long view of local resolution on conservation, preservation, and land-use issues, before establishing federal policy, perhaps 30 or more years. Is that the same case with small farming practices and agricultural land-use policies? Are there examples of local communities taking back some of the small farming practices and land-use allocations toward a more diverse and sustainable agriculture and food system?<br /><br />Joining our discussion of Berry's essays on Monday, September 21, will be <a href="http://www.law.utah.edu/profiles/?PersonID=95">Amy Wildermuth</a>, an environmental law professor and Wendell Berry aficionado, representing the Stegner Center. Amy has invited her brother, Todd Wildermuth, to join the conversation as well. Todd's areas of expertise include land use </span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:times new roman;" >and agricultural policy, plus he's a Berry fan as well. I'd love to be a guest at their family gathering table, but, in lieu of that, we look forward to talking with Amy and Todd over the next couple of weeks both at the book club and here on the blog.<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">With the harvest and more farmer's markets than ever in full-swing, it is a good time to join the community conversation on agricultural land use. There are several initiatives percolating and I invite anyone involved in land use, small farming practices and local food production to join the conversation. I understand that a group, working in conjunction with the Salt Lake City Mayor's Office, has formed to (re) establish a Food Policy Council along the Wasatch Front. Slow Food Utah is hosting <a href="http://www.slowfoodutah.org/events/view/1117/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Time for Lunch </span>Campaign</a> on Monday, September 7, to inspire locals to take a stand on improving children's health. And just last month, the Salt Lake Tribune ran two interesting articles relating to these issues: </span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><ul style="font-family:times new roman;"><li><span style="font-size:100%;">On 8/13/09, Dawn House wrote in the Business Section on the <a href="http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_13056085">challenges of finding available land for small, local farming</a>. </span></li></ul><ul style="font-family:times new roman;"><li><span style="font-size:100%;">On 8/18/09, Jeremiah Stettler wrote on <a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_13146461?source=email">plans to increase urban farming in Salt Lake County</a>. </span></li></ul><span style="font-size:100%;">It's a good time for a community discussion on <span style="font-style: italic;">The Gift of Good Land</span>. Join us!</span><span style=";font-family:Verdana,Helvetica,Arial;font-size:85%;" ><br /></span><br /><span style=";font-family:Verdana,Helvetica,Arial;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br /></span><br /><!--EndFragment-->Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00622538021626257342noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2395213348856148232.post-26501702961116712052009-08-11T15:20:00.001-06:002011-02-14T13:47:18.877-07:00Summer Reading!Hope that you have had many opportunities for good summer reading this year! Here are some updates on books, authors, and more relating to the UMNH Book Club!<br /><br />1. We had a spirited conversation on July 13 about Paul Roberts' <span style="font-style: italic;">The End of Food</span>. People, at least the ones who attend book clubs on food books, have strong opinions about what is acceptable and unacceptable in the food-supply. It was great having Christi Paulson of <a href="http://www.slowfoodutah.org/">Slow Food Utah</a> leading the discussion.<br /><br />It struck me as we were debating organic vs. non-organic produce, and regaining the lost arts of jam and condiment making, that we are lucky to be having that conversation. Perhaps organic vs. non-organic is a bit splitting hairs as long as we agree to avoid the rows and rows of boxed and processed food that lies between the produce and the dairy section. Hmmm.<br /><br />2. Due mostly to publishing release dates, we've ended up with two food-related books in a row, much to the chagrin of some members. Our next book to discuss is <span style="font-style: italic;">The Gift of Good Land: Further Essays on Culture & Agriculture </span>by Wendell Berry. We selected this book at the recommendation of Anne Holman of <a href="http://www.kingsenglish.com/">The King's English Bookshop</a> before Mr. Berry's visit to Utah in March for the Stegner Symposium. Our partner in this discussion, scheduled for Monday, September 21, is the <a href="http://www.law.utah.edu/stegner/">Wallace Stegner Center for Land, Resources and the Environment at the S.J. Quinney College of Law, the University of Utah</a>. <br /><br />I've just talked with the booksellers at the King's English, and the new edition of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Gift of Good Land</span> is now in! I'm on my way to pick up my copy and will strive to post a few times before the 9/21/09 discussion. Join me!