Team Discovers a Significant Role for Nitrate in the Arctic Landscape

This press release was originally published on the Marine Biological Laboratory’s website

Nitrogen, an essential plant nutrient, is most readily absorbed by plants in its ammonium and nitrate forms. Because of the very low nitrate levels found in arctic tundra soil, scientists had assumed that plants in this biome do not use nitrate. But a new study co-authored by four Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) Ecosystems Center scientists challenges this notion. The study has important implications for predicting which arctic plant species will dominate as the climate warms, as well as how much carbon tundra ecosystems can store.

Disease-resistant GMO tomato that could eliminate need for copper pesticides blocked by public fears

This article was originally published on the Genetic Literacy Project’s website

Some Florida tomato farmers spray copper-based pesticides up to 88 times per year in an effort to fend off bacterial spot, a devastating disease growers have been battling for over 60 years. A genetically engineered tomato resistant to the disease could cut that number to zero, while also doubling yields.

There’s only one problem: researchers have been unable to find a partner to help them commercialize the technology.

How Renewable Energy Advocates are Hurting the Climate Cause

This article was originally published on Ensia’s website

Overly optimistic reports of renewables’ success are not only misleading but also counterproductive

January 20, 2017 — In the wake of the 2016 presidential election, the proliferation of misinformation on social media is finally getting the attention it deserves. Or so I thought.

Writing When You Have a Strong Opinion

This article was originally published on the National Association of Science Writers’ website, and in the winter 2016-17 print edition of NASW’s ScienceWriters magazine

When science journalist Gary Taubes speaks publicly about nutrition and weight loss, he’s wary of mentioning carbohydrates too early in the presentation, especially when he knows there are physicians in the audience. He doesn’t want to be dismissed as “one of those Atkins people.”

This is a problem many science writers face. How do you clearly communicate where the evidence lies without coming off as biased, turning off many readers?

The Fire Island Wilderness Breach: Shifting Shorelines and Shoals

Click the image above to view a PDF of the National Park Service resource brief “The Fire Island Wilderness Brief: Shifting Shorelines and Shoals.”

The Fire Island Wilderness Breach: Ecological Resilience in Great South Bay

Click the image above to view a PDF of the National Park Service resource brief “The Fire Island Wilderness Breach: Ecological Resilience in Great South Bay.”

Blackstone and Taunton Rivers: Preserving History and Beauty for Generations to Come

This article was originally published in the Narragansett Bay Watershed Counts 2016 Report

Various federal recognitions have helped to preserve waterways across the country. In recent years, the two largest rivers that empty into Narragansett Bay—the Blackstone and Taunton rivers—received particularly noteworthy federal designations from the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Old Man River Regains His Voice: Cleaning Rivers, Fighting Crime, Building Community

This article was originally published in the Narragansett Bay Watershed Counts 2016 Report

The Woonasquatucket River winds quietly through the Olneyville neighborhood in Providence, Rhode Island. Unless you are next to it, odds are you might not even know the river is there. But, it played an important role in the area’s history and, following a period of abuse and neglect, it is making a comeback to play an important role in its present and future.

By the Shining Big-Sea-Water: Massachusetts Towns Team Up to Protect River, Drinking Water

This article was originally published in the Narragansett Bay Watershed Counts 2016 Report

For almost 30 years now, citizens of five Massachusetts towns have looked past their legal and political borders to come together and discuss how best to protect their shared drinking water supply: the Canoe River Aquifer.

“The water doesn’t end with your boundary,” said Janice Fowler, a resident of Easton and the committee’s secretary. “So it’s important to get together and understand what everyone else is doing.”

You Can Go Home Again: Volunteers Give River Herring a Lift

This article was originally published in the Narragansett Bay Watershed Counts 2016 Report

From time immemorial, when dams were the intellectual property of beavers, alewife and blueback herring (collectively known as river herring) made their way from the ocean into Narragansett Bay and up the Saugatucket River each spring to lay eggs in upstream ponds. These eggs then hatched, and the juvenile fish swam back to the ocean to grow into adults before returning to the same birthplace, yet again, to spawn.

But, human innovation during the Industrial Revolution brought dams to the rivers to capitalize on flowing water for power. An unintended consequence was that these dams also blocked the fish migration corridors. For some time now, fish ladders have been installed at dam sites to help river herring navigate over the dams, but the fish sometimes reject or are unable to navigate these structures.