When I get round to reading this new batch I'll review some of these also (at first glance the Wiens et al. book looks particularly useful for any Landscape Ecologist - student, teacher or researcher). You've got up until May 31st to order yours.
Amazingly it's just over a year since I arrived in Michigan and started my postdoc at MSU. Time flies when you're having fun, eh? Well, the first few months didn't fly so fast... but it's been fairly well shooting by recently. That's not to say I don't miss home everynowandthen. Especially when I see videos like this about my hometown:
I like this video. Less because of the message toward the end about the importance of ensuring western countries continue to train adaptable workforces in an increasingly flat world. More because of how it illustrates the speed and unpredictability of change. In hindsight it might seem obvious that this is how the world should end up - contingency matters in the real world after all. But in these contingent, historical, systems how do we generate a model for the future that we can trust with any useful degree of confidence?
I've been watching Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman on their epic motorcycle adventure all the Long Way Down from John O'Groats in Scotland through Europe and Africa to Cape Town, South Africa. It's like a 21st century lads version of Michael Palin's jolly jaunts around the world and follows on from their last trip from London to New York the (wrong) Long Way Round. Another inspirational set of characters to give one itchy feet...
One of the charities they're associated with and raising money for on their trip is UNICEF. On their way through Africa the boys visited places where UNICEF are working, like in Ethiopia where they are still clearing land mines from previous wars and educating local children and families about the dangers that remain.
You can support this work by sponsoring a mile of Ewan and Charlie's route. All of the money raised supports the UNICEF Long Way Down Fund to help children affected by conflict, poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa. For example, £1 will buy six sachets of peanut butter paste that is used to treat children with malnutrition. Checkout the map - I've sponsored mile 114.
There's been some moving and shaking on my friends' websites recently (see the full list in the sidebar), so here's a quick update.
Nicky has added some new t-shirts and hoodies for sale at Creative Current. For the discerning geek... "There are 10 types of people in the world, those who know binary and those who don't".
Jamie and Helen and are still on the road but they've stopped off in Kyrgyzstan for a while where they've been volunteering for The Alpine Fund, "a small, non-profit, non-governmental organization using the incredible mountain resources of Kyrgyzstan to help the country’s most vulnerable youth." Jamie worked on setting up their fancy new website and blog.
Olivia has still been doing her musical thing - watch out for her on the circuit in London and check out some of her tunes at myspace. Finally, travelorphan has been offline for a while but I'm assured she'll be back to blogging soon enough...
Rachel Carson Distinguished Lecture by William C. Clark
Professor William C. Clark, of Harvard University, will be giving the forthcoming Rachel Carson Distinguished Lecture "Sustainability Science: An Emerging Interdisciplinary Frontier". The lecture is on Thursday December 6 2007 at 3:30 PM (with a reception to follow) in the Radiology Auditorium (on Service Road) at Michigan State University (for directions, visit the CSIS home page). The lecture is free and open to the public.
I'll be there and will try to write something about it here in the future...
Dr. William C. Clark is the Harvey Brooks Professor of International Science, Public Policy, and Human Development in the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He is an international leader in Sustainability Sciences, co-chaired the National Research Council's study "Our Common Journey: A Transition toward Sustainability", and is editor of the Section on Sustainability Science for the Proceedings of U.S. National Academy of Sciences. His exceptional interdisciplinary research and other activities have been recognized by many prestigious honors and awards, such as membership in the National Academy of Sciences and the MacArthur Prize. Additional information about Dr. Clark, including representative publications, can be found at the CSIS home page.
Presented by the Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife with support from the Office of the President; Office of the Provost; Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies; Graduate School; Environmental Science and Policy Program; College of Agricultural and Natural Resources; Michigan Agricultural Experimental Station; Center for Water Sciences; Sustainable Michigan Endowed Project; Science, Technology, Environment, and Public Policy Specialization; and Elton R. Smith Endowment.
In their feature Formulae for the 21st Century, Edge ask 'What is your formula? Your equation?' Scientists, Philosophers, Artists and Writers have replied. Some gave their favourite, or what they thought to be the most important, formulas from their fields.
My favourites are the most simple - model parsimony, Occam's Razor and all that. Here are a couple (click for larger images).
This got me thinking about why I like quotes so much too - because they're models. Take the essence of an idea and express it as elegantly as possible. That's what scientists and mathematicians do, but equally it's what writers and artists do. Take it far enough, and being a bit of critical realist, I would say that all human perception is a model. But these elegant models are more useful than our sensory apparatus alone (which, along with our subconscious does plenty of filtering already) - they observe whilst simultaneously interpreting and synthesizing.
So what's my model? I'm not sure - it would have to involve change. My personal models are continually changing, vacillating. Sometimes I believe time has an arrow, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes the world is equations and energy, sometimes it's story and sentiment. Sometimes life is light, sometimes life is heavy. Even when my model is relatively stable it's usually paradoxical (or should that be hypocritical?) and ironic. I'll try to parse it down to it's most parsimonious state and then find some words and symbols to express it elegantly. Then I'll post it here. I can't guarantee that will be any time soon mind you...
For now here is a grossly unfair, and probably invalid, comparison (but this is how it felt just looking whilst stood there). On one side of Detroit River is its namesake, Detroit, Michigan (top). On the other side lies Windsor, Ontario (bottom).
"I began to like New York, the racy, adventurous feel of it at night, and the satisfaction that the constant flicker of men and women and machines gives to the restless eye."F. Scott Fitzgerald
I, on the other hand, liked it immediately. Like London, it just has that energy that gets mind and body moving. I arrived the day after the tornado and the transport network was just getting back to normal. There were still a few problems though...
So, my highlights: Top of the Rock (the usual tourist thing of going to the top of something tall and checking the view - above); the UN HQ (below); Brooklyn Bridge (another US bridge about to collapse by the look of things); generally just hangin' out with old friends enjoying the atmosphere with a few beers (Brooklyn Lager was pretty good); and learning to play wiffle ball in the street at 3am (not the easiest whilst half cut...) All good!
Welcome to the 8th issue of Oekologie, the travelling blog carnival of the best ecology and environmental science blog posts from the past month. Although the summer is often the time that ecologists and environmental scientists are out in the field doing what they love most (fieldwork) this didn't stop some of us from posting stories that grabbed our attention.
Several of posts this month discussed the ecology of mammals, some more positive than others. Talking about Yellowstone's Ecology of Fear, Jeremy at The Voltage Gate highlighted the benefits of the re-introduction of wolves to the National Park and that the restoration of historic ecosystems is possible. GrrlScientist notes that the egg-laying mammal Attenborough's long-beaked echidna (named after Sir David Attenborough) is not extinct as was previously thought, and Tim at Walking the Berkshires emphasised the successes of the Khoadi Hôas Conservancy in Namibia for the conservation of elephant populations. Though problems remain, Tim suggests that it is possible for humans and elephants to exist side-by-side. In a great post over at Laelaps, Brian is less optimistic however about the management and survival prospects for the Saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica).
More concerned with the The Other 95%, Kevin discusses the benefits for crabs moulting their exoskeleton (other than simply allowing them to grow). Concerning the plant world, Jennifer at The Infinite Sphere presents the invasive Purple Loosestrife and the trade-offs associated with controlling the plants with herbicides, and at Seeds Aside Laurent suggests a game for the next time you're strolling through a meadow.
"Mooney also takes a long, critical look at how scientists communicate (or don't) to the public, and how the media handles what information they can get their hands on."
Finally, considering some of the larger issues, Mike at 10,000 Birds examines the ecological basis for conservation. Part of a larger series called Protect the Commons, he highlights the need to remember the fragile connections between things and to understand that "all is of a part"
That's it for this month - check Oekologie #9 at Fish Feet next month. Remember to submit your best posts here.
If the wind is in the right direction the balloons drift across the city and land somewhere between Bristol and Bath. Sometimes they don't make it - I remember when I was about 7 or 8 a balloon landed on my primary school field as we were walking to school in the morning (they take off twice a day, the first at dawn). Pretty exciting! I've never taken a hot air balloon ride but I think I'll have to one day. It looks like graceful way to travel, looking out over the West Country landscape.
In a current thread on the ECOLOG-L listserv there's a debate going on about the environmental impacts of academics travelling to conferences in far-off places to discuss the environmental state of the world (the current case being this week's ESA conference in San Jose). On correspondent suggested we might be better off taking better advantage of the internet and teleconferencing, as suggested by E.O. Wilson. Several people have responded noting the virtues of physically attending meetings including the opportunities to meet face-to-face with potential collaborators, funders and students and to see presentations of data that may not be published for a couple of years hence.
Another correspondent suggested that delegates consider the form of transport they take to reach the meeting - trains are commonly held as being more fuel efficient than planes for example. This led me to the Fuel Efficiency in Transportation page on the ubiquitous wikipedia. Assuming this page is correct, it suggests that generally;
Cycling (653 mpg) is more efficient than walking (235 mpg)
European trains (500 mpg) are considerably more fuel efficient than planes (67 mpg)
Planes (67 mpg) are actually more fuel efficient than the average US car (36 mpg), but less efficient than a hyprid such as the Toyota Prius (77 mpg)
Travel by the average US car (36 mpg) is of comparable efficiency to travel on an Amtrak intercity train (39 mpg)
Travel by Steamboat (12 mpg) or Helicopter (4 mpg) is only for those who don't give a jot about carbon emissions
Here mpg = miles per gallon of gasoline, and these are rough comparisons for the average occupancy of the vehicle which don't really consider things like the distance travelled. There are many other considerations that need to be taken in these comparisons as James Strickland shows in his examination of the numbers.
Of course, the problem with this discussion is that the two most important factors that people consider when deciding how to travel are not accounted for: Time and Money. Flying internationally (and in many cases on short-haul too) is, in general, more efficient in both time and money than travelling by train (though some would say less fun). I can see currently that the advantages mentioned above for attending a conference in person do make it preferable to teleconferencing or online conferences. Maybe if ecologists really want to be environmentally friendly when meeting to discuss how the natural environment works they'll need to go that one step further and embrace meetings in virtual words such as Second Life. Businesses are now experimenting with virtual spaces where remote workers come together to collaborate, and whilst it may take time to perfect and get used to this way of 'meeting' it seems like an option for the future. Whilst ESA 2007 is held in sunny a San Jose, maybe ESA 2010 be held in a sunny simulated city...
Today is the first anniversary of Direction not Destination, a year since I wrote this. Since then I've relocated from the OC to East Lansing with few other trips for work (Poland, Spain, USA), and otherwise (India, Dorset), in between. I was offered a couple of jobs, awarded a PhD and generally the good times have outweighed the bad.
Initially I didn't really know how this blog would turn out or what I would do with it. It seems to have become a place for me to write some thoughts with a little more freedom than I'm afforded with work stuff, a place to keep track of what I am actually doing at work, a place to post some of my favourite pics, and of course at place just to have a quick rant every-now-and-then.
I've contributed to Just Science Week and Oekologie and generally some people seem to be finding my meandering thoughts interesting. So much so that recently I was awarded a Thinking Blogger Award! What a nice birthday pressie. Thanks to Jeremy at the Voltage Gate for the nod. Having been awarded this it is now upon my shoulders to nominate the five blogs that make me think. To be honest, and as I implied in the other post I made a year ago, I don't go checking other individuals' blogs directly that often. Instead, I usually stick to my favourite blog aggregator 3quarks and the Guardian's excellent Comment is Free. Anyway, here are my five:
3quarksdaily - "a daily must-read for intellectuals of all stripes"
Prometheus - mainly for the havoc Roger Pielke Jr causes - he's now blogging for Nature
Erin (AKA travelorphan) has been offline for a while, but on her return from the field she's made several posts to her blog detailing some of her recent work and the events in Sri Lanka.
Two of my best friends are currently travelling across Eurasia. To document their trip they've set up a cool little travelblog complete with comic strip ('Hel on Earth - episode two out now!), movies (check the Black Panther in Belgrade), music, pics, food reviews and treasure maps!
"As an adolescent I aspired to lasting fame, I craved factual certainty, and I thirsted for a meaningful vision of human life - so I became a scientist. This is like becoming an archbishop so you can meet girls."
Genius. Oh, for the youthful innocence of certainty...
So here I am in sunny East Lansing, settling into my new office at the Center for System Integration & Sustainability at MSU. As you'd expect It's pretty much been all admin thus far, but I'm beginning to find my way around and the first real meeting in the job tomorrow should help me get to grips with the task in hand - a project to integrate ecology and economics by developing a systems model of a managed forest landscape in Michigan's Upper Peninsula that has been experiencing low tree regeneration due to overabundant deer, and declines in habitat for songbirds of conservation concern due to deer impacts and timber harvest.
Things are pretty crazy right now as you might expect having moved to a new job in a new country so I haven't got much time to say much else right now. Rest assured I'll keep you up-to-date on the progress of the project in the future. In the meantime why not go and check out some of the excellent articles highlighted in the fifth edition of Oekologie, this month hosted by Jeremy at The Voltage Gate.
After a gruelling three-and-a-half hour examination yesterday, my examiners Prof. Keith Richards and Prof. Eric Lambin are satisfied that I should be awarded the degree of PhD, subject to three minor amendments!
Thanks to everyone that helped me celebrate in London last night. Also, thanks to all those that helped me along the way on my PhD journey: George, Raul, David, John, David, Bruce, Shatish, Margaret, Rob, Alison, Isobel, Erin, Kat, Andreas, Ben, Chris, Gareth, Isobel, Helen, Nick, Pete, Chris, Mark, Laura, Jamie, Helen, Neil, Nicky, Javier, Livs, Mum, Dad, Michael and Mark... and anyone else I've forgotten! Stay in touch everyone.
I'm off across the pond to start my postdoc at MSU tomorrow. Eight great years in London at King's over, hopefully many more to come elsewhere...
A missed bus gives me a couple of minutes to get online to point you in the direction of Erin's blog (http://travelorphan.blogspot.com) for some pictures of our Rajasthani gallivating (i.e. the pictures posted on March 29 2007 - permanent URLs to follow in a later post).
Briefly: Busy Delhi (no belly yet), Gangaur festival in Jaipur, lakeside downtime in Pushkar, Fort and pool in Jodhpur, street-cricket in Jaisalmer, camelback desert safari near Khuri, and now on to Udaipur, Bundi, Agra and Delhi (via this unintended stop-over in Jodhpur). More soon...
So there's hasn't been much blogging going on round here this month eh? Well that was largely due to the fact that my December was busy with a combination of furious PhD-writing and intermittent (but no less furious) Christmas partying.