<br /><br />3. The authors, scientists and thought-leaders we encounter at the Museum -- through the Nature of Things lecture series and the UMNH Book Club -- are busy folk. Here are some updates on past and future authors:<br /><ul><li>E.O. Wilson, inaugural keynote speaker in 2007, is returning to Utah this Saturday, August 15, to participate in the lovely Sundance Author Series. We've heard this morning that tickets are still available at <a href="http://www.sundanceresort.com/create/hap_literary.html">www.sundanceresort.com/create</a> and click on Events. Tickets are $95 and include brunch in the award-winning Tree Room, plus a signed copy of a new edition of Wilson's book, <span style="font-style: italic;">On Human Nature.</span></li><li>Michael Pollan, whose <span style="font-style: italic;">Omnivore's Delimma</span> was the UMNH Book Club's July 2006 selection, and who delivered the Nature of Things 2008 keynote lecture, has been all the buzz this summer with the release of the film <span style="font-style: italic;">Food, Inc.</span> Last week, UMNH heard that the Salt Lake Film Society had extended screenings of the film at the Broadway Theater in Salt Lake City for a week or two, due to strong community support.<span style="font-style: italic;"></span></li><li>Gary Hirshberg, president of <a href="http://www.stonyfield.com">Stonyfield Yogurt</a>, is also featured in <span style="font-style: italic;">Food, Inc.</span>, as indication of how business can be financially successful while integrating the company’s social, environmental, and financial missions. UMNH is in the process of finalizing a date for Hirshberg to participate in the Nature of Things lecture series in March 2010. The complete series line-up will be announced this fall, and subscribers to this blog will be among the first to know!</li></ul>4. We are still waiting for Richard Fortey's <span style="font-style: italic;">Dry Storeroom #1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum</span> to be delivered in paperback. The King's English tells us September. We'll cross our fingers and hope we have time to delight in Fortey's great stories of the people, places and adventures that make up THE Natural History Museum in London. Some UMNH staff members are dying to share their stories as well at the November discussion.<br /><br />5. And, it's time again to look for books to read in the coming year and for interesting people to read them with! <a href="http://www.usee.org">The Utah Society of Environmental Education</a> is interested in reading Stephen Trimble and Gary Nabhan's <span style="font-style: italic;">The Geography of Childhood</span> with us next spring, a great way to discuss how to reconnect our children and our families with nature.<br /><br />I would like to explore some of the science behind climate change and am looking for recommendations.<br /><br />I'm intrigued by <span style="font-style: italic;">The Superorganism: The beauty, elegance and strangeness of insect societies</span> by Bert Holldobler and E.O.Wilson, however it's size and cost are a bit daunting. Please send me your thoughts for natural science and environmental books to explore next year.<br /><br />Enjoy the rest of your reading summer!Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00622538021626257342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2395213348856148232.post-62444343909810351662009-07-07T09:05:00.000-06:002011-02-14T13:47:41.088-07:00The End of Food<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RL6vkm0asYo/SlNtjyW3DCI/AAAAAAAAABE/etdHtN1gM3M/s1600-h/EndofFood_145.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 145px; height: 219px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RL6vkm0asYo/SlNtjyW3DCI/AAAAAAAAABE/etdHtN1gM3M/s320/EndofFood_145.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355744843454155810" border="0" /></a>The <a href="http://www.umnh.utah.edu/bookclub">UMNH Book Club</a> will meet to discuss <a href="http://www.theendoffood.com/"><span style="font-style: italic;">The End of Food</span> by Paul Roberts</a> on Monday, July 13, 2009, at 6:30 p.m. This book was recommended to us by <a href="http://www.slowfoodutah.org/">Slow Food Utah</a>, who will be contributing to the Book Club discussion next week.<br /><br />I'm just getting started on Roberts' book, but immediately realized that the title is more daunting and discouraging than the text. The book is a very interesting read!<br /><br />As I personally have been exploring our industrialized food supply (starting with <span style="font-style: italic;">Omnivore's Dilemma</span> in this Book Club two years ago), I have continually asked myself, "How did we get here? How did we just hand over our food system to the interests of chemical fertilizers and bottom-line profits?"<br /><br />The first chapter of this book, "Starving for Progress", lays out "how we got here" over the past three million years, starting with <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australopithecus">Australopithecus</a>, </span>"a diminutive ancestor who lived in the prehistoric African forest and ate mainly what could be found there -- fruits, leaves, larvae and bugs." Over the next 20 pages or so, the author recaps how the quest for food and survival drove the development of modern humans, civilization and, ultimately, a global society and food supply. The chapter illustrates the intricate relationship between humans being, the ever-changing environments and climates in which they live, and the desire to create predictability in their resources. It is like a speed-read through several anthropology and political science courses in one sitting!<br /><br />But the reading challenges my organic leanings as being symptomatic of luxury. The fact is, predictability in food and other natural resources is a good thing. It creates opportunity for individuals and civilizations to do more things that hunt for and produce food. Was there a moment in time when this desire for predictability and "enough" went to far? Was it in the mid-twentieth century when we added chemical fertilizers and carbon-based machinery in an attempt to be masters over nature, thereby changing the very thing we call food? Or was in 3500 B.C., when Egyptian wheat farmers were "routinely producing more grain than they could eat themselves, and these surpluses" let to trade and the first accumulate wealth? Agriculture itself is a mastery over nature. Yet, did human society cross a line in 1957, when, according to Roberts, "Ray Goldberg, the Harvard economist, and his colleague, John Davis, proposed that term "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture">agriculture</a>" be replaced with a new, more fitting one: "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agribusiness">agribusiness</a>."<br /><br />Food is the fundamental way in which we as humans -- as living beings -- interact with the natural world. Food, or energy from which to live, creates the "place of humans" within the natural world, referring to the <a href="http://www.umnh.utah.edu/mission">Museum's mission statement</a>. So far, this book and others I've read provide data to the balance between <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calorie">calories</a> produced by the earth and calories needed -- and how that balance changes over time. The questions are popping in my mind. Join the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Museum</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Slow Food Utah</span> for a discussion of this book, and will raise your own questions and comments here or at the discussion on 7/13/09!<br /><br />For more information on the meeting, visit us at <a href="http://www.umnh.utah.edu/bookclub">www.umnh.utah.edu/bookclub</a>.<br /><br />Onto Chapter 2: "It's So Easy Now"....Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00622538021626257342noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2395213348856148232.post-22449316634045550232009-04-30T06:37:00.000-06:002011-02-24T18:01:32.210-07:00It's all ConnectedWe started out organizing these entries by the title of the book we were discussing. But we've realized, that is not going to work. This discussion, the themes and memes covered in these readings, are to intertwined. Just as in our Book Club meetings, in which we refer back to past discussions to enrich the current book, these conversations sort of weave into a larger tapestry of thought. A larger discussion on the place of humans in the natural world. <br /><br />For me this year, it all started in early March listening to Terry Tempest-Williams presenting at the Wallace Stegner Center of Land, Resources and the Environment's annual symposium. As this year marks the 100th anniversary of Stegner's birth, the symposium was dedicated to Stegner's life and legacy. Terry reflected on Stegner's advice to her and Charles Wilkinson in their work to protect wilderness lands in Southern Utah. Stegner's advice? Be bold! Saving wilderness is protecting the place in which our humanity has a place to breathe. I asked myself: What in my life is worth fighting to save?<br /><br />The next week, Thomas Friedman was in town. He discussed the "Americum", the measure of people in the world living the "American lifestyle" in terms of consumption. It struck me that it is our moral responsibility as Americans to redefine the "American Dream" so that it can be protected, so that it can expand and more people in this world can live with basic food security, clean water, healthcare, education, justice, and opportunity; but so that the balance of life on this planet can be sustained -- including places of wilderness, I would guess. And in his discussion, and especially in the reading of his book, it was evident that the market has been heavily changed by the lobbying of oil companies and auto manufacturers who have ensured that carbon fuel was cheap, easy to attain, and guzzled up by large "American Made" automobiles.<br />what is worth protecting? I want people across the world to have the same basics that I have. Am I willing to give up on the intense excess, recalibrate the American dream, so that more people can live with safety, security, and peace? What portion of "the American lifestyle" is worth fighting for, worth saving?<br /><br />A couple of weeks later, a group of local community members formed a discussion group on the Northwest Earth Institute's "Menu for the Future". Together, all of us women living in Salt Lake City with school-aged children, we have spent the past six weeks exploring issues of the food supply. Corporate agriculture, fossil fuels in the food supply chain, pesticides and additives in our food supply, explotation and effects from pesticide exposure of agriculture workers. All while Michelle Obama is taking heat for choosing organic growing practices on the White House lawn. And what is our largest concern is as mothers is the time and cost of restoring nature -- faith -- in our families' food. We start to ask ourselves, "we've placed such a value on convenience because we are so busy. Why are we so busy?" What is worth protecting?? Isn't the health of our families, and the time we can spend together growing, sourcing, cooking, sharing food worth protecting??<br /><br />Then Tyrone Hayes comes to Salt Lake to finish up the Nature of Things 2009. He talks about the effects of the agricultural pesticide Atrazine in frog populations. And there it is again: 80 million pounds of Atrazine used in American agriculture each year, corporate reaction to research indicating that Atrazine is causing hormonal change in frog populations living in waters with agricultural run off, documentation that when the company realized that Atrazine was contributing to hormonal changes that stimulated some cancers, they then established a new division to create a pharmaceutical that can reduce the hormonal changes -- rather than removing the Atrazine from the market, they are now selling the pesticide to the agriculture industry and the cancer-treatment pharmeceutal through the healthcare treatment. Tyrone's final call? Get politically active to call for better testing, integrative evaluation of pesticides so that the real story can be told. The future is in your hands. Is that worth fighting for?<br /><br />It starts to feel that we are living in a society in which the basics have traded out for convience, profit, predictablity. <br /><br />Wendell Berry: where we are headed....<br /><br /><br />Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00622538021626257342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2395213348856148232.post-14873848774562557972009-04-14T08:18:00.000-06:002011-02-14T13:47:56.929-07:00Speaking of PoetryHeard this piece yesterday morning on NPR's Morning Edition program and wanted to pass it on to our discussion group: Can Poetry Save the Earth?<br /><br />Stanford University professor John Felstiner writes in his new book, Can Poetry Save the Earth?: "If poems touch our full humanness, can they quicken awareness and bolster respect for this ravaged resilient earth we live on?"<br /><br />Listen to the entire piece on the <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102795472">NPR Website</a>.<br /><br />Felstiner was asked to pick just one poem that could save the world, if everyone were to read it. He chose:<br /><br />The Well Rising<br />by William Stafford<br /><br />The well rising without sound,<br />the spring on a hillside,<br />the plowshare brimming through the deep ground<br />everywhere in the field —<br /><br />The sharp swallows in their swerve<br />flaring and hesitating<br />hunting for the final curve<br />coming closer and closer —<br /><br />The swallow heart from wing beat to wing beat<br />counseling decision, decision:<br />thunderous examples. I place my feet<br />with care in such a world.<br /><br /><br />Hope <span style="font-weight: bold;">you</span> get a chance to appreciate "such a world" today.Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00622538021626257342noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2395213348856148232.post-60269459790837746302009-04-14T08:05:00.000-06:002011-02-14T13:47:56.931-07:00Wendell Berry: Dramatized PoemsSince Wendell Berry's recent visit to Utah for the Stegner Symposium, I seem to be finding him everywhere! A couple of weeks ago, there was a nice piece on National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Saturday about an group in Kentucky who has brought Berry's poems to the stage.<br /><br />As NPR reporter Elizabeth Kramer explained: "Wendell Berry, the Kentucky-based agrarian philosopher, has been described as our era's heir to Emerson and Thoreau — a writer concerned with the importance of community, and with the lessons we can learn from the natural world. Now, the Actors Theatre of Louisville is putting his ideas on stage."<br /><br />You can listen to the entire piece at the <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102443902">NPR Website</a>.<br /><br />Kramer continues: "And though some were published decades ago, the poems feel surprisingly current. One in particular — about a stock market crash — feels particularly timely:<br /><br />When I hear the stock market has fallen,<br />I say, "Long live gravity! Long live<br />stupidity, error and greed in the palaces<br />of fantasy capitalism!" I think<br />an economy should be based on thrift,<br />on taking care of things, not on theft,<br />usury, seduction, waste, and ruin.<br />My purpose is a language that can make us whole,<br />Though mortal, ignorant, and small.<br />The world is whole beyond human knowing."<br /><br />The UMNH Community Book Discussion will be delving into Berry's essays in "The Gift of Good Land" later this year. Until then, where are you discovering Berry these days??Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00622538021626257342noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2395213348856148232.post-30752936938752360612009-04-14T07:20:00.000-06:002011-02-14T13:47:56.933-07:00Hot, Flat and Crowded #2: Paying AttentionThe UMNH Book Club met last week for our discussion of Hot, Flat, and Crowded. About half of the group had been to Thomas Friedman's SLC lecture, some had listened on the radio, a few had just skimmed the book. The group was comprised primarily of retirees, a handful of professionals in their 50's, three "40-something" women, two of us who have children, and our guest facilitator, Young Jonny Spendlove. (Sorry, Jonny, can't help saying your name as a title! It's so catchy!) I go into details of the make-up of the group because of the way the discussion went, but more about that later....<br /><br />Jonny started the discussion by telling us about his search to find out why Al Gore had made a quiet visit to Salt Lake City the previous week. After some investigation, Jonny discovered that the former vice-president and the unofficial spokesman for climate change came to Utah to meet privately with the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints (LDS). Evidently, Al Gore initiated the meeting and we can only assume that the discussion centered on climate change. The fact that the meeting happened at all had particular significance for those of us living in Utah, regardless of our religious affiliation. What IF the LDS church leaders came out with a call to reduce human impact on climate change? What if?<br /><br />Jonny asked the group "Where do you 'hook in' on the need for a green revolution?" For one woman in the group it is clean air quality, having raised three children with severe allergies. Many retirees in the group expressed the great sadness of observing a world in which so much that was good (salmon running in the river, growing up on a family farm, the freedom of growing up outdoors) has been lost. Lost for their grandchildren. Another expressed the frustration of having lived a life with great concern for conservation, only to have the world still careening toward breakdown, it seems. For Jonny, it was the importance of not living, working, raising his future children in a world led by petrodictatorships. As Friedman points out, there are many places to jump into the Green Revolution. So many that perhaps an effort to significantly changed our ways of living on our planet will continue to create some new unlikely partnerships. Like Al Gore and the LDS Church.<br /><br />Our discussion headed toward: What does the "green revolution" look like in Utah? In Salt Lake City? Our discussion covered everything from the green lawns of LDS Ward Houses being converted to community gardens, to lowering our VMT (vehicle miles traveled), to using Solar Dryers (a.k.a. clothes lines). A lively discussion ensued on public utilities. The retirees in the group seemed to have detailed, elaborate tracking of their public utilities usage and bills. Really detailed.<br /><br />I admit, at one point I had thoughts of, "Wow, these people are <span style="font-style: italic;">really</span> focused on their utility bills!" But then it dawned on me: They are paying attention. And isn't that the whole point? The prosperous American Lifestyle as defined by Friedman, the one that nine "Americums" of people are living today, thrives on <span style="font-weight: bold;">not</span> paying attention. Just using more, buying more, burning through cheap oil, cheap energy, more plastic, more cars, more. Prosperity doesn't require having to pay attention to the small details of saving money.<br /><br />But these folks, they are <span style="font-weight: bold;">paying attention</span>. Whether motivated by a fixed income, a life-long practice of conservation, or a desire to use only what is needed (really needed), these folks are paying attention! When can I get over my 1980's perspective of "more prosperity" and start truly paying attention?Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00622538021626257342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2395213348856148232.post-15387369506890708712009-03-24T18:51:00.000-06:002011-02-14T13:47:56.936-07:00Dry Storeroom No. 1....#1Not to get too many books going at one time, but I have delved into the pages of the Book Club's November selection, <span style="font-style: italic;">Dry Storeroom No.1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum</span>. This book is so enjoyable that I can't stop talking in the hallways about it!<br /><br />The book is a memory of THE Natural History Museum (as in London, home of Charles Darwin's <span style="font-style: italic;">Voyage of the Beagle</span> collections, once part of the venerable British Museum) written by senior paleontologist Richard <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Fortey</span>. Evidently, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Fortey</span>, who is a "trilobite man", has written other "page turner" natural history books that we will have to check into for future reading lists. He started at "THE" museum in the 70's and the book is his "own storeroom, a personal archive, designed to explain what goes on behind the polished doors in the Natural History Museum." Let us in!!