New resources on ocean acidification (and other catching up)
Well, it’s been a while! I admit that keeping up with the blog has been harder than I expected it to be. We’ve had quite a few things going on here at Sea Grant – we hosted the 2009 Sea Grant Climate Network (SGCN) workshop, “Climate Adaptation in Coastal Communities: A Network Approach to Outreach.”
Attendees at the 2009 SGCN workshop eagerly await the start of the day's talks
Over 90 folks from Sea Grant and our invited NOAA partners attended the 2.5 day workshop, and at least another 45 people participated remotely through our webcast, generously sponsored by WebEx and run by Jim Hurley, Tom Dellinger, and the rest of the Wisconsin Sea Grant team. The SGCN, a grassroots network within Sea Grant for any of us working on climate issues, also held its first business meeting. I’m the chair of the SGCN Southeastern Regional sub-Group. I’m also sharing co-chair duties for the entire network with Chris Conger of Hawai’i Sea Grant and Esperanza Stancioff of Maine Sea Grant. Additionally, as part of the workshop the participants designed 5 projects with selected community partners. Our SC project is to work with Dr. David Stoney, who leads the Kitchen Table Climate Study Group in McClellanville, a grassroots, community-based group dedicated to learning about climate change. Our role will be towork with NOAA and other partners to pull together the latest scientific information about climate change and lists of resources and contacts that would make it easier for other groups to start their own Local Climate Study Groups. I even got included as part of a write-up in the Charleston Post and Courier. Beyond that, KTCSG has gotten recent press in the Georgetown Times and on WCIV-TV. If you do Facebook, KTCSG now has a fan page, and I hope it will be a great way for you to stay posted on our progress.
I do mean to catch up on the “common climate questions” – especially because there’s been a certain e-mail related controversy for which I’ve received some requests for information. Long story short – yes, long term climate change is still happening – but a lot of the email topics are good opportunities to talk about some confusing issues, such as the types of data climate scientists have available to work with. That will have to wait until the New Year, though. In the interim, Rob Emanuel with Oregon Sea Grant brought the December issue of the magazine Oceanography to my attention. It’s dedicated to the issue of ocean acidification, and actually includes a primer by Scott Doney, William Balch, Victoria Fabry, and Richard Feely on what ocean acidification is, how it relates to climate change, and what resources are available for you to find out more. It’s written in plain language (i.e., minimal jargon), and is probably much better than anything I could have written on the issue. Even better, it’s open access, so you won’t need a subscription. Check it out!
Happy holidays, and best wishes for the New Year.
