What I do:

I have been working for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA), National Ocean Service since 1999.  Currently as the National Education Liaison for the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, I work with various partners, such as National Geographic Society and the Institute for Exploration on national and regional educational programs that enhance public awareness, understanding and appreciation of the marine environment, particularly America’s underwater treasures, known as national marine sanctuaries.

One of the exciting new projects I manage is called Ocean for Life, which provides high-quality, immersive ocean field studies and follow-on education programs to facilitate cross-cultural learning, appreciation and lasting experiences between Middle Eastern and Western students.  Another fun program for students in grades K-8 is the Ocean Guardian Kids Club.

My job is extremely exciting and fun, with a wide diversity of activities ranging from scuba diving, assisting in research projects, giving presentations, planning and implementing field experiences for students, providing hands-on training for teachers, and much more.  Some days I sit at my desk and plug away at planning programs and ensuring ocean conservation information is available online, and other days I am out counting fish in marine protected areas, kayaking with students, or engaging teachers in ocean literacy.

How it helps:

Everyone makes choices daily that impact the environment and the ocean.  Ultimately, the ocean sustains life on Earth.  So anything I can do to get teachers, students, and the public-at-large to better understand the environment, especially the ocean, and their connection to it, the more likely people will make more informed decisions that can have a positive effect on the lifeblood of our planet.  Everyone needs to understand that they are connected to the ocean, no matter where they live, and that there is only one big, interconnected global ocean.

Everyone is connected to the ocean through their local watersheds, such as rivers and streams, and their daily actions have an impact of the environment and ultimately the ocean.  The NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries education vision is an ocean literate public making informed environmental decisions and our mission is to inspire ocean literacy and conservation through national marine sanctuaries.

How I got here:

I have always been fascinated with the ocean and marine life.  This stemmed from being born and raised in the Hawaiian Islands, and as a little girl, investigating tide pools and strapping on a mask and snorkel to observe life in the sea.  Throughout my childhood, I was absorbed by nature.  It was quite easy, considering I grew up without electricity for ten years on the slopes of Mauna Kea and wasn’t distracted by television or video games.  Through these childhood experiences, my passion for the ocean and the environment grew.

During my high school years in Hawaii, I had an opportunity to assist with research on threatened Hawaiian green sea turtles conducted by George Balazs of NOAA Fisheries.  Working with sea turtles, as well as with pinniped (seals and sea lions) rehabilitation in California and other exciting projects provided valuable field experience and fueled my ambition to promote ocean conservation.  Working with marine life had a profound impact on my future, although I hadn’t realized it until a few years after college when I started as a volunteer for the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary in California.

I got my foot in the door through volunteer work and internships during and after college.  Many of the people I work with have very specialized marine science or oceanography degrees, yet I come from a very different perspective.  I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, which is quite an unconventional degree for someone working for our country’s leading oceanic and atmospheric science agency.  Yet this passion I have always had for the ocean allowed me the opportunity to work for NOAA.  Anything is possible as long as you have the passion and diligence.  This is an important message I often impart to the school children with whom I work.

Where I’m going:

My work with the ocean has inspired me to further pursue my interests in photography and in telling stories through compelling imagery.  As an avid diver who spends time underwater for work and for fun, I have captured images ranging from playful sea lions in the kelp forests of the Channel Islands to basking green sea turtles in Hawaii.  During a 28-day research trip to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands in summer 2006, I witnessed firsthand the human impacts on the marine life and sea birds of these remote, uninhabited atolls and islands. As a result, I now am committed not only to share images of the splendor and magnificence of the ocean world, but also of the tragic impacts humans are having on our blue planet.

As an ocean educator, my prospects for growth are wide open at this point.  Careers in the environmental field will only become more relevant as more Americans and people around the world better understand the importance of conservation and protecting the environment for future generations.  Also, the Obama Administration looks to be emphasizing topics such as climate change and education, which will only lead to more opportunities to educate people about threats to the ocean and environment.

How I’m doing:

The salary range for an ocean educator can vary widely depending on what organization you work for.  My best guess of the current salary range is about $45,000 – $100,000/year.  Also remember that you don’t necessarily need a science degree to work in the ocean field.  There are ocean-related jobs in photography, cinematography, engineering, socio-economics, business, and more.

Advice:

My advice is to pursue your passion no matter what, even if it means volunteering, doing an internship, or starting at the bottom of the totem pole in a career.  Anything is possible as long as you have the passion and diligence to follow through!  Your life will be so much more fulfilling if you truly love what you do.

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Environmentalists are fretting that climate change solutions and green jobs will not be adequately folded into the discussion at the economic discussion of the G20 countries this week.

It remains to be seen. But here at home those passionate about fighting global warming are raising the rhetoric, even in quarters where the bureaucrats usually remain comfortably quiet or publicly noncommittal.

New NOAA director Jane Lubchenco borrowed from Martin Luther King Jr. in an eloquent appeal at the National Academies of Science this week, invoking the “fierce urgency of now” in the fight against climate change:

“‘We may cry out desperately for time to pause in her passage, but time is adamant to every plea and rushes on,’” said Lubchenco, a marine biologist. “Over the bleached bones and jumbled residues of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words: Too late.’”

Yes, the moving hand writes and having writ, moves on. Global warming won’t wait. Lubchenco went on to detail how its effects are present now, with weather swings, rising seawater and temperature changes. (Our neighbors in Fargo might agree.)

Thankfully, people like Lubchenco are speaking out — and thanks to the Worldwatch Institute for covering her speech. (See more at their site.)

Look for more stout talk ahead.

(By the way, this week another strong voice was named to join the Obama environmental team. Cathy Zoi, founding CEO of the awareness-building Alliance for Climate Protection backed by Al Gore, was nominated to be assistant secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at DOE — so someone else may soon be signing your We campaign emails).

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

What happens when salmon are given a pesticide cocktail? The effects can be more pronounced than the damage done from exposure a single pesticide, according to a study just released in the Environmental Health Perspectives journal.

In an attempt to replicate real world pesticide exposures, researchers from NOAA Fisheries Service and Washington State University studied how coho salmon reacted to five common pesticides, individually and in various combinations.

They found that almost every pesticide pairing resulted in a chemical reaction in the brain – a reduction of an enzyme – that could lead to the accumulation of acetylcholine, which would affect the salmon’s behavior and jeopardize its ability to survive.

Need we mention here that salmon are already facing a host of difficulties from warming rivers inhospitable to breeding behavior to industrial pollution and overfishing?

The pesticides were tested at various levels (including some considered safe), for a total of 30 different combinations – 20 of the 30 produced stronger reactions than the chemicals could be expected to produce on their own. The outcomes led the researchers to conclude that it was the synergy of the chemicals being combined that increased the toxicity.

Three of the 30 combinations killed the fish outright within 24 hours.

The chemicals tested included those commonly used in agriculture in California and the Pacific Northwest – diazinon, malathion, chlorpyrifos, carbaryl and carbofuran – and found in runoff and streams.

The final conclusion, according to a synopsis on the journal website: “In light of the current findings, mixtures that have been considered relatively safe may pose more of a hazard to wildlife than was previously thought.”

Or, as co-author NOAA zoologist Nathaniel Scholz told the AP:  “We need to design new research that takes into effect the real-world situation where pesticides almost always coincide with other pesticides.”

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

It may not be news to riverside residents of flooded Iowa and Missouri, or to many climate scientists, but the government made it official this week: Climate change means wilder weather.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) a wing of the U.S. Commerce Department, released a report Thursday that says the warming world will bring more erratic and extreme weather events.

“Among the major findings reported in this assessment are that droughts, heavy downpours, excessive heat, and intense hurricanes are likely to become more commonplace as humans continue to increase the atmospheric concentrations of heat-trapping greenhouse gases,’’ says a summary of the findings.

The report “concludes that we are now witnessing and will increasingly experience more extreme weather and climate events,” said report co-chair Tom Karl, Ph.D., director of NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C.

While that might seem anti-climatic – no pun intended – the full report should provide vital reading for those who want to follow what might happen in their region, be it tornado alley or the flood-prone areas of the coast.

Among the projections:

• Abnormally hot days and nights, along with heat waves, are very likely to become more common. Cold nights are very likely to become less common.

• Sea ice extent is expected to continue to decrease and may even disappear in the Arctic Ocean in summer in coming decades.

• Precipitation, on average, is likely to be less frequent but more intense.

• Droughts are likely to become more frequent and severe in some regions.

• Hurricanes will likely have increased precipitation and wind.

No word in the summary on tornadoes, which have been recorded in numbers this year across North America.

• The strongest cold-season storms in the Atlantic and Pacific are likely to produce stronger winds and higher extreme wave heights.

Copyright © 2008 | Distributed by Noofangle Media

You might conclude this was more evidence of global warming. Don’t want to think of it that way? Then it was just crazy weather, courtesy of the normal fluctuation of things.

But before you get too far down that path, consider this sobering little tidbit from the NOAA press release:

“Including 2007, seven of the eight warmest years on record have occurred since 2001 and the 10 warmest years have all occurred since 1997. The global average surface temperature has risen between 0.6°C and 0.7°C since the start of the twentieth century, and the rate of increase since 1976 has been approximately three times faster than the century-scale trend.”

Talk about chilling. (Oh, and Happy New Year!)