<br /><br />What I am initially enjoying is the deep appreciation he expresses for collections and the people who work with them. The value of collections to culture and scientific understanding is something that I have come to know only as an employee of the museum. As <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Fortney</span> expresses:<br /><br />"I believe profoundly in the importance of museums: I would go as far as to say that you can judge a society by the quality of its museums. But they do not exist as collections alone. In the long term, the lustre of a museum does not depend only on the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">artefacts</span> or objects it contains -- the people who work out of sight are what keeps a museum alive by contributing research to make the collections active, or by applying learning and scholarship to reveal more than was know before about the stored object. I want to bring those invisible people into the sunlight....Although I describe my particular <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">institution</span>, I dare say it could be a proxy for any other great museum. Perhaps my investigations will even cast a little light on to the museum that makes up our own biography, our character, ourselves." [The British spelling Fortney's]<br /><br />As the Utah Museum of Natural History is building a new home for the collection, the curatorial staff, and the community, we hope to draw the community into the many stories behind the objects and the many people who have contributed over 40+ years to make our museum a great museum for our region. I hope you'll join me in reading <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Fortney's</span> memories and stories, and that both make you curious for your own natural history museum! <br /><br />This book was referred to us by Peter <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Kraus</span> of the University of Utah's Marriott Library. I currently have the libraries only copy (!) but understand that it will be <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">released</span> in paperback this summer. I'll let you know when it is available at the Museum Store or your local bookseller!Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00622538021626257342noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2395213348856148232.post-16470807318502189322009-03-18T10:16:00.000-06:002011-02-14T13:47:56.940-07:00Hot, Flat and Crowded #1Over 2,500 community members joined the Museum at Abravanel Hall last week to hear <a href="http://www.thomaslfriedman.com/">Tom Friedman</a> speak about his call for the urgent need for a "green revolution" and how it can renew innovation and the economic climate of America. <br /><br />The <a href="http://www.umnh.utah.edu/bookclub">UMNH Book Club</a> will be discussing Friedman's latest book, "Hot, Flat, and Crowded" at our next meeting, Monday, April 6, 2009. Details at<a href="http://www.umnh.utah.edu/bookgroup"> www.umnh.utah.edu/bookclub</a><br /><br />Have you read some or all of this book?? What thoughts and reactions are you having? I'm not quite halfway through myself, but here are some topics of discussion:<br /><br />Friedman's basic premise in his talk is that there are "too many Americans" in the world today, meaning too many people in a "flattened playing field" living the American Dream, for the planet to sustain the lifestyle. A new definition of what it means to "live like an American" needs to be defined. Friedman believes that it is up to us, the Americans, to redefine and lead the innovation of that dream. There is nothing wrong with the world having the expectations of safety, health, nutrition, education and economic opportunity that has defined the American Dream. It just needs to be reworked in a way that can be sustainable within our planets resources. So what do YOU think about that??<br /><br />In the opening chapter of the book, Friedman discusses what he means by <span style="font-style: italic;">crowded:</span> he quotes the United Nations Population Division which issued a report (March 13, 2007) stating that "the world population will likely increase by 2.5 billion over the 43 years, passing the current 6.7 billion to 9.2 bilion in 2050. Forty-three years. I could still be alive by then. My children will be nearing their 50's by then. That seems close to me.<br /><br />Friedman goes on to quote the United Nations Population Fund's executive director, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, stating that "in 2008, more than half of humanity [will be] living in cities, and 'we are not ready for them.'" The Associated Press reported from London that by 2030 the number of city dwellers is expected to climb to five billion. Obaid said smaller cities will absorb the bulk of urban growth: "We're foucsing on the megacities when the data tell us most of the movement will be coming to smaller cities of 500,000 or more," which often lack the water and energy resources and governing institutios to deal with rising migrant populations. [HFC, pp 28-29]<br /><br />As a resident of a "smaller city" or of a city that is in the midst of "smaller" and rapidly growing metropolitan area, I have taken notice of that. He's talking about Salt Lake Valley. Growth in population, and shifting of population to secondary cities, is us. Are we ready for that? What does that mean for my children when it comes to education, jobs and a place to live?<br /><br />Joining the UMNH Community Discussion will be Jonny Spendlove, a Senior at the University of Utah and is an assistant at the <a href="http://http://www.hinckley.utah.edu/">Hinckley Institute of Politics</a>. He became interested in Tom Friedman by reading his books "Longitudes and Attitudes" and "The World is Flat", and by reading 23 of Mr. Friedman's columns in one night on nytimes.com. (Who says 20 year olds don't read newspapers anymore!) I welcome Jonny into this coversation. He'll be just over 60 in 43 years and, while HE doesn't think that's young, it certainly looks younger and younger to me! Will Jonny be looking at retirement at 65, another pillar of the American Dream?<br /><br />Okay, Jonny, I need a little of your enthusiasm here! How are you responding to the ideas put forth in Friedman's book and in his visit to Utah last week?Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00622538021626257342noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2395213348856148232.post-56738296035592175402009-03-17T15:03:00.000-06:002011-02-14T13:47:56.944-07:00Voyage of the Beagle #1This year marks the bi-centennial of Charles Darwin's birth! The Museum has created a series of <a href="http://www.umnh.utah.edu/darwin">Darwin programs</a> to reflect on his scientific and cultural contributions.<br /><br /><div>My name is Janet Frasier. I am marketing director of the Museum and lead the community book discussion. Over this year, I hope to interview a handful of Museum curators and Utah researchers this year to get their professional and personal perspective on Darwin's work within their own development as a scientist.</div><div><br /></div><div>I started the conversation with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Dr. Sarah B. George</span>, executive director of the <a href="http://www.umnh.utah.edu">Utah Museum of Natural History</a>. Sarah is a biologist, one with a strong interest in museum collections. Prior to coming to Utah, Sarah was a curator of vertebrates at the <a href="http://www.nhm.org/">Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County</a>. In her current role since 1992, Sarah is leading the Museum toward its new home, the <a href="http://www.umnh.utah.edu/newmuseum">Rio Tinto Center</a>, scheduled to open in early 2011.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">JF: </span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">When did Charles Darwin first enter your consciousness?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">SG:</span> I knew his name from early science classes, but he really didn’t register more than <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Pasteur">Pasteur </a>and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonie_van_Leeuwenhoek">van Leeuwenhoek</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Linnaeus">Linnaeus</a> did. I knew them all as scientists who had made great discoveries.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">JF:</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">What were your early attitudes toward "Origin of the Species" and the theory of evolution?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">SG: </span> As a military dependent, I went to a variety of Catholic and public schools, and evolution was the basis of the life sciences I was taught in these many schools. I had a lot of curiosity about how nature worked and why organisms look and function they way they do. It was clear to me from an early age that the evolution was the process behind the incredible variability in life.<br /><br />I cannot tell you when I first heard about “On the Origin of Species,” but I can tell you when I read it! I had just started my doctoral program and was headed out for a 10-week field expedition in Sonora, Baja Sur, Baja Norte, and southern California. I knew that I had to be prepared for comprehensive exams not long after I returned in the fall, so I took “Origin” with me. Coincidentally, I also took <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Distant_Mirror">Barbara Tuchman’s “A Distant Mirror”</a> along and I remember being struck at some point in the summer that she was simply documenting a catastrophic selective event in human evolution from an historian’s perspective.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">JF:</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;"> What attracted you to biology as a field of study?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">SG:</span> My dad was a doctor who did his orthopedic residency in the 1960s in a military hospital. He sometimes sneaked me into rounds, where most of the patients were recovering from battle wounds in Vietnam. It was fascinating to me how they reconstructed these young people.