Forum: Broadly speaking, from the discharge of pollutants and urban runoff to the poisoning of rodents, whether through indifference, ignorance, or intention, the nature and quality of the food chain is not only fundamental to the study of ecosystem function, it is perhaps the most fertile area for illumination of the subject to the largest possible fraction of the earth's population. If ecologists will set a candle in the steeple now and then, perhaps those outside the church will become more supportive.
Articles for the public press, greater receptivity to writers, generation of newsworthy events, and a thousand other ways to enrich the "interface" between "scientists" and "the public" all can add up to a move in the right direction, first by a handful of people, then an exponential growth of consciousness, and finally some movement of the ship of state. Stories, anecdotes, even fables (all founded on solid science), and (dare I suggest) video games, if that's what it takes, can have the power to open up a crack in the consciousness so clogged with contaminants that it can't otherwise "get" the complexity of it all. If only a small fraction (ten percent, even one percent) of the 6,000-plus subscribers to this listserve would write a popular story or article outside the publish-or-perish syndrome could introduce a substantial snowball effect. Speaking of fish, I wonder how many kids actually think a goldfish can be flushed down a toilet and survive? But a story about, for example, a little striped bass, written by one or more scientists or by writers they will spare the time to educate, might gently, without preaching, spread the word that ultimately leads to the understanding of how the food chain works, contaminants, nutrients, and all. The possibilities are endless. WT At 09:11 PM 6/26/2007, Erica Fleishman wrote: >The National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS), in >partnership with the Interagency Ecological Program (IEP), seeks proposals >for a Working Group to address the potential role of contaminants in the >decline of pelagic organisms (delta smelt, age-0 striped bass, longfin >smelt, and threadfin shad) in the upper San Francisco Estuary, California. > >Proposals must be submitted electronically no later than 5:00 P.M. Pacific >Daylight Time on 31 August 2007. > >For a complete copy of the RFP, please visit http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu or >contact Erica Fleishman, [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >Please distribute this notice to anyone who might be interested. > > > > > >-- >Erica Fleishman, Ph.D. >Director, Conservation and Resource Management Program >National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis >735 State St., Suite 300 >Santa Barbara, CA 93101 >(805) 892-2530 >[EMAIL PROTECTED] >http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu
