November 13, 2023 A fascinating article from The Guardian by environmental journalist Stephen Buranyi recently caught my attention in its discussion of contemporary research surrounding plastic-eating bacteria. Discovered in a trash dump in 2001, a bacterium called Ideonella Sakaiensis uses enzymatic reactions to break down plastic into basic nutrients it can consume. Microbiologists are studying …
Coastal Stewardship
October 14, 2023 As greenhouse gas levels rise and threaten both humans and wildlife, scientists are searching for efficient and cost-effective ways to pull carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere. A recent New York Times opinion piece by John T. Preston, Dennis Bushnell, and Anthony Michaels calls for the US government to fund experimental research …
September 5, 2023 Through the Coastal Stewardship Certification Course I recently completed in August with the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Ocean County, I met Dr. Allison Fitzgerald, Assistant Professor of Biology at New Jersey City University (NJCU). In addition to her teaching at NJCU, Dr. Fitzgerald brings her doctoral work in oyster ecotoxicology to bear …
July 6, 2023 On June 13, I attended the third session of my coastal stewardship course through the Ocean County Cooperative Extension of Rutgers University. The first presenters were Dr. Jim Merritt and Bruce Beveridge, a charismatic and funny duo who gave the class an introduction to shellfish biology. They presented detailed diagrams on the …
June 15, 2023 On June 6th, I had my second class in the 10-week Rutgers University Cooperative Extension Coastal Stewardship Course. The first presenter on this night was Dr. Steven Yergeau of Rutgers, who spoke about watershed management in Barnegat Bay. He explained characteristics of watersheds and their role in the water cycle. He delved …
June 5, 2023 On May 30, I had the privilege of beginning a 10-week coastal stewardship class that I will be taking throughout this summer. The class is located in Tom’s River, New Jersey, not far from my family’s home in Tuckerton and is run by Dr. Doug Zemeckis of Rutgers University as part of …
April 12, 2023 It would be nice to believe that all products labeled as “bioplastics” had no negative impacts on the environment and could be used without consequence. However, a recent literature review warns that we shouldn’t be so quick to make this assumption. A January 2023 article by science journalist Michael Allen notes that …