<br /><br />Science was definitely an interest, but wasn’t a conscious career choice until some years later. For that inspiration, I have to credit my high school biology teacher, Mr. Martin, who said that he thought I should major in biology and go to medical school. I thought, why not? Early in college, however, I took a class in mammalogy, got a job working in the university museum’s collection and never looked back!<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">JF:</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">In your study and research as a biologist, how did you encounter Darwin’s influence?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">SG: </span>My field of study, systematics and biogeography, was all about reconstructing evolutionary trees of groups of species and connecting the divergent points in those trees to past geologic events and current-day geography. My work was all about evolution. I am in awe of Darwin’s keen observations and ability to detect pattern, given what was NOT know about plate tectonics, genetics, and other phenomena that we know about today.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">JF: </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">What sense of legacy do you feel with Darwin’s life as a naturalist in building collections?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">SG: </span>The nineteenth century was an extraordinary time for biological exploration and discovery—Darwin, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Russel_Wallace">Alfred Wallace</a>, <a href="http://www.plantexplorers.com/explorers/biographies/banks/joseph-banks-01.htm">Joseph Banks</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_James_Audubon">John Audubon</a> and sons. They observed and documented the diversity around them and left collections as legacies of the biota of that time. When I started school, collecting was still focused on discovery, but on a finer scale than the 19th century—developing an understanding of patterns of diversity on a local scale rather than on continental scales. By the way: A great film that plays up the adventure of 19th century collecting is “Master and Commander”—the character of Dr. Stephen Maturin is based on Joseph Banks.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">JF:</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">As a biologist turned museum director, what contribution do you feel museum collections make to science and culture?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">SG:</span> With the benefit of collections that span more than 200 years, we have an extraordinary database that documents change in populations, species, geographic distributions, genetics, etc etc etc. Museum collections yielded the hard data that documented the devastation that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDT">DDT </a>was having on avian egg shell density and hence viability. Museum collections are documenting changes in altitudinal distributions of plants and animals that almost certainly are the result of climate change. I could go on, but won’t! Suffice to say that museum collections, properly identified and databased, are more important than ever as tools to measure change over time and distance.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">JF: </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">What is the role of modern naturalists?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">SG:</span> Observing, documenting, and studying change in the world around us and providing a platform of data that we can use to make decisions about our future.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">JF: </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">If you were an adolescent today, how would you approach Darwin? What would you read to learn more about him?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">SG: </span> I’d beg to carry his bags! One of the great side benefits to being a naturalist is the opportunity to spend a lot of time in the field <span style="font-weight: bold;">and</span> to travel the world.<br /><br />Oh, you mean how would I approach <span style="font-weight: bold;">learning </span>about Darwin! I would read “Origin”—it is surprisingly easy to read—or Darwin’s “Journal and Remarks” that we know as “Voyage of the Beagle.” Try “The Illustrated Origin” by Richard Leakey or if you can find it, “Darwin for Beginners.” And if you are more into adventure, dive into Patrick O’Brian’s series of novels about Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">JF:</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">One last question: Both Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin were born on February 12, 1809. Which one do YOU think has had more influence in western culture?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">SG:</span> Without question, Charles Darwin! Abraham Lincoln had a profound effect on the course of American history, but Darwin changed our way of understanding the world around us.<br /></div>Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00622538021626257342noreply@blogger.